SIRIUS S3 power contactor — 96 A AC-3e, screw terminals, DIN-rail mount
The Siemens SIRIUS 3RT2046-1AL00 is a Size S3 power contactor rated for 96 A at 480 V in AC-3e duty — the motor-switching curve that governs most induction-motor starts up to roughly 50 hp at that voltage. Screw-type terminals on the magnet coil and main contacts accept solid conductors from 2.5 to 16 mm² and stranded from 6 to 70 mm², so it lands on standard panel wiring without lug adapters. Mounting is screw-and-snap-on onto 35 mm DIN rail per DIN EN 60715, with ±180° rotation possible on a vertical surface and ±22.5° tilt forward/backward. That flexibility matters when you're fitting it into a crowded enclosure and the rail orientation isn't ideal.
What the 96 A AC-3e rating means for your motor circuit
AC-3e is the IEC utilization category for squirrel-cage motors: starting, switching off during running, and occasional plugging/inching. The 96 A at 480 V figure is the contactor's maximum continuous motor current under that duty cycle — not the resistive-heater rating. For a 480 V three-phase motor, that translates to roughly 50 hp, but always check the motor nameplate FLA against the contactor's AC-3e rating, not the AC-1 resistive value. At AC-4 (plugging/reversing) that drops to 250 cycles/hour — the harder electrical wear of reversing duty. If the panel sits near a furnace or in a hot climate, the +60 °C upper limit is the hard stop — derating curves aren't in this listing, so keep ambient below that.
The contactor occupies a 70 mm wide DIN-rail footprint (Size S3). Depth is 152 mm, height 140 mm. That 20 mm forward clearance is the one that catches people — the arc chamber needs that space for gas expulsion. Don't crowd it against a panel door or another device. Main contact solid wire range is 2.5 to 16 mm²; stranded goes up to 70 mm². Auxiliary contacts accept 2x (0.5 to 1.5 mm²) solid or 2x (0.75 to 2.5 mm²) stranded. The screw-type terminals on the coil are standard — no spring-cage on this variant.