APC smart ups

The batteries have to be load tested to know if they are good or not. The UPS charging system is designed to know if the batteries are due to be changed.

The expected lifespan of UPS batteries is about 3 to 5 years max. Most of the time, they stop working at about or after 3 years.

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JANA _____

It is giving a failed battery error. In fact the battery is ok.

I have removed the cover and inspected the pcb etc and no burnt or damaged components found.

Has anybody seen or know a reason that can cause this problem.

Any help would be gratefully receiver.

Russell

How old is the battery?... How did you test the battery?... A simple voltmeter test doesn't work.... My suggestion.... Remove the battery..... Leave the ups off for a hour or so....this will help clear the capacitors in the ups... Test the battery under some kind of load... perhaps as little a 1/2 amp or so.... If the battery's voltage drops more that a volt or two, you should consider a new battery... Larry ve3fxq

Russell wrote:

"Russell" hath wroth:

Assumption, the mother of all screwups. I've been fooled by what looks like a good battery, but turns out to be defective. Just measuring the terminal voltage is not a sufficient test. If I'm not sure, I use an automobile headlamp across the battery and see how long it will run. The runtime varies with the battery size and type, but a dead or dying battery will be very obvious as the bulb will not last very long (usually a few seconds).

Other sloppy ways to test a battery is to just substitute a known good battery (or batteries). If that works, it's a good assumption that the previous set are bad. This is my favorite "test" method.

Also, a physical inspection of the battery is handy. A bluging gel cell battery is almost certainly a dead or dying battery. It will eventually burst and leak caustic goo all over the UPS.

It's easier to just smell the board to look for dead parts. UPS's have difficult to access PCB's. If there is a fried component, you'll smell it before you'll see it.

I've repaired a substantial number of APC UPS's. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it's a dead or dying battery. The dying variety are difficult to detect. They look good, "test" good, but don't last very long on backup. I have some known good battery packs on the shelf which I substitute. (It's also a good idea to keep gel cells charged when in storage, so this test is a good way to recharge my inventory). Same as before. If the new batteries work, by implication, the old batteries are bad.

On Wed, 31 May 2006 11:39:25 -0400, Jeff Liebermann wrote (in article ):

Hmm, then maybe you can help me :-) I have the opposite problem, ie the APC UPS (BP 1400) switches to battery within minutes of being plugged in (sometimes immediately) and never switches back. There's nothing wrong with the AC as far as I can tell. I've pulled the PC board but it looks like a major project to trace it out and it looks like there are some custom chips on there anyway. Of course you can't get a schematic from APC and of course they want more to fix it than a new one would cost.

Nelson hath wroth:

Hmmm... I have no idea what that can be without first looking at a schematic of your BackUPS 1400. I'm looking at the BackUPS 600 schematic. There's an LM339a comparator section that determines if AC power has been lost or restored. A big capacitor on the inputs for noise reduction. Kinda sounds like the initial time delay in going into battery backup operation is the charge time on these caps. My guess(tm) is that the cap is leaking.

Can you read Russian?

On Thu, 1 Jun 2006 03:37:31 -0400, Jeff Liebermann wrote (in article ):

Yeah, I found those a while back but they don't look much like mine (which is kind of old). It's been sitting in the closet... maybe I'll haul it out and try again. Thanks for the suggestions.

Thank you gentlemen for you help. I have down loaded the schematic you mentioned and I will study them. The battery is being charged when the mains is connected but there is no load on the battery when you remove the mains. Thank you gentlemen for you help. I have down loaded the schematic you mentioned and I will study them. The battery is being charged when the mains is connected but there is no load on the battery when you remove the mains. The battery stays at about 26 + volt and no output.

Regards

Russell