SMX3000RMLV2UNC - starting to get flakey behaviour?

[rjameson]

In a similar post about this model, did not want to ride on that ticket - so here is my scenario - purchased in 2011, been thru several battery changes w/the last on 2yrs ago.   I am getting LCD panel warnings of Battery Overvolt, and recently - it showed battery charge at 26%.   Last night, have power blips and within minutes, it sent commands to shut down my 2 hosts with a battery down to zip.    I know it sounds like batteries premature death, but when I removed the primary rbc117 and both rbc118, unplugged - then plug in - battery instantly shows 100%.    Yet, if I issue a self test or calibrate from LCD panel - I get the REFUSED on both.

So, my question - is this a UPS failure due to age (is it typical after 10yrs, I really need to replace it), do I have a bad battery in the cage I need to chase down as 2yrs is not long when the last batch of battery replacements lasted 4 yrs or so.

In my data logs, what is considered a problem - I see input line voltage at 122 or 121, output voltage similar, battery voltage is around 119/118.  Load is 27%.

[Teken]

The stated service life of the hardware is ten years per APC. The hardware is due for a refresh given it’s age and usuage.

As it relates to the problem seen with the UPS.

The most definitive validation is doing a load test on the battery cartridge via a carbon pile load tester. 

Compare the operational runtime with the manufacturers specifications for a given load. This would affirm and isolate the problem is / isn’t the battery cartridge or a single bad cell.

You won’t know if it’s a single bad cell unless you test each one though! ☝️

If you have another hot spare that is known to be good insert the same and see what happens when you manually initiate a battery calibration. 

You may consider doing these interim steps for the purpose of trouble shooting:

Brain Dead: This procedure will reset the MCU and clear soft errors. It will not resolve any hard errors or hardware issues:

https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FA156611/

Battery Date: Change the installation date and reboot the entire system. Once the system is back on line manually initiate a Self Test.

What happens?!? If it fails call out what the error / fault. If it passes manually initiate a battery calibration ensuring there is at least 30% attached load.

If the system aborts the test call out the error / fault. If it continues let it complete and than recharge the battery cartridge.

Once complete call out what the operational runtime is now vs before on the LCD / NMC.

Please upload the data & event logs for the system here.

NOTE: The battery cartridge is rated to provide 2-5 years of service life. This is based on usage, temperature, and environmental conditions. 

If the battery cartridge is marginal or bad do (NOT) initiate any of the tests outlined above! ☝️