SUA1000i Battery disconnected error (Update: New battery overheated)

[BillP]

I was woken up by the bleeping of my APC Smart-UPS 1000va SUA1000i. It suddenly indicates that the battery is disconnected. (Replace battery LED blinks and the unit keeps beeping) I opened up the unit to check the battery connections but they are firmly attached. The unit fails to charge now but it detects that there still is some load in the battery. (around 12%)

When I pull the power cord the unit shuts down immediately. The battery connector on the rear of the unit is connected. What is wrong here and how do I solve it?

Update: The new battery, less than a month old, became very hot and failed. (See under)

[BillP]

The issue just returned. I noticed the battery disconnect LED was blinking red. I opened the UPS and noticed the unit was very warm. The (new) batteries are very hot to touch (Cannot touch them for a longer time) and making a slight hissing sound.

Update: The battery in the behind position is quite a bit hotter then the other one. It may be possible that only one of the two batteries (the behind one) actually produced all the heat.

[BillP]

Where did you get it from?

[BillP]

From an online retailer: (Max ICT)

APC REPLACABLE BATTERY RBC6 - Max ICT

It has a label on it: RBC6-OEM-130311

The individual batteries are these ones:

http://www.powertec-energy.de/WebRoot/Store4/Shops/15514666/4EC5/188E/CEDD/0BD1/84A2/C0A8/28B9/4536/...

[BillP]

if it is a genuine APC RBC battery, these have a one year warranty is why I ask if it is already heating up and failed. If it is, it should have an APC serial number on it.

I am not sure if it is a genuine battery as I have never heard of that vendor but the serial number would be on the box or the battery you received.

[BillP]

It does not appear to be genuine APC then. It was advertised as one but it does not have any APC brand labels on it. The box does not have a serial number.

The label on the box reads:

RBC6-OEM

Ersatsbatterie für USV System

BP1000I, SUVS1000I, SU1000INET, SUA1000I, SU1000RMINET, IBMR1000I

[BillP]

Did my UPS turn into a battery killing machine?

The new battery was very hot and hissing. Was it being overcharged?

Or was the new battery faulty?

Now I have two battery sets that are detected with a red "battery disconnect" LED.

[Anonymous user]

If one (or both) of the 12 volt cells in the battery module (RBC 6 equivalent) developed an premature internal short / or breakdown, the UPS'

battery charging circuits may have abnormally high current pulled from them by the battery module and it would indeed heat up both battery cells as they are in series like old-school christmas lights. The UPS would heat up as well. The hissing sound is caused by gas buildup inside the cells being released - you may  find the batteries have swelled and cracked open. I'd say it sounds like you should return these batteries to the vendor for a refund !!!

[BillP]

I was woken up by the bleeping of my APC Smart-UPS 1000va SUA1000i. It suddenly indicates that the battery is disconnected. (Replace battery LED blinks and the unit keeps beeping) I opened up the unit to check the battery connections but they are firmly attached. The unit fails to charge now but it detects that there still is some load in the battery. (around 12%)

When I pull the power cord the unit shuts down immediately. The battery connector on the rear of the unit is connected. What is wrong here and how do I solve it?

Update: The new battery, less than a month old, became very hot and failed. (See under)

[BillP]

this can happen for two reasons usually:

1. the battery is physically disconnected (which you verified)
2. the battery voltage is so low that the UPS cannot see it attached and believes it is disconnected. this can happen after a deep battery discharge on an older battery.

my questions are - how old is this battery? if it is the original battery, can you give us the first 6 characters of the UPS serial number please to give us an idea on the age? if it is newer, then i'd be concerned that the second reason is the root cause here. it also could be an issue with the charger based on what you've described - perhaps it failed.

do you have any PowerChute software installed and running for monitoring/logging purposes or a Network Management Card installed so we can review log data? i ask because you know the charge percentage is 12% so where did you see that? i'd then be interested in any event logs you have and data logs.

[BillP]

I requested an RMA / warranty on the new battery pack and sent it back for replacement.

Still I'm a bit worried about the possibility that the UPS itself may be faulty.

[BillP]

The battery is original and has never been replaced so far. My UPS serial number is: AS0843231474.

I currently do not have any PowerChute software in use. The charge percentage is indicated by the Windows 7 battery indicator. When I came home from work I noticed that the UPS is in normal operation state now. At least the LED indicators are normal. But when I pulled the power cord the "battery disconnected" warning appeared again for a short while.

Current state: Plugged in, 91% charge available, charging and counting up.

Update: I pulled the plug again to test and the UPS shut down immediately without supplying power to the system. When I pressed the test button for a few seconds to initiate a self-test it came with a red "Replace battery" LED. (Not blinking this time) The charge percentage plummeted to zero immediately during these actions and it now says "charging" again.

Does replacing the battery fix the conditions I mentioned?

[BillP]

It sounds like it, yes. Since its from mid-late 2008, a battery replacement sounds about right. The behavior also indicates that with solid Replace Battery LED. And OK, so you are using Windows 7 OS Native UPS support. Once you get the new battery and install it if you go that route, just give it about 8-10 hours minimum to charge at least so that you can then run another test via the run panel and the test button to clear that replace battery LED as it won't clear on its own.

[BillP]

Thanks. I ordered a new battery pack for my UPS.

[BillP]

The new battery pack arrived today and the unit is working fine again. Thanks for the support.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome!