SURT8000XLI internal batteries self-test-> inmediatly battery capacity fall to 40% from 100%.

[BillP]

Hello,

I have a SURT8000XLI model, it have 4 batteries (internal), sometimes when it run his own scheduled self test it reports an internal battery failure, but if you run self-test manually the alert dissapear.

Also when I do the self test manually, the battery capacity instantly falls to 40%,and it reports all ok.

At the beggining of this problem some time ago, it goes to 67% capacity when selft-test were run, I thought it was a calibration problem, but now Im thinking my batteries are going away.

The battery voltage is 218V and in config is set as one battery pack.

Recently also upgraded the network firmware card to latest version, same problem.

Any idea about what is happening?

How can I check individually batteries health to see if someone is damaged?

Can I do it without stoping UPS and power supply to the racks it mantains?

Many thanks in advance

Manuel

[BillP]

Hello,

I have a SURT8000XLI model, it have 4 batteries (internal), sometimes when it run his own scheduled self test it reports an internal battery failure, but if you run self-test manually the alert dissapear.

Also when I do the self test manually, the battery capacity instantly falls to 40%,and it reports all ok.

At the beggining of this problem some time ago, it goes to 67% capacity when selft-test were run, I thought it was a calibration problem, but now Im thinking my batteries are going away.

The battery voltage is 218V and in config is set as one battery pack.

Recently also upgraded the network firmware card to latest version, same problem.

Any idea about what is happening?

How can I check individually batteries health to see if someone is damaged?

Can I do it without stoping UPS and power supply to the racks it mantains?

Many thanks in advance

Manuel

[BillP]

I agree - it sounds like the batteries are on their way to failing completely. How old are the batteries? With this UPS, there is no way to identify all individual packs that are failing. If they are all the same age, they should all be replaced anyway. You could at least check the individual connectors to check the battery voltage but since the bus is at 218vDC, which is normal, that may not help.

The individual cells in the batteries cannot be checked as you should just replace the entire module - RBC44 I believe.

Network card firmware or anything would not have anything to do with this situation.

Batteries are hot swappable but while they are disconnected you have no back up or less than normal time if you just disconnect one. You also may see battery disconnected alarms if you remove all of them at the same time so keep that under advisement.

Basically, it sounds like if they are older than 3-5 years old, depending on usage, it's time for some replacements.

[BillP]

You are right, my Batteries are 3 years old and a few months.

Ive installed some other RT series SAIs with still runs with the same batteries 5-6 years later without problems, so this sound strange for me.

Also I read somewhere, about ambient temperature is important, and temp over 75ºF will decrease the batteries life and performance dramatically, and in this case the equipment have been working over that temp.

Could you confirm me this? Wich working temp is recomended for this equipment?

Many thanks Angela

Manuel

[BillP]

I just try to make anther calibratio this morning and all systems go off , SAI instantly fall down to 5%, and all was shutdown.

Its normal that it goes off instead going back to power line supply?

I paste the log below:

02.07.2013	08:43:24	UPS: The output power is now turned on.
02.07.2013	08:43:22	UPS: The battery power is too low to support the load; if power fails, the UPS will be shut down immediately.
02.07.2013	08:43:21	UPS: The output power is turned off.
28.06.2013	11:21:13	UPS: Completed a runtime calibration.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Yes, you're correct. Higher the ambient temperature, the shorter life of the battery. This is all outlined here -> http://www.apc.com/support/index?page=content&country=US〈=en&id=FA158934

And no, during a runtime calibration, it should discharge between 10-20% (depending on UPS model) and then charge back up, preventing what occurred to you. I guess personally, I wouldn't have attempted a calibration where reported runtime was so low and the capacity drops quickly cause I'd be worried this happened.

Also, why such a large cap between the runtime calibration and the event for the output power turned off? I see the calibration completed on June 28th and then a few days later the output power turned off - is that right?

I think you need to replace the batteries as soon as possible regardless.