Replaced battery in Smart-UPS 1500 - now UPS won't stop beeping

[Anonymous user]

We have a Smart-UPS 1500 and the old battery indicated "Replace Battery".  Ordered a replacement RBC7 and did the swap-out.  Now the UPS won't stop beeping.  Everything is running fine, the self-test completes successfully, but it won't stop beeping.  I tried taking the new battery out and putting the old one back in, but that one is beeping now too (it didn't beep before the swap-out).

I am lost as what to do to make the beeping stop.

Help!

[BillP]

hello!

1. What front panel indicators do you see (LEDs flashing, etc)?
2. What is the beeping pattern?
3. After replacing the battery, did you run a self test? (the UPS needs you to run a self test in order to clear any replace battery indicators)

[Anonymous user]

I should have been more specific with the "beeping".  It's actually not beeping (like separate tones), it's just a high-pitched tone - solid, non-ending.  Sounds like some sort of alarm tone if I had to guess...  If I power everything down, it continues.  If I unplug the UPS from the electric, it continues.  Only way to make it stop is to disconnect the battery via the plug on the back of the unit, like it is when you first get the unit new.

I did the self-test (I've done it multiple times).  Doesn't seem to help - but it does pass.  The unit shows that it's on-battery, our server keeps running, and then it goes back to normal mode.  High pitched tone continues the whole time.

As for the front panel, everything shows normal like we usually have.

Load shows one light lit green, which is usual for this unit.  Online is lit green, Battery Charge has 5 green lights.  These lights are all lit solid - no flashing.  All other lights are off.  Here is a photo:

[BillP]

Hmm - sounds like the audible speaker. That is generally not good. How old is this?

When you disconnect the battery, do you hear a click at all? If not, when its disconnected, can you turn hold down the off button and let me know if you hear any audible clicks?

[Anonymous user]

I don't want to take the server down if I don't have to, but I can....

When the battery "kicks in" during the self tests, ect, there's a audible "thump"....probably the click you're mentioning.

I don't know the exact age of the UPS, but if I had to guess, I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 2004-2005 was when we bought it.  Battery has been changed several times.  I have the S/N on the unit if that would help....

[BillP]

well when the UPS goes to battery, it is the inverter kicking on. this other click im looking for will be the UPS capacitors discharging and is not as loud but you can still hear it.

If you give me the first few digits of the serial number, that'd be helpful (like JS0452).

[Anonymous user]

S/N begins AS06332

Tell me again how to listen for the other click you're wanting to know about?  Noise level in that room is a bit high with several servers running, so if it's very faint I may not be able to hear it.

[BillP]

so the 06 indicates your UPS is from 2006.

usually the click is accompanied by all of the LEDs flashing on the front panel. It is just a short click (maybe half second) indicating the UPS is discharged and has been reset completely. if you don't hear it, this process automatically happens 8-10 minutes after the UPS has been sitting without AC power.

if it does not go away after the braindead, then i am not sure what happened to it but i cannot think of anything else to do besides tell you it sounds like something has happened to the UPS and it has some type of internal fault it is trying to tell us about.

[Anonymous user]

So should I leave it disconnected from the wall for 10 min to see if that fixes things?  I'd have to bring the server down, but I believe our normal load on our other UPS is as low as this one so I should be able to hook that server up to the other UPS for short-term so we can do this testing.

[BillP]

Yeah, if you aren't sure you heard the click or not during this, leave it off for 10-15 minutes with AC power disconnected and it will do the same thing.

[Anonymous user]

They need to keep the server online for the next 3 days without interruption, so I should be able to do this Friday.  Will update here with the results.

[BillP]

SMC (also called Smart UPS C units) do not support SmartSlot accessories and has an LCD with less buttons/information. It also does not come with a serial cable (it is offered separately) and doesn't support trimming voltage (which is a feature of automatic voltage regulation).

[Anonymous user]

Well, I followed your instructions.  Shut down the server and disconnected it from the UPS.  Disconnected the UPS from wall power.  Powered the UPS down.  Waited.  After about 10 min the constant beep stopped.  Plugged it back into wall power and even before it was powered on, it was making that constant tone beep it's been making all along.

I gather at this point I need to replace it.

What is the current equivalent replacement for the Smart-UPS 1500 (SUA1500)?

[BillP]

Unfortunately, I agree. The closest is SMT1500. If you wanted to upgrade to an extended run capable unit or tower/rack convertible, SMX1500RM2U

[Anonymous user]

What's the difference between the SMT1500 and the SMC1500 (other than price)?  If our current SUA1500 was never usually at more than 40% load, would the cheaper SMC1500 work?

[Anonymous user]

Ok, we do sometimes need to trim voltage, so that's a feature we need.  Looks like the SMT1500 is the one for us.

Thanks!

[BillP]

you're very welcome. you can also trade in your SUA1500 or at least consider it versus other buying options. Trading in gives you a discount on a new unit and a free return label for recycling.

[BillP]

Hello Angela,

i tend to think a re-calibration of the units constants could solve Rassi`s beeping issue.

regards

[BillP · Accepted solution]

I disagree if there are no LED indicators like a flashing battery bar graph indicating a low battery state if that is what you're thinking.