Smart-UPS 6000 RM XL -- An inverter fault exists / not exists

[BillP]

I have two of that UPS in a rack. One of the two is giving me a hard time at the moment.

All started with the UPS out of a sudden going down.

The battery pack was completely depleated and even the fan was not working anymore. Resulting in the fact that you could not start the USV anymore.

I removed the batteries from the other still running UPS and replaced the batteries in the failing one with filled batteries. The USV started again and was working normal for some days. In the meantime the batteries of the faulting USV I have put in the working USV and they have been charged without a problem in a normal timeframe.

In the log of the faulting USV I see many messages like this:

2014-02-08	06:50:15	UPS: An inverter fault no longer exists.
2014-02-08	06:50:10	UPS: An inverter fault exists.
2014-02-08	06:50:06	UPS: An inverter fault no longer exists.
2014-02-08	06:49:59	UPS: An inverter fault exists.
2014-02-08	06:49:55	UPS: An inverter fault no longer exists.
2014-02-08	06:49:50	UPS: An inverter fault exists.

That looks to me as if I do have something alternating. Immediately I am thinking of an dry soldering joint.... Are there any reports you have seen that before? If so, what have you done to mitigate? There is absolutely no indication of anything on the USVs LEDs. That might probably related to the fact that I was not there when the USV was failing. But even after I brought it back online there was no indication of a malfunction.

Cheers

Arne

[BillP]

Can you let me know what you see under the UPS tab->About for the UPS serial number (at least the first six characters) and firmware version of the UPS?

It is likely this will require replacement (or repair depending on your region) based on the symptoms. The UPS typically is not serviceable by the user beyond just a replacement so I am not sure what specifically is causing it but knowing the age and firmware can rule out anything beyond a hardware failure.

Also, what is the type of load connected? And is it a new install? I ask because once in a while too, backwards wiring or problems with specifics loads can cause strange faults to be reported.

[BillP]

serial number starts like IQ1135005

Firmware Revision: 452.18.W

Manufacture Date: 04/25/12 Load Power: 8.0 %Watts

The UPS is not heavily used. There is no new setup. It has the same systems connected and is connected with the same plugs since 5 or 6 years.

The only thing is that this UPS was exchanged as the former UPS had an capacitor exploding inside and then it was defect. So APC decided to exchange it. That was when the new UPS came into the game and since then we do have the problems with it.

Apart the fact that the capacitor was exploding there was never an issue with that former UPS. But the exchanged one quite on a regular basis has this issues.

There is no warranty on that new UPS anymore and I woul dnot mind to open it and check the inverters solding joints or temperature connectors. It must be a little problem only as this issues are there only sometimes.

Hope this answers your questions and shed some light on it.

[BillP]

I don't think your pictures came through your last post.

You can repost them but I might be out of my league cause again, I've never seen the inside of this particular UPS so I won't even know where to start. If anyone else wants to comment though when you post the pictures, fine with me.

[BillP]

Thank you for the background - it was very helpful. Nothing strange or abnormal jumps out at me based on what you've desribed.

Even so, I'd advise strongly at opening the unit and you'd be doing so at your own risk but the other thing is that we don't provide schematics or anything unfortunately. We usually replace the entire unit or depending on your region, to find a service partner who may perform repairs. I don't even know where to start as far as diagnosing what specific component would cause this and we just don't typically do that with this size UPS.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi Angela,

Following my initial idea I opened the case. But on the 1st look I can not see anything iffy.

Where you think are the highest chances to find the root cause?

Attached some pictures: