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Technical Guide for Limit Switches
Contact Protective Circuit
Apply a contact protective circuit to increase the contact durability, 
prevent noise, and suppress the generation of carbide or nitric acid. 
Be sure to apply the contact protective circuit correctly, otherwise an 
adverse effect may occur.
The following provides typical examples of contact protective circuits. 
If the Switch is used in an excessively humid location for switching a 
load that easily generates arcs, such as an inductive load, the arcs 
may generate NOx, which will change into HNO3 if it reacts with 
moisture.
Consequently, the internal metal parts may corrode and the Switch 
may fail. Be sure to select the ideal contact preventive circuit from the 
following.
Also, load operating times may be delayed somewhat if a contact 
protective circuit (a surge killer) is used.
Typical Examples of Contact Protective Circuits
Do not apply contact protective circuits (surge killers) as shown below.
Using Switches for Micro Loads
Contact faults may occur if a Switch for a general-load is used to 
switch a micro load circuit. Use switches in the ranges shown in the 
diagram on the right. However, even when using micro load models 
within the operating range shown here, if inrush current occurs when 
the contact is opened or closed, it may increase contact wear and so 
decrease durability. Therefore, insert a contact protection circuit 
where necessary. The minimum applicable load is the N-level 
reference value. This value indicates the malfunction reference level 
for the reliability level of 60% (λ60).
The equation, λ60 = 0.5 × 10–6/operations indicates that the estimated 
malfunction rate is less than 1/2,000,000 operations with a reliability 
level of 60%.
Circuit example
Applicable 
current Feature and details Element selection
AC DC
CR circuit
Condi-
tional *O* When AC is switched, the load impedance must 
be lower than the CR impedance.
C: 1 to 0.5 μF× switching current (A)
R: 0.5 to 1 Ω× switching voltage (V)
The values may change according to the charac-
teristics of the load.
The capacitor suppresses the spark discharge of 
current when the contacts are open. The resistor 
limits the inrush current when the contacts are 
closed again. Consider the roles of the capacitor 
and resistor and determine ideal capacitance and 
resistance values through testing.
Generally, use a capacitor that has a dielectric 
strength of between 200 and 300 V. Use an AC ca-
pacitor for an AC circuit, i.e., a capacitor that has no 
polarity.
If, however, the arc shutoff capacity between the con-
tacts is a problem at high DC voltages, it may be more 
effective to connect a capacitor and resistor across 
the contacts rather than the load. Performing testing 
to determine the most suitable method.
OO
The operating time will be greater if the load is a re-
lay or solenoid.
Connecting the CR circuit in parallel to the load is 
effective when the power supply voltage is 24 or 48 
V and in parallel to the contacts when the power 
supply voltage is 100 to 200 V.
Diode 
method ×O
Energy stored in the coil is changed into current by 
the diode connected in parallel to the load. Then 
the current flowing to the coil is consumed and 
Joule heat is generated by the resistance of the in-
ductive load. The reset time delay with this method 
is longer than that in the CR method.
The diode must withstand a peak inverse voltage 
10 times higher than the circuit voltage and a for-
ward current as high or higher than the load cur-
rent.
Diode and 
Zener diode 
method
×OThis method will be effective if the reset time delay 
caused by the diode method is too long.
If a suitable Zener voltage is not used, the load may 
fail to operate depending on the environment. Use 
a Zener diode with a Zener voltage that is about 1.2 
times the power supply voltage.
Varistor 
method OO
This method makes use of constant-voltage char-
acteristic of the varistor so that no high voltage is 
imposed on the contacts. This method causes a re-
set time delay.
Connecting a varistor in parallel to the load is effec-
tive when the supply voltage is 24 to 48 V and in 
parallel to the contacts when the supply voltage is 
100 to 200 V.
Select a varistor with a cut voltage Vc that satisfies 
the following formula. For AC, the voltage must be 
multiplied by the square root of 2.
Vc > Power supply voltage × 1.5
If Vc is set too high, effectiveness will be reduced 
because high voltages will not be cut.
This circuit effectively suppresses arcs when 
the contacts are OFF. When the contacts are 
open, capacity is stored in the capacitor, and 
short-circuit current of the capacitor will flow 
when the contacts are turned ON, which may 
cause contacts to weld.
This circuit effectively suppresses arcs when 
the contacts are OFF. When the contacts are 
ON again, however, charge current will flow to 
the capacitor, which may result in contact weld.
CR
Inductive
load
Power 
supply
C
R
Inductive
load
Power 
supply
Inductive
load
Power 
supply
Inductive
load
Power 
supply
Inductive
load
Power 
supply
Load
Power 
supply
CCLoad
Power 
supply
30
24
12
5
01 10 100 1,0000.1
1 mA
Operating range 
for micro-load 
models
26 mA0.16 mA
800 mW5 mW
100 mA 160 mA
Unusable 
range
Voltage (V)
Current (mA)
Operating range 
for standard 
models
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