Cannot execute protractor tests using headless chrome on Selenium Grid nodes - selenium

Question

I'm using Selenium server 3.8.1, with the hub and 2 nodes.
The hub and each node are executed on different machines.
Currently, I can launch the tests and they're working fine. But, I'm not able to make the headless mode run.
My config JSON only contains the capabilities object.
{
"capabilities":
[{
"browserName": "chrome",
"maxInstances": 3,
"seleniumProtocol": "WebDriver",
"chromeOptions": {
"args": [
"--headless",
"--disable-gpu",
"--window-size=1920x1080"]
}}]
}
I launch the selenium nodes using a .bat that contains the following command:
"C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_181\bin\java" -jar C:\jobs\selenium-node\selenium-server-standalone-3.8.1.jar -role node -hub http://172.16.0.5:5555/grid/register -port 5558 -nodeConfig config.json -maxSession 3
The selenium node works fine and appears on the selenium grid UI. Also, the capabilities of the chrome driver include the --headless and other parameters:
....
capabilities: Capabilities {browserName: chrome, chromeOptions: {args: [--headless, --disable-gpu, --window-size=1920x1080]}, maxInstances: 3, platform: XP, se:CONFIG_UUID: cdc21610-4c47-4d23-9478-a20..., seleniumProtocol: WebDriver}
....
On the protractor.conf file I have these capabilities, that work when I run the tests locally.
seleniumAddress:'http://172.16.0.5:5555/wd/hub',
getPageTimeout: 120000,
allScriptsTimeout: 120000,
ignoreUncaughtExceptions: true,
chromeOnly:true,
directConnect: false,
framework: 'custom',
frameworkPath: require.resolve('protractor-cucumber-framework'),
capabilities: {
"javascriptEnabled": true,
"acceptSslCerts": true,
"browserName": "chrome",
"chromeOptions": {
"args": [ "--headless", "--disable-gpu", "--window-size=1920,1080"]
}
},
But, when I launch the tests, the chrome driver isn't executed on headless mode. Works fine, but the different windows keep appearing.
Environment details:
chromedriver version: 2.36.540470
chrome version: 69.0.3497.100

Answer 1

As per your question/comment update you are using:
chromedriverVersion: '2.36.540470, chrome version' => '69.0.3497.100'
Your main issue is the incompatibility between the version of the binaries you are using as follows:
You are using chromedriver=2.36
Release Notes of chromedriver=2.36 clearly mentions the following :
Supports Chrome v63-65
You are using chrome=69.0
Release Notes of ChromeDriver v2.42 clearly mentions the following :
Supports Chrome v68-70
So there is a clear mismatch between the ChromeDriver v2.36 and the Chrome Browser v69.0
Solution
Upgrade Selenium to current levels Version 3.14.0.
Upgrade ChromeDriver to current ChromeDriver v2.42 level.
Keep Chrome version between Chrome v68-70 levels. (as per ChromeDriver v2.42 release notes)
Clean your Project Workspace through your IDE and Rebuild your project with required dependencies only.