Smart-UPS 5000 RM Battery replacement notification goes off by itself after a few days with no user action

Anonymous user · ‎2021-06-29

I have a Rack Mountable Smart-UPS 5000 and the replace battery light came on. The UPS also started making noises and the UPS logs informed me to change the battery. I called a vendor who suggested that we change all 16 batteries since all were purchased and inserted the same time. After I got the quote for the batteries, I decided to check the logs again (about three days after) and the UPS status was good. The UPS displays that the faulty battery no longer exists and it passed the self tests. Currently the UPS status is still good but I am still worried. I want to know if the batteries are indeed OK, if I should replace them and if this error was simply a glitch or warning. Finally if an outage occurs, would the other UPS batteries would kick in and work but have a lesser runtime because of the faulty battery. Thanks in advance.

BillP · ‎2021-06-29

This is hard to say with absolute certainty but if the batteries are over two years old and the self test failed once already, then it likely will fail again and you should proceed with the replacement. Lead acid batteries are typically good for 2-5 years. The self test is not perfect in predicting every single type of battery failure unfortunately. The self test puts your UPS on battery for a certain period of time and compares the voltage drop of the battery while on battery. If this is outside of a certain tolerance, then it the flags replace battery indicator. If this voltage drop is within tolerance for the next self test, then it may clear. This battery may just be on the border of the tolerance. It will depend on how "bad" the batteries are. Typically, the self test gives you about 1 month before the batteries will be at a point where they won't support the load for long. But, because batteries are consumable items, you can see different behavior where a battery will not fail a self test but cannot support the load for an extended period of time. From what you told me so far, I imagine your batteries may be over 2 years old and likely should be replaced before they completely fail and put you in a jam.

We can also make a more educated guess if you can confirm the battery age and if you provide the logs from your Network Management Card (or PowerChute Business Edition) for review.

If using an NMC, please use these instructions to provide/attach event.txt, data.txt, and config.ini which could help us confirm my thoughts. How can I download Event, Data, Configuration, and Debug files from my Network Management Card? | FA... We may look at the log history and see a while ago it did the same thing, for example.

Hope this helps.

See Answer In Context

BillP · ‎2021-06-29

This is hard to say with absolute certainty but if the batteries are over two years old and the self test failed once already, then it likely will fail again and you should proceed with the replacement. Lead acid batteries are typically good for 2-5 years. The self test is not perfect in predicting every single type of battery failure unfortunately. The self test puts your UPS on battery for a certain period of time and compares the voltage drop of the battery while on battery. If this is outside of a certain tolerance, then it the flags replace battery indicator. If this voltage drop is within tolerance for the next self test, then it may clear. This battery may just be on the border of the tolerance. It will depend on how "bad" the batteries are. Typically, the self test gives you about 1 month before the batteries will be at a point where they won't support the load for long. But, because batteries are consumable items, you can see different behavior where a battery will not fail a self test but cannot support the load for an extended period of time. From what you told me so far, I imagine your batteries may be over 2 years old and likely should be replaced before they completely fail and put you in a jam.

We can also make a more educated guess if you can confirm the battery age and if you provide the logs from your Network Management Card (or PowerChute Business Edition) for review.

If using an NMC, please use these instructions to provide/attach event.txt, data.txt, and config.ini which could help us confirm my thoughts. How can I download Event, Data, Configuration, and Debug files from my Network Management Card? | FA... We may look at the log history and see a while ago it did the same thing, for example.

Hope this helps.

Anonymous user · ‎2021-06-29

Hi Angela,

Thanks for the reply. You are indeed correct about the age. The UPS is currently 9 years old but the batteries are over 2 years since they were only replaced once within that time frame. The UPS is currently out of warranty so i am skeptical about purchasing the new batteries. Should I replace the UPS itself or proceed with purchasing the batteries for our out of warranty UPS? Please note that the UPS itself is working fine with no issues.

Thanks.

BillP · ‎2021-06-29

You're welcome.

Your concerns are valid. Depending on the cost of the batteries, you could look into our Trade-UPS program to see if trading in your UPS makes more sense cost wise since you'll get a new unit (with likely new technology), new batteries - all with new warranties too. APC replacement batteries themselves typically have a 1 year warranty only on themselves.

Most UPSs have a design life of around 10 years but you can always see a little less or a little more depending on what it has been exposed to. Regardless, I don't think it'd hurt to check into the Trade-UPS program to see if it makes sense for you. Your reseller (if you have one) may also offer the Trade-UPS program.

Here is the link to the Trade UPS program and you can change the country if you need to in order to check if we offer it in your location -> https://buy.apc.com/commerce/storefronts/tradeups/tradein.aspx?storefrontcode=apcetu&countrycode=US&...

Either way, that link will give you a little overview on the program.