Product Overview

The Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ is a SIMATIC S5-series combined digital input/output module, type DI/DO 482, built in the “Version L” (7L-) mechanical form factor exclusively for S5-115U and S5-115F central racks. It consolidates 16 digital inputs and 16 digital outputs—32 I/O points total—into a single S5 slot, all operating at 24 V DC with 0.5 A per output channel, making it one of the highest-density I/O building blocks available for the 115U/F chassis where rack real estate is constrained. Both the input group and the output group are galvanically floating from the S5 backplane, and the module is specified as “positive-reading and positive-switching,” meaning the DI side senses a PNP-style 24 V DC sensor signal (24 V present = logic “1”) and the DO side switches the L+ (24 V DC positive) to the load—aligning with the dominant European 24 V DC field-wiring convention that defined most S5-115U/F installations.The strategic value of the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ lies in slot economy. A conventional S5-115U/F I/O layout needing 16 DI + 16 DO at 24 V DC would consume at minimum two slots (using 16-point single-purpose cards) or four slots (using 8-point cards like 6ES5420-8MA11 DI and 6ES5450-8MA11 DO). The 6ES5482-7LA11​ collapses that footprint into one L-format slot: 16 DI on the upper pin field of the front connector, 16 DO on the lower, both 24 V DC, both floating, both referenced to the same 24 V DC field supply return. For S5-115U/F panels originally specified compact—packaging-machine OEM skids, small-batch reactor controls, lift-station MCC-integrated S5 cabinets—the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ is the card that keeps the rack from spilling into a second IM 305-extended chassis.Siemens has marked the 6ES5482-7LA11​ discontinued (“cancelled without replacement” per the PLM listing), so active supply runs through NOS, pulls, and professional refurbishment. The 0.5 A output ceiling positions the DO side for pilot-duty loads—24 V DC interposing relay coils, small pneumatic solenoid pilots (<0.5 A hold), beacon/indicator lamp strings, guard-door unlock solenoid auxiliaries—while the 16 DI side picks up 24 V DC PNP proximity switches, limit-switch auxiliaries, E-stop mushroom contacts, and hand-off-auto selector positions. For S5-115U/F operators extending asset life rather than migrating to S7-300/ET 200S, the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ remains the canonical 32-point combo card.

Technical Specifications

Main Features and Advantages

32 I/O points in a single S5-115U/F slot.​ The primary differentiator of the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ is density. S5-115U/F central racks typically configure 5–9 slots depending on the CPU carrier (115U with CPU 942/943 runs a 9-slot rack; 115F safety variant similar), so every slot saved has leverage. A balanced I/O requirement of 16 DI + 16 DO at 24 V DC, if built from single-purpose cards, consumes two slots minimum with 16-point modules or four slots with 8-point modules. The Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ lands all 32 points in one L-format slot, preserving rack space for analog (AI 463, AO 470) or communications (CP 443-class) cards that genuinely need dedicated slots. For OEM machinery where the S5-115U/F was chosen as the smallest viable central PLC between the too-small S5-100U and the too-large S5-135U, this density is often the difference between a one-rack and a two-rack solution—a meaningful cost and footprint delta post-commissioning.Floating isolation protecting both sensor and load sides.​ Both the 16-input and 16-output groups on the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ are galvanically isolated from the S5 backplane via optocoupler staging, which matters when the 24 V DC field supply serving DI sensors and DO loads is grounded at a different star point than the S5-115U/F rack—common in retrofits where the 115U sits in a control cabinet and the 24 V DC supply lives in a remote MCC 30–50 meters away. The floating architecture prevents ground-loop current from walking into the DI sense threshold or back-feeding noise onto the DO staging. The DO side also carries electronic short-circuit/overload protection typical of the S5 24 V DC DO family, so a welded interposing relay coil or shorted beacon string on one channel won’t necessarily take all 16 DO points down—a meaningful reliability edge in panels where field wiring ages ungracefully.Positive-reading / positive-switching alignment with PNP convention.​ The Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ is catalogued “positive-reading and positive-switching,” which in S5 nomenclature means DI channels expect a PNP 3-wire sensor (24 V DC at the input pin = logic “1”, current sinks through the sensor to 0 V return), and DO channels switch L+ (24 V DC positive) to the load while the load’s other leg returns to 0 V. This matches the dominant European 24 V DC field style—most S5-era proximity switches (Sick, Turck, IFM, Balluff, Pepperl+Fuchs) are PNP 3-wire, and most 24 V DC loads (pilot relays, beacon tower segments, small pneumatic solenoid pilots) are switched-high. A Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ therefore drops into a PNP-panel with zero polarity rework. Plants with NPN-field wiring (more common in Asian/Japanese machinery exports) would need to verify sensor compatibility or look to NPN-variant siblings in the 482 family.0.5 A pilot-duty DO ceiling — correctly positioned.​ Each of the 16 DO channels on the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ sustains 0.5 A continuously, placing it deliberately in the pilot-duty bracket rather than the high-current bracket occupied by the 6ES5454-4UA12​ (2 A/ch, compact U, 135U/155U only). The 6ES5482-7LA11​ DO side is sized for: 24 V DC interposing relay coils (~0.3–0.5 A inrush/hold typical), small pneumatic solenoid pilots (Festo, ASCO, Norgren 24 V DC sub-base valves often 0.3–0.6 A), indicator beacon strings, contactor auxiliary coils, and guard-door unlock solenoids. It will not drive 2 A-class loads—those belong on a DO 454 if the rack is 135U/155U, or on a 482 7LF31 variant (8DI+8DO, 2.5 A/output) if staying in 115F safety. The Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ is the right card when the DO profile is “many small loads” rather than “few big loads”—the typical 115U/F panel signature.Mechanical family discipline — 7LA = 115U/F exclusive.​ A critical compatibility constraint: the Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ uses the Version L (7L-) mechanical, which seats in S5-115U/F racks but not in S5-135U/155U (compact U, 4UA) nor in S5-90U/95U/100U/ET 100U/ET 200U (8M). Siemens parallel-built the 482 family across three mechanicals: 7L for 115U/F (6ES5482-7LA11​ / 7LF11 / 7LF21 / 7LF31), 8M for 90U/100U/ET families (6ES5482-8MA12 / 8MA13), and no 4UA variant exists—482 never shipped for 135U/155U because those racks have enough slots that Siemens expects separate DI + DO cards. Knowing this prevents a “won’t seat” crisis during turnaround: a Siemens 6ES5482-7LA11​ pulled from a decommissioned 115U will not physically fit a 135U rack, and vice versa. Spare-holding BOMs should tag the mechanical explicitly.