APC Smart UPS 2200 RM battery failure lead to power output interruptions

[wuffyma]

My APC Smart UPS 2200 RM power output unexpectedly interrupted due to one battery failed, resulting in the reboot of all servers connected to it.

Upon reviewing the logs, I found the following entries:

UPS: At least one faulty battery exists.
UPS: Failed a self-test.

The device was loading at below 40%, indicating that the failure of a single battery should not have caused an overload.

How to prevent this situation from occurring again? It will a nightmare if one battery failure could led to a power output interruption even after I replace with a new battery.

Model: Smart-UPS 2200 RM
Firmware Revision: 665.6.I

[Teken]

The service life of the battery cartridge is rated for 2-5 years of service. This is based on usage, temperature, and environmental factors.

Simply put you'll need to replace the entire battery cartridge. If your system has extended battery packs it’s imperative that you inspect all battery cartridges and properly test each cell for AVR.

As it only takes a single cell to drag the rest down resulting in the condition you experienced! ☝️Which leads to affirming the need to replace battery cartridges at a defined interval and validating the system with an annual static & dynamic load test.

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[wuffyma]

Thank you Teken, you are right about the annual maintenance and entire battery replacement.

What if one of the new batteries fails suddenly? How can I prevent it from dragging the rest down and interrupting the power supply output?

[Teken]

To be honest that isn’t a very common problem (IF) the cartridge is new. If we assume a few hypothetical scenarios such as receiving a bad cartridge from APC.

I would submit a service request to have the cartridge replaced under warranty. If the battery cartridge is not under warranty than I would take the cartridge apart.

Physically inspect all wiring, fuse, and cells. Than measure each one for voltage & resistance. You will find that one or more cells are not in specifications of the battery makers documentation.

If this was simply a short term break fix. Once identified you would replace that bad cell. Obviously, this is not best practices as mixing new and old cells will result in unexpected operational runtime and performance!

As an aside if best practices are in place the battery installation date would be accurate on the UPS. If by chance someone ignored the battery installation date or simply reset the counter / date.

All battery cartridges and cells have a production date embedded on them. ☝️Regardless of all the above a annual (Lights Out / Grid Down) validation test must be performed under load and timed.

This is the only true method to know how the system will operate during a power disturbance. Keep in mind both static & dynamic load testing is extremely stressful on the battery as such impacts the 260 full depletion cycles the system is rated for.

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[wuffyma]

Is it possible to fix the auto-bypass cause output interruption by upgrading firmware? My firmware version is 665.6.I.

Or shall I get a new UPS? My UPS Manufacture Date: 10/24/09

[Teken]

Please show me a photo of the front and back of the unit showing the model & serial number.

The prefix will be SAU, SMX, SMT, SRT, SURT, SMC, etc.

[wuffyma]

Thank you so much Teken, below are the front and back photos:

By the way, will any model that use "Double-conversion on-line pure sine wave" helps solving the output interruption issue?

 

[Teken]

Sorry I can’t see the image besides a box with a triangle error. ☹️

Regardless, your problem is simply a bad battery cartridge with one or more cells. The solution is to replace the entire battery pack and insure regular validation and testing.

A double conversion system is not going to help solve this problem.

The manual bypass option on some UPS Systems is used in specific cases and not intended as a substitute for a battery replacement.

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