APC SmartUps 1000 - Did the batteries just die ??

[Anonymous user]

Hi

Recently I was emptying a small server room, one of the things that were to be thrown away was a APC Smart-UPS 1000.

When I first arrived at the room, I just checked what was there, I saw the light indicating that the battires needed replacing, I also noticed, that it was pretty hot beside the UPS.

When we were to empty the room, the power to the UPS was shut, and at that time the light indicating the battery needed replacing was not on. At that time, there were only two lights on, they were the light showing that the ups was running on batteris, and the "Battery charge: 0%"

I then took the UPS home, connected it the power, and tried to start it up... (to see if it was possible to do some test, to see if it was only the battery that was gone).

However, now it will not start. The UPS is not totally dead.  Is it likely that it's only the batteries, ? Can I do anything to get it starting and do a self test, (since it's running on power)

[Anonymous user]

First thing to do is physically check the batteries. Chances are if the replace battery indicator was on and the UPS' outer case felt hot that the batteries are in very bad condition - possibly swelled up ( and in the process of thermal runaway -  a kind of "meltdown"). I have seen instances in these smaller ups where if the battery is severely deteriorated it will cause the UPS to shut down (crash) and it will not even power up;  too low a DC voltage to the UPS processor caused by a combo of charging circuit overload plus low battery bus voltage is my best guess as to being the cause.

[Anonymous user]

You are totally right, the batteries are in very bad condition. They are swelled up, and it was no easy task to get them out of the UPS... but after some fights, I wont and have the batteries out.

I have checked with the manual, and I now see that I should have disconnected the rear battery connector, before I transported the UPS. I did not do that. Is the rear connector to protect the UPS or the batteries ?

If your guess of the cause is correct, is it possible that only changing the batteries will make it run again, or should I expect it to be just dead ... even with replaced batteries ?

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Hi Python, the rear plug/connector electrically disconnects the batteries in cases where you need to transport it (ship) or mothball it for awhile (its illegal to ship a UPS with the batteries connected ! (not to mention dangerous) ). Its not a fuse so it doesn't protect the UPS electronics per se if the battery deteriorates. You will need to get a fresh set of batteries for the UPS to know whether it is still 100 % operational or not. I have had one or two occurences of a severely swelled/resistive battery causing failure/damage to these smaller ups but my bet is it will still work once you invest in new batteries. Sometimes I do a very partial test of UPS health by merely plugging the UPS in without any batteries installed and then I see if there is the correct charging voltage at the battery connector... most APC ups charge their batteries while plugged into the wall, without physically being turned on (power button).