19.4 Watchdog Timer Operation

The primary function of the WDT is to reset the processor in the event of a software malfunction or to wake up the processor in the event of a time-out while in the Standby Sleep mode.

If enabled, the WDT increments until it overflows or times out. A WDT time-out will force a device Reset, except during the Standby Sleep or Idle mode. To prevent a WDT time-out Reset, the user application must periodically clear the WDT by writing a keyword 0x5743 to the WDTCLRKEY[15:0] bits (WDTCON[31:16]) through a single 16-bit write.