GE IC660BBS100 Genius I/O isolated power supply block

Description

In any large-scale industrial automation system, the weakest link is rarely the controller or the field wiring—it’s almost always the power feed to the distributed I/O itself. A single loose terminal, a momentary voltage dip, or a failed bulk supply can drop an entire Genius bus segment, taking dozens or hundreds of I/O points offline in an instant. In critical processes like turbine auxiliaries, boiler controls, or high-speed packaging trains, that kind of event isn’t just inconvenient—it’s expensive, dangerous, and often triggers regulatory reporting.

The GE IC660BBS100 Genius I/O power supply block was engineered specifically to eliminate that single-point-of-failure risk. This 115 V AC-fed, 8 A output module sits directly on the Genius bus and provides isolated, regulated 5 V DC and ±24 V DC power to every block on its segment while continuously monitoring and diagnosing the health of the supply. Engineers deploy the IC660BBS100 whenever they need absolute confidence that a brown-out, open fuse, or internal fault won’t collapse the I/O network—common in long cable runs through electrically noisy plants or where local code requires separately derived power for safety circuits.

The block is typically mounted as the first or last device on a bus segment and feeds the parallel power rails that every Genius terminal base taps into. It accepts 93–132 V AC (or 105–145 V DC with the alternate terminal base) and delivers up to 8 A of combined 5 V logic + 24 V field power with full electronic over-current and short-circuit protection. If the output sags or a downstream short occurs, the IC660BBS100 isolates the fault, reports it per-segment, and automatically attempts recovery—no blown glass fuses to hunt down at 3 a.m. Redundant units can be paralleled with simple diode steering for N+1 configurations that keep the bus alive even during scheduled maintenance.

Choosing the IC660BBS100 gives you the kind of power reliability that lets operators sleep at night. The block continuously reports input voltage, output current per rail, internal temperature, and fault status directly to the PLC—no separate multimeter rounds required. Plants that once chased intermittent bus resets now pinpoint a failing feeder in seconds. Because the electronics assembly is hot-swappable, you can replace a suspect unit during a short process window without dropping a single I/O point. Over decades of service in steel mills, refineries, and power plants, the IC660BBS100 has become the benchmark for “set it and forget it” distributed power.

The IC660BBS100 is the standard choice in primary metals (blast-furnace top ignition, caster segmentation), oil & gas pipeline compressor stations, large wastewater aeration basins, and any facility with Genius networks spanning hundreds of meters. In rolling mills, one or two redundant IC660BBS100 blocks feed entire finishing lines where a 2-second power blip used to scrap an entire coil. Municipal water plants use them to keep remote valve and pump stations online through lightning season without expensive UPS units at every node.

IC660BBS101 – Same specs but factory-configured for 125 V DC station battery input

IC660BBS102 – 230 V AC input version for European plants

IC660BBS103 – Lower-capacity 4 A version for short segments

IC660BPM100 – Bus power monitor/feed module often used downstream for diagnostics

IC660BRD020 – Redundant bus controller frequently paired for full N+1 networks

IC660TBA100 – Current terminal base with improved grounding lugs

IC660TBA104 – Terminal base with external diode for easy paralleling of supplies

Before installing the IC660BBS100, confirm that the segment load (add up all block nameplate currents) stays under 7 A for comfortable headroom. Run a separate safety ground from the dedicated lug to plant earth—Genius power is isolated, but grounding discipline prevents strange noise issues. Use only the IC660TBA100 (or newer revision) terminal base; older gray bases have undersized power clamps that work-harden and open under thermal cycling. Once a year, pull the input breaker and verify automatic recovery—most sites find the unit still meets spec after 20+ years.