Smart-UPS 1500 fails to detect AC power

[Anonymous user]

I recently aquired a slightly used Smart-UPS 1500 that had a bad battery in it. I replaced the battery with a new one, plugged the unit in and powered it on to fully charge the battery. The unit had been plugged in and powered on for about a week with no loads (no devices plugged into the unit). The front status lights were normal - a green on-line light and full battery lights. Today I was going to put this UPS into use but something weird happened. As I was moving a computer case that was next to the UPS it gently bumped up against it and immediately the UPS went onto battery power. I can no longer get this UPS to work on AC power now.

I have tried doing the following... 1) Unplugged the UPS and left it unplugged for an hour, 2) disconnected/reconnected the battery, 3) changed the voltage sensitivity to the 2 other settings, and 4) plugged the UPS into a different outlet.

The UPS still fails to recognize AC power. When I press the "on" button momentarily I can hear the UPS click and the status lights quickly flash and then nothing. If I hold the "on" button down the UPS goes into a self test and then goes directly into battery power. The UPS is acting as if it were not plugged in. I have checked the input circuit breaker on the rear and it has not tripped. I have also plugged in a different UPS into the same outlet and that one works fine.

I am stumped. Is there an internal fuse or breaker I can check? I read in another post similar to this where someone recommended a factory reset however I cannot find any documentation on how to accomplish this. Any help to solve this problem will greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi sar66,

I have the same problem..do you have any soluttion? Could you help me?

Best Regards,

[BillP · Accepted solution]

not a problem.

honestly, i am eager to see what they say was the issue if you get it repaired. good luck.

[BillP]

Perhaps you can lower the sensitivity using the button on the rear of the UPS? It's easy enough to try. Other than that, it does appear that there's some kind of physical disconnect there.

[BillP]

the reset procedure you mentioned resets the UPS circuitry. not sure it will help but:

-turn off the UPS and all equipment connected. unplug the equipment from the UPS
-unplug UPS from the wall.
-hold down the off (o) button for about 5 seconds until you hear a click and see the LEDs flash briefly on the front. if you dont hear anything, you can hold it for about 10 seconds.
-then reconnect everything and see what you get.

also, do you have either the USB or serial cable with this? we could install powerchute business edition agent and see what the UPS is reporting for the reason of on battery.

[BillP]

this model uses a 24vDC battery system so the float voltage is ~27.4vDC so that is alright.

so this is only outputting 62v AC while on battery power, interesting.

this is on ALL of the outlets? regardless, it seems like the AC voltage isnt making it to the UPS then theres an issue on the output as well..

i'd still be interested to see what the software says if possible?

[Anonymous user]

Things just get weirder and weirder.... I tried the reset proceedure and nothing seems to happen - no clicks, no lights. So then I hooked a USB cable to the UPS and was going to install the Powerchute Agent on a spare PC. I went to force the UPS onto battery power by holding in the "on" button and I was unable to get it to power on at all! I held the "on" button in, the UPS beeps and then nothing. Before it would go into a self test and then stay on battery power (like in the video of my previous post). So I started fooling around with the UPS power buttons - holding in the "off" button while pressing the "on" button and different combinations. Don't ask me what I did but all of a sudden it finally powered up on battery.

I plugged in the USB cable and it was detected by Windows (Vista Business). I then installed Powerchute Agent and it detected the UPS on the USB port and then I installed the Vista update for Powerchute. For some reason the install did not place any shorcuts in the Start menu but I went through the Program Files folder, found the APC folder and double clicked on the "pbeagent.exe" file which I assume would start the agent program. After a moment I get a error - "StartServiceControlDispatcher Failed" - and then nothing happens. I can't get the Agent to run. I did install it under Administrator and I also have UAC turned off. I also tried right-clicking the file and selected "Run as Administrator" - I get the same error.

While the UPS was running on battery I did plug in a portable CD-ROM drive into one of the outlets of the UPS and the CD-ROM powered up and worked fine.

I was going to try installing the software on a laptop running Vista Ultimate but now I can't get the UPS to power up on battery again! I'm ready to pitch this thing in the garbage.....

[BillP]

well - powerchute uses java and researching the error, that seems to be some type of java error.

after installing powerchute, did you apply the vista patch?

[here is a link to the vista patch|https://www.apcc.com/tools/download/download.cfm?sw_sku=SFPCBE705VUP&software_id=DBUE-6XTMHR&swfam=1...]

[Anonymous user]

Yes I did apply the Vista patch but I think I caused the problems myself. I discovered that the reason why the UPS was not powering up on battery was because I was holding the "on" switch down too long - so that is no longer an issue. Then I think I solved the Powerchute problem - I only installed the Agent part.

I re-installed Powerchute on my laptop and installed all 3 programs (Agent, Server, and Console) then applied the Vista patch. I then was able to launch the Console and I took some screen shots of what I saw (see attached).

I tested the output power of the UPS while it is on battery again and I am getting 58 - 59 VAC. Then I tested the output power with just the UPS plugged in, turned on, but not running on battery (I press the "on" button, hear a click then release). At that point I am getting a full 120 VAC at the UPS outlets but all the the status lights are off. With the meter still connected I put the UPS into battery mode and the voltage drops back down to 58 - 59 VAC.

[BillP]

interesting - well on the software, the UPS says its input voltage is 0 vAC so it believes that there is no input voltage (which we know isnt the case) so thats why it must be on battery. you can double check the data and event logs to verify that. also, it is reporting the output voltage at 120vAC where you are reading ~50-60vAC.

I am not sure what happened in there but i dont think there is an easy fix. via your measurements, it is seeing 124vAC someplace inside..

anyone else have any ideas? not sure if you want to considering it getting it repaired at our authorized repair center - coastal business machines @ www.cbmi.com

maybe someone else has some suggestions.

[Anonymous user]

Just a thought to throw into the mix.... could it be that the UPS is stuck in a self-test mode?

I am going to leave the UPS plugged in and powered on (not on battery power) over-night to see if the battery recharges.

[BillP]

its possible - but i think that should show Status: Self test and also, a lot of times, that can be caused by a communication cable being attached but we have ruled that out I think.

lets see what happens! you can also try that braindead procedure one more time - the sensitivity LED should go out if it was on Medium or High since on low, its off anyway. you can double check that too.

[Anonymous user]

I left it plugged in and on overnight and the battery is right where I left it so it is not charging at all.

A couple of questions..... After putting the UPS into self-test by pressing and holding the "on" button I hear a click and the "On Line" light blinks and the "On Battery" light is on steady. After a moment the "On Line" light stops blinking and goes off completely. At that point should I be hearing another click? I am not hearing anything.

Also, I have cycled the sensativity button to observe the brightness of the LED on the rear - on the "Off" setting it says that the LED should be completely off however I notice mine is very dimmy lit. My LED goes from bright, to medium, to very dim - it is never off. Maybe something to do with the problem?

[Anonymous user]

Just a couple of observations while they are still fresh in my thoughts....

I press the "On" button and release it right away - I hear a beep and a click and then a moment later hear a second click and the sensativity light on the rear illuminates. This sequence happens regardless if the UPS is plugged into AC power or not.

I then press the "Off" button and hold it in - I hear a beep and then a moment later hear a second beep and a click and the sensativity light on the rear goes off.

The only time I am getting usable juice at the UPS outlets is when I force it onto battery which happens after doing a manual self-test.

Does this sound like normal operation when compared to other user's units?
Could a defective battery cause what I am experiencing???

[BillP]

when the online LED is blinking with the on battery LED lit up, the UPS is doing its self test. when the online LED stops blinking, the UPS is on battery rather than doing itself test.

so - we know that the online LED stops blinking which we confirmed the state is on battery via the software.

when you press the "off" button and hear the beep and then the click - this is what we call "braindeading" the unit which basically resets the UPS circuitry and discharges all of the capacitors.

i dont think the problem is a bad battery because then you wouldnt get any power at all and i'd think the UPS would turn off I think. to me it sounds like battery is working correctly.

other than that, I am not sure which part exactly is malfunctioning but i'd have to suggest getting it repaired at our authorized repair center Coastal Business Machines - www.cbmi.com

[Anonymous user]

Thank you for all the help and suggestions. I am giving up on trying to fix/figure out what is wrong and get it looked at by the pros. Hopefully it can be repaired without too much expense. Thanks!

[Anonymous user]

~64v is probably a result of parasitic voltage. Input resistance of a DMM is around 10MOhm and this is common You'd need to use something with a lower input resistance or under a small load (small 5W light bulb is enough).

The light bulb won't light up if it's parasitic voltage

[Anonymous user]

I haven't sent in the unit for repair yet because I found a replacement on ebay for $65. After the replacment arrives I will most likely send out this one and see what they find. I'll update when I have more info. Thanks!!

[Anonymous user]

Was anyone able to sort the problem out?