Idec FA-2J manual

Hello all. I am trying to find a copy of the manual for an Idec FA-2Junior. I found the maunual number on Idecs site but no manual for download. The manual number is EM325-0. If anyone has this manual or knows where I can obtain one for download pease let me know. I have left a message with a local distributor but no answer back. Thanks.

dale

Here's a catalog pdf. The last page 19 has the instruction set.. that might help for starters.. I cant find a manual either..strange.

http://www.iprocessmart.com/idec/Catalogs/PLC/FA2J.pdf

I spoke with Idec a few minutes ago and was told that they never have put the manual in a pdf file or made a downloadable version of it. Only in paper form. Oh well. I did however solve my problem earlier. Thanks for your help.

dale

If your problems were software related, maybe this will help.

Idec's WindLDR software can be used to program the FA-2J.

Here is a link to a Square-D Symax Model 50 programming software manual. This PLC was sold by Square-D but I think it was made and/or designed by Idec. It is very similar to the Idec FA-2J. Maybe it will help in the future.

SFW50 Manual

Idec WindLDR Manual

Hi Dale
As jrwb4gbm said the Symax 50 is was made by Idec and is a re-badged FA1J.

The only difference is that the FA2J has more 'Computing Instructions' than the FA1J (Symax 50). The Symax 50 Manual available from the Squared.com site is very detailed and covers all of the details except the computing instructions past number 25.

The instruction set of the basic FA3 is the same as the FA2J (just looks as though the controller was put into a different shaped box ! )

Jim.

Thanks everyone for your responses, especially jrwb4gbm for giving me the link for the manual. Let me tell you what occured and se if you all shake your heads in disbelief also. We have a machine which quit working this morning. The operator said that she felt an electrical shock when she touched the frame. So being the safety minded person that I am, I checked the chasis ground. Know what? Ground wire was conected to the neutral bus instead of to chasis. Tried to ohm out chasis to neutral and correctly no continuity. Found a 120V heating element shorted to ground, there explains the shock. No way to ground out and blow fuses when there is no ground conected. Corrected problems, machine will not run because the plc is showing an error. Well ****, not familiar with an Idec so what does the error mean? Probably not good knowing my luck though. I finally talk to Idec tech support (they were great) and they said to pull the EEProm and put it into an identical machine and see if it runs, also reiterated not to put the EEProm from good plc into bad plc. If the known good plc ran with suspect plc EEProm then it would be a bad cpu. Tried the swap and known good plc ran fine. I was convinced the cpu was fried. I put the original EEprom back into the bad plc and you know what? The damn thing ran fine......Oh well occasionally I do get lucky.

dale

Dale
I have had a similar problem when we could not reset/ clear an error using the Laptop Computer running Clip software but the fault was cleared immiediately by the handheld Programme Loader.

Jim.

FA Junior

I have some interesting information because was working with this old PLC.

Just e-mail me to [email protected]

Best regards
Ramunas

Updated Link:

Symate Type SFW50

I have two customers using the FAJ2 PLC and we may need to do some work on the logic...I have found the WinLDR software but unsure about what type of communication cable I might need.

These antiques don't scare me too much unless I can't find a manual... If I can't fix it, I sure don't want to own it... and if I touch it and it breaks I own it ...

Fa2j plc

Hello OkiePC
The first question is what type of memory module is fitted

If RAM the programme can be changed with the WinLDR software.

If the plc programme is stored in an EPROM or EEPROM module you will require an Idec 'Hand held programmer' with Eprom programming option. (There are 2 types of 'Hand Programmers' one with eprom programming facility and one without. These cost my company aproximately £500 GBP and £300 GBP each over 10 years ago)

The comms is via a form of RS-232 protocol. I had an interface module between the computer and the plc when programming.
I also had some Idec plc's with HMI's attached to the 'programming port' that had just the a cable conection and some resistors, but these were not very reliable.
I do not know what baud rate was used but the WinLDR software should set this .
The interface module and the hand programmers are powered from the IDEC PLC .

If your FA2J's have Prom memories it may be more cost effective to replace them.

I have not been on this web site for many years and admin had forwarded your post to me

Hope this is of some help
Jim.

Thanks for that information. Our job is to replace some obsolete valve actuators. If our new units can replace the old "wire for wire" then we won't need to do anything to the code.

If we find we need to modify the logic, we will probably propose a controls upgrade, but even then we may find retrieving the old logic useful. It may be a few weeks before they approve the valve and actuator upgrade. Some of these valves and actuators are very expensive and would probably dwarf the cost of programming software and cables, and perhaps even a complete PLC upgrade.

I really appreciate the information you have give me.

I don't know about WinLDR, but using the CLIP software it takes this cable/ adapter setup.

Wow, thank you! The pictures and searching those part numbers gives us some hope of connecting if we end up going that route.

I had to get them from Ebay, I'm pretty sure. It's been a few years