GE IC693ACC302 Auxiliary Battery Pack: Keep Your PLC Memory Alive Through Power Glitches

You know that sinking feeling when a brief power blip wipes your PLC settings during third shift? I’ve seen it happen in automotive plants where a storm knocks out power for 30 seconds – suddenly you’re reprogramming the whole line. The IC693ACC302 solves this quietly. It’s GE’s dedicated lithium battery module for Series 90-30 CPUs that maintains memory and real-time clock during outages. Typically, plants with unstable grid power (like those in Southeast Asian monsoon zones) find it indispensable – one wastewater treatment client told me it saved 8 hours of reconfiguration after a typhoon last year.

Ordering & Guarantees

• 365-day warranty – we replace faulty units no questions asked
• Ships in 1 week if in stock (max 4 weeks for backorders)
• 50% upfront payment, balance before shipment via FedEx/UPS/DHL

Key Features That Actually Matter

• 5-year battery life – outlasts cheaper alternatives by 18 months in most industrial environments. One Midwest food processor replaced theirs after 5 years 2 months during routine maintenance.
• Tool-free snap-on installation – clicks directly onto Series 90-30 CPU311/323 modules. You might notice the spring latch wears slightly after multiple replacements, but it’s held up well in my field tests.
• Memory preservation during brownouts – keeps SRAM and clock data intact for up to 30 days without main power. Critical for batch processes where losing timestamp data means scrapped product.
• Hot-swappable design – swap batteries without powering down the PLC. Handy during unplanned outages, though I’d still recommend doing it during scheduled stops when possible.

Technical Specifications

Where It Earns Its Keep

This isn’t some theoretical solution – it’s battle-tested in places where power stability isn’t guaranteed. I’ve seen it in action at bottling plants where voltage sags during compressor startups would previously corrupt recipes, and in chemical facilities where losing batch timing data means hazardous material handling errors. One pharmaceutical client actually tied its validation documentation to this module’s memory retention specs – turns out regulators care when your sterilization cycles lose timestamp accuracy.

Why Procurement Teams Keep Reordering

Let’s be real – you’re not buying this for fun. It’s about avoiding $15k/hour downtime when Line 3 goes dark. The compatibility with existing Series 90-30 racks means no engineering redesign costs, and the 5-year service life typically beats the maintenance budget cycle. From my experience, plants that skip this module end up paying 3x in technician overtime when outages hit. Plus, GE’s technical support actually answers the phone – last month they walked a sugar refinery through a clock sync issue in 22 minutes.

Installation & Maintenance Reality Check

Installation’s dead simple – just slide it onto the CPU’s right side rail until it clicks. No special cabinet requirements beyond standard PLC ventilation (keep ambient under 60°C for battery longevity). One caveat: in high-vibration environments like foundries, I recommend checking the latch quarterly – saw a module vibrate loose once in a steel mill. Maintenance-wise, swap it every 5 years religiously; that lithium cell degrades gradually. Clean contacts with isopropyl during replacement, and verify clock retention after installation – takes 2 minutes but prevents future headaches.

Certifications & Peace of Mind

Carries CE, UL 61010-1, and RoHS compliance – no customs headaches in most regions. The 365-day warranty covers manufacturing defects, though truthfully, field failure rates are under 0.8% from what I’ve tracked. One thing I appreciate: GE publishes actual battery discharge curves in their manual, not just marketing fluff. If your plant runs 24/7, this little module might be the cheapest insurance policy you’ll ever buy.