diff --git a/canopen/objectdictionary/eds.py b/canopen/objectdictionary/eds.py
index d9f06e97..0e7ec9e7 100644
--- a/canopen/objectdictionary/eds.py
+++ b/canopen/objectdictionary/eds.py
@@ -274,8 +274,10 @@ def build_variable(eds, section, node_id, index, subindex=0):
             logger.warning("%s has an unknown or unsupported data type (%X)", name, var.data_type)
             # Assume DOMAIN to force application to interpret the byte data
             var.data_type = datatypes.DOMAIN
-
-    var.pdo_mappable = bool(int(eds.get(section, "PDOMapping", fallback="0"), 0))
+    
+    pdo_mappable_string = eds.get(section, "PDOMapping", fallback="0")
+    if pdo_mappable_string != "":
+        var.pdo_mappable = bool(int(pdo_mappable_string, 0))
 
     if eds.has_option(section, "LowLimit"):
         try: