nighthawkjw
Member
I am facing an old problem that started with a poor design from TI. Their Series 500 IO modules (500-5055 & 65 - the earliest ones) have a very poorly designed field connector to the top and bottom of the modules. These connectors, both on the module and attached to wiring, have deteriorated over the years to where the plastic is brittle, broken and the connectors no longer hold to the modules any more.
On the module side, the tabs on each side of these connectors are missing, so that the mating wiring connector no long snaps in place and the bottom wiring connector can fall away with vibration. Also on the module side, with wear and tear from plugging/unplugging these connectors, the plastic parts that prevent the connector from flexing have broken and are missing. Each connector has four plastic prongs that go through the cicuit board and attach to a plastic piece on the other side -- these are what break and go missing, so the connector can flex, making a poor connection.
On the wiring side, the prongs that provide a small amount of holding between the two mating connector, these break off.
The end result is that many systems using these IO modules are experiencing a lot of problems with the connectors coming loose.
The question is, what to do about it? My stock of good salvage parts is now gone, so I have no more unbroken plastic parts. Siemens quit supporting this stuff a long time ago. Any suggestion aside from retooling is welcome. This question is probably more advanced than this forum, but I have few places to turn.
One thought is that when the module is connected, a spot of hot glue carefully applied could act as a holding agent to keep the connector from working loose. Only problem is that this can be messy and if not applied carefully, it may make a poor connection worse!
Any other ideas?
Jimmy
On the module side, the tabs on each side of these connectors are missing, so that the mating wiring connector no long snaps in place and the bottom wiring connector can fall away with vibration. Also on the module side, with wear and tear from plugging/unplugging these connectors, the plastic parts that prevent the connector from flexing have broken and are missing. Each connector has four plastic prongs that go through the cicuit board and attach to a plastic piece on the other side -- these are what break and go missing, so the connector can flex, making a poor connection.
On the wiring side, the prongs that provide a small amount of holding between the two mating connector, these break off.
The end result is that many systems using these IO modules are experiencing a lot of problems with the connectors coming loose.
The question is, what to do about it? My stock of good salvage parts is now gone, so I have no more unbroken plastic parts. Siemens quit supporting this stuff a long time ago. Any suggestion aside from retooling is welcome. This question is probably more advanced than this forum, but I have few places to turn.
One thought is that when the module is connected, a spot of hot glue carefully applied could act as a holding agent to keep the connector from working loose. Only problem is that this can be messy and if not applied carefully, it may make a poor connection worse!
Any other ideas?
Jimmy