SMX3000RMLV2U PFC Failure from Generator testing

[Anonymous user]

Hello everyone! I hope I am putting this in the correct forum. 

One of our sites currently has 6 x SMX3000RMLV2U with the additional battery packs attached. For the last few months every time our property management company does a generator test we end up losing at least one of the main units. They do their tests really early in the morning so I finally decided to show up and this is what I observed. When they switched to generator we had a normal 10 second delay in the transfer and the units all held up fine. Hours later when they went to transfer off generator power the minute the power was cut to the apc units to wait for the three second transfer delay 3 of my APC units made a loud pop noise and the they went into a PFC Failure state. The other units went to battery power and 3 seconds later all the units except the ones that popped came back online. We had to reset the three units and then as a precaution I manually unplugged them to make sure they switched to battery and back and of course one unit failed so we replaced it.  I am not sure where to start to check for the issue... This is getting out of hand as they are doing another test in July and we know we will lose another unit for sure. The property management said the units we have probably don't have a filter in them to handle the switch. That does not sound correct because the problem occurred as soon as the power was cut to make the transfer. They did not even get a chance to hang on for 3 seconds. Any pointers? Is this a configuration issue within the APC unit or is this an electrical issue? 

Thanks!

[BillP]

Hi Michael,

From your description of the issue it sounds like there may be some type of transient occurring during the switching process. I think the best bet is for you to contact your local tech support team and they can assist with reviewing logs and gathering configuration data. You can find your local contact info at support.apc.com

Thanks,

Liam 

[Anonymous user]

Thanks, we opened a support ticket with APC but in the meantime if it helps any here is the logs...

04/13/2019              18:00:01  Device     UPS: A site wiring fault no longer exists.      0x0236

04/13/2019              18:00:00  Device     UPS: A site wiring fault exists.    0x0235

04/13/2019              18:00:00  Device     UPS: A power factor correction input relay fault exists. 0x0150

04/13/2019              18:00:00  Device     UPS: A battery bus soft start fault exists.     0x015B

04/13/2019              18:00:00  System     DNS Network Error, Unknown socket/network error. 209             0x0032

04/13/2019              18:00:00  Device     UPS: A power factor correction fault exists. 0x0161

04/13/2019              17:59:59  System     DNS Network Error, Unknown socket/network error. 209             0x0032

04/13/2019              17:59:59  Device     UPS: The output power is turned off.          0x0114

04/13/2019              17:59:59  Device     UPS: The graceful shutdown period has ended.           0x014F

04/13/2019              17:59:58  Device     UPS: The power for switched outlet group 3, Outlet Group 3, is now turned off.             0x0135

04/13/2019              17:59:58  Device     UPS: The power for switched outlet group 2, Outlet Group 2, is now turned off.             0x0135

04/13/2019              17:59:58  Device     UPS: The power for switched outlet group 1, Outlet Group 1, is now turned off.             0x0135

04/13/2019              05:59:57  Device     UPS: No longer on battery power.              0x010A

04/13/2019              05:59:24  Device     UPS: On battery power in response to distorted input. 0x0109

[BillP]

OK, so we definitely have indication of power issues here. Given the events the unit is reporting and the application, you may be able to improve your performance during the switch from generator power by disabling Green Mode on the UPS. In addition, you could try reducing the "Local Power Quality" setting to "Poor" (Assuming it's currently set to the default setting of "Good". ) 

Between these two setting changes it should reduce the effect of any damaging power events happening during the switch over.

[Anonymous user]

Both modes are set correct. Green mode is off and power quality is low. So I was watching the video closer of the issue and the APC units due indeed switch to battery for a split second and then go to PFC mode. 

[older_apc]

Hi Michael,

Please tell me the model of the PCB if possible.

Thank.

[Anonymous user]

Sorry do you mind telling me what PCB means?

[BillP]

He's talking about Printed Circuit Boards. Please do not open the enclosure of the unit - there are no user serviceable parts inside the unit.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I have no plans to open the device up!