Smart UPS 1500 won't turn on

[Anonymous user]

I just replaced the battery in my Smart UPS 1500 (SUA1500) that had gone bad, but now the unit won't turn on.  When I push the On/Test button it chirps once, but that is it.  It will cold start however, and if I hold down the On/Test button while running on battery (to display the utility voltage diagnostic) it indicates the utility voltage is in normal range (i.e. 3 leds lit).  Any idea what might be wrong?  I hope it is fixable, as it was a fairly expensive unit, and I'd hate to have to replace it.

Thanks for any help!   

[BillP]

can you try pressing the sensitivity LED on the back of the unit while it is connected to AC power to lower it and toggle between high/medium/low?

Do you have a network management card or powerchute running so we can see what it reports (since input voltage is OK according to what you saw)?

[Anonymous user]

Hi Angela,

Thanks for the help. I forgot to mention that I had tried changing the

sensitivity setting, but that had no effect either.

I've been using the UPS without any software, so I tried installing

Powerchute this morning to see if I could get more information.

Unfortunately, I ran into a snag with that. When installing the agent,

it hung on "checking for the presence of a UPS". Not sure why though,

as Windows XP clearly found it, with a battery symbol in icon tray as

well as an entry in Device Manager under Batteries. It was even giving

me an estimated "power remaining" readout. So it's a mystery why the

Powerchute installer couldn't find it. Any ideas?

[BillP]

My first thought is did you let it "auto detect" - if so, did you try specifying the communications port? Beyond that, nothing specific comes to mind immediately seeing as you mentioned XP saw it OK. The only other logical thing I thought of that maybe you did too is rebooting the computer as well as resetting the UPS and retrying (turn off UPS, remove from AC power, hold down off button (o) and wait for UPS to click and flash, then you can coldstart it again when ready to have it detected by the computer since it won't run off AC.

[Anonymous user]

I tried the things you suggested, but to no avail. So I decided to try

installing Powerchute on a different PC (also Windows XP) and that

worked! So apparently there was something quirky with that particular

computer I had the UPS connected to.

With Powerchute installed, I was finally able to look at the

diagnostics. It showed a "Powered Failed" warning (no surprise) but

that was it. Everything else looked fine. The battery was operating at

normal conditions. The voltage was comfortably between the high and low

transfer limits. I didn't see anything that hinted at what the problem

might be. There is definitely power to unit, as its been charging the

battery also (as it should). Any other ideas?

[BillP]

can you post what you can see in the data log? (either screenshot or copy and paste with the column headings).

The other thing was did you see a "last transfer reason" anywhere?

[Anonymous user]

Angela,

Here's the screen shot data log. Where do I find "last transfer

reason"? Since I currently have to cold start the UPS to start it up,

would there be one? Thanks again for the help! -Pat

[BillP]

I am not seeing a screenshot or attachment

Also, depending what is going on, you have a good point - it may not show one or say "none recorded" but I figure its worth a look, especially when you're coldstarting when its connected to AC power and refusing it.

Assuming PCBE v9.X, check some place under Smart UPS 1500 menu. I only have a newer model and I am not seeing it listed but that is my educated guess on where it'd be.

[Anonymous user]

Uhm, for some reason the image I pasted didn't show.  Let's try again:

[BillP]

Well, that output frequency is very strange for a coldstart. Should be 60.0 or 60.1. And I am not understand why there is no input frequency column..

Have you tried this on a different circuit or a different location? Maybe the input frequency is also not at 60 +/-3 and is out of range, causing the output to be off.

And I would definitely set sensitivity to low which would be if the LED on the back is off (or if you choose to do it via software).

[Anonymous user]

I have tried it on difference outlets, but not at a different site. It

worked fine for years though at this location, so I don't think it's the

site (or outlet). Not sure why the frequency is showing 62Hz, but since

it's running on battery only it must be something the UPS is doing.

So is it safe to assume the UPS is damaged and will need to be replaced? :^(

Pat

[BillP]

Does it show 62 when the AC power cable removed from the outlet too?

Before I spend more money, if it was me, I'd at least consider trying it on a different electrical circuit minimum in your location and ideally another site just to be sure. Very strange how this issue came about..

[Anonymous user]

Yes it does, and since I need it to work at this site, even if it

happened to work at another that would not help me. Anyway, I think I'm

ready to throw in the towel on this one. I feel pretty certain

something is wrong with the unit, and can't afford to spend any more

time on it. The question now is what to replace it with. An SMC1500

($330) or one of the competitor products at almost half the price?

Do you know if the SMC1500 uses the same battery as the SUA1500? If so,

that would be one argument for going with it (the battery in SUA1500 was

new). At least I could salvage that.

Thanks again for all your help. I appreciate it.

Pat

[BillP · Accepted solution]

RBC6 and RBC7 have a different physical size and a different connector from my findings so they are not interchangeable. I found something else interesting that I will message you on as well.