UPS switching to battery and back to mains

[BillP]

Hi,

About once a week our UPS switches to battery and immediately back to mains power.

Example from the log:

08/24/2013     02:09:42     UPS: A discharged battery condition no longer exists.

08/24/2013     02:09:41     UPS: The battery power is too low to support the load; if power fails, the UPS will be shut down immediately.

We have reduced sensitivity to Low (UPS\Configuration\Power Settings\Sensitivity) but the issue persists.

We've had an electrician monitor the line for 4 days and the results came out within normal range.

Can anyone please advise why this is happening and how we can stop it?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

You do have some on battery events between mid-end July and early August..

07/25/2013 20:22:57 UPS: No longer on battery power. 0x010A

07/25/2013 20:22:56 UPS: On battery power in response to distorted input. 0x0109

07/24/2013 07:05:35 UPS: No longer on battery power. 0x010A

07/24/2013 07:05:35 UPS: On battery power in response to distorted input. 0x0109

So the sensitivity might have helped with those and preventing battery transfers but it does not have anything to do with these types:

08/20/2013 14:40:19 UPS: A discharged battery condition no longer exists. 0x0108

08/20/2013 14:40:10 UPS: The battery power is too low to support the load; if power fails, the UPS will be shut down immediately. 0x0107

Anyway, I believe the root cause is low reported runtime being within two minutes of your low battery duration which you've now lowered..

[BillP]

Thanks Angela, glad we got this sorted.

[BillP]

Can anyone please advise?

[BillP]

Could you please attach the full logs from your Network Management Card, which you can get via FTP?

My thought is that the load is fluctuating and goes a little higher and what happens is your runtime is shrinking with the higher load, probably within 2 minutes of your low battery signaling time (the runtime remaining value that the UPS deems "low battery"), so it is trying to tell you that maybe your battery is "discharged" and doesn't have much runtime left if this is a power outage at that time. Your runtime is on the screen at about 7 minutes. The default low battery signaling time is 2 minutes so if its dropping down to 4, this could be the issue. The log files will help me verify all of this. I need event.txt, config.ini, and data.txt. Feel free to remove any IP addresses, etc before posting if you'd like.

Instructions on obtaining log files are here -> How can I download Event, Data, Configuration, and Debug files from my Network Management Card? | FA...

Lastly, what model UPS is this? How old is the battery in the UPS? How long does the UPS normally run on battery with your average load (7 minutes or so)?

[BillP]

Thanks for your response Angela, please see logs attached to this post.

Regarding your thought about the high load, the issue with the unit switching to battery and immediately back to mains started from Day 1. The load then was 55%, it has since increased as per the image in the first post.

To answer your questions I've copied this from the About page (the unit was purchased and installed on 4/2013):

Model:     Smart-UPS X 1500
Serial Number:     AS1234125326
Firmware Revision:     UPS 09.1 / MCU 09.1 / UBL 06.9 / MBL 06.0 (ID20)
Manufacture Date:     08/23/2012
Apparent Power Rating:     1440 VA
Real Power Rating:     1200 W

When the load was 55%, I ran a  test and the battery lasted for around 17 minutes. I haven't performed a test since the load has increased.

[BillP]

To clarify, the events from your first post DO NOT indicate the UPS switching back and forth from battery. They indicate your runtime is low and typically that happens when it has been discharged. It can also happen in your situation with no battery events and a charged battery but just plain ol low runtime. The batteries are probably around a year old, just as the UPS is. If there are not frequent battery transfers or a calibration was not done to recalculate available runtime, we may need to do that.

Also, I am missing event.txt and need that place. I did not need dump.txt and debug.txt.

Lastly, your low battery duration in the config.ini has been raised from two minutes to five (LowBatteryDuration=5 per config.ini). This means when your reported runtime comes within two minutes (or below) 7, you'll see this alarms but again, it does not indicate any battery operation.

I'll need event.txt to verify nothing else is going on or that there are not other events you're seeing to indicate battery operation because so far, I see nothing to indicate it has been transferring. So, it makes sense that changing sensitivity did not do anything.

[BillP]

Hi,

About once a week our UPS switches to battery and immediately back to mains power.

Example from the log:

08/24/2013     02:09:42     UPS: A discharged battery condition no longer exists.

08/24/2013     02:09:41     UPS: The battery power is too low to support the load; if power fails, the UPS will be shut down immediately.

We have reduced sensitivity to Low (UPS\Configuration\Power Settings\Sensitivity) but the issue persists.

We've had an electrician monitor the line for 4 days and the results came out within normal range.

Can anyone please advise why this is happening and how we can stop it?