Smart UPS 1500 Battery Light

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

Our Smart UPS 1500 Model# SUA1500RM2U is apparently failing its self test. It is emitting short beeps for one minute and the replace battery indicator is constantly flashing. The strange thing is when we first noticed this about a month ago we unplugged the Smart UPS and it still continued to run every device we had plugged into it, all off of the battery. This was about a month ago and when we plugged the Smart UPS back in the Battery light turned off and everything seemed normal. Well a few days ago the Battery indicator came back on. This is what makes me unclear. Although it seems fairly obvious that the battery is on its way out, is there anything else I can do to confirm that this is in fact the issue before going out and replacing the battery? I am thinking there may be other reasons the self test could fail besides the battery. Hoping someone has some insight to share with me.

Thank you

[BillP]

Hello John,

A flashing replace battery light means that the UPS detects that there is no battery connected on it. Would you happen to have another UPS that is using the same kind of battery? If you do we can swap the batteries and check if the UPS would be able to recognize the new battery that is attached on it.

[BillP]

when the LED is flashing, it means the UPS thinks the battery is disconnected, versus needing to be replaced. this can happen when its disconnected or when the voltage is really low on the battery and it cannot detect that it is actually connected.

how old is the unit? the first few digits of the serial number will tell us, if you arent sure - like AS0735

some things i would try:

1.) if you have a network management card/powerchute software, check the logs inside of there and also check the battery voltage reading via that method
2.) if you dont have any software/NMC, check the battery voltage with a voltmeter.
3.) have you tried the pull plug test recently? if you do, you may want to with some non-critical equipment incase it does fail.

this should be a good start. hope that helps.

[Anonymous user]

Gentelmen,

Thank you very much for your responses. From my understanding of that particular Replace Battery LED it can indicate one of two things: 1.) the battery needs replaced and the device will emit beeps for one minute and the LED is illuminated. 2.) the battery is disconnected and a short beep is emitted every two seconds to indicate the battery is disconnected.

The behavior our Smart UPS 1500 is exhibiting is more like the 1st scenario. It beeps for a about a minute every half hour or so and the Replace Battery LED is constantly illuminated. As to both of your replies;

I picked a winna: I am not sure how old the device is but the serial number is A50548134296. To my knowledge there is no network management / powerchute. If there is a definitive way to check that the device supports it but the management has not been setup I would love to know. I have not tested the battery with a voltmeter but I could give that a shot. I have pulled the plug once again about a month ago. The battery held a charge and the equipment it was powering ran fine.

JonPo: I do not have access to another similar device at the moment. I am in the process of pricing out a new battery for this unit.

I am just looking for confirmation that the battery is in fact the issue. I will try and test the battery with a voltmeter and maybe try unplugging the device again. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them in the meantime I will post back in a day or two with any further results.

Thanks again guys

[BillP]

Thank you very much for your responses. From my understanding of that particular Replace Battery LED it can indicate one of two things: 1.) the battery needs replaced and the device will emit beeps for one minute and the LED is illuminated. 2.) the battery is disconnected and a short beep is emitted every two seconds to indicate the battery is disconnected.

The behavior our Smart UPS 1500 is exhibiting is more like the 1st scenario. It beeps for a about a minute every half hour or so and the Replace Battery LED is constantly illuminated. As to both of your replies;

I picked a winna: I am not sure how old the device is but the serial number is A50548134296. To my knowledge there is no network management / powerchute. If there is a definitive way to check that the device supports it but the management has not been setup I would love to know. I have not tested the battery with a voltmeter but I could give that a shot. I have pulled the plug once again about a month ago. The battery held a charge and the equipment it was powering ran fine.

that serial number indicates the UPS is close to 5 years old and then assuming they are original batteries, they are close to 5 years old too. batteries typically last 3-5 years so it makes sense that you appear to be due for a battery replacement. this UPS supports either powerchute business edition (free software) with use of the APC serial cable (part number 940-0024 or 940-1524 - any other serial cable would most likely drop the load on the UPS so ensure you have the correct cable) or the USB cable that would have come with the unit. on this unit, i believe it has a USB A connection so you use a USB A to B. with the powerchute software, you could check out the status of the unit, including battery voltage. a network management card is an added accessory that connects to the UPS smart slot. a part number for that would be [AP9630 or AP9631|http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=98] if you're interested.

you could start with powerchute business edition, available on apc.com, if you find the correct cables, rather than using a voltmeter. jonpro's suggestion will ultimately also help us decide what the issue here but if these are original batteries, i would have to make a highly educated guess that the batteries are on their way out and you may just need new ones.

[Anonymous user]

Winna:

Thanks for the insight it is greatly appreciated. I actually went ahead and ordered a new battery kit from Newegg. I should get around to installing them this weekend or shortly thereafter. I will also look into the powerchute software as well at least if not for future reference. I will report back when I have successfully swapped the batteries out.

Thanks again

[BillP]

welcome. talk to you soon.

[Anonymous user]

Hi there,

we have this SMX1500RM2UNC with the red battery light blinking still after we changed the battery with a new one. have not rebooted the SmartUPS as yet.. will this fix the blinking issue? by the way.. the unit is not beeping. just blinking... battery shows 100% charge.

thank you

[BillP]

Hi,

You should run a self-test to clear the replace battery indicator. There is no need to reboot the UPS. For assistance with initiating a self-test see Schneider Electric FAQ FA156584 

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Thanks a lot. it worked. light is now off.