APC 1500 only/always works only on battery

[Anonymous user]

I recently bought my third APC 1500 UPS. Out of the box, after installing my battery, it starts running on battery and keeps on doing so. My input voltage is 116 volt. Adjusting the sensitivity does not solve the problem. When I remove the battery, I measure a voltage of 27 volts on the connector inside. is that what is should be? Thanks for helping.

[Anonymous user]

It sounds as though the UPS may have a defect. As a quick test, I'd try it on a different electrical circuit to see if there is any difference. You could either contact APC technical support (numbers are on their website, and vary depending where you live) or simply return the unit to the store for another one.

You can also try resetting the UPS: power down any attached load, unplug the UPS from the wall outlet and disconnect the battery. After that, press and hold the power button down for a few seconds. Don't be surprised if the UPS responds briefly. Reconnect the battery, plug the UPS back into the wall outlet and see if the problem has gone.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I tried different circuits and also gave the reset a try, but sadly without result. Returning the unit is not option, because it went out of the country and shipping back to the US is more expensive than buying a new one. Can someone please confirm what voltage should be on the battery connectors?

[BillP]

Hi,

If the UPS is a Back-UPS 1500 the battery voltage should be 27 volts DC. The charge should be the same. 

[Anonymous user]

27 Volts is what I measure. So that’s correct.

Any adjustments on the inside I could try myself before throwing the unit away?

[Anonymous user]

I have an old APC 1250 and woke up today with (what it seems) that exact same situation as yours. I went into my home office and I could hear the noise from the unit being on battery backup. I thought it was extremely odd because the main power was on inside the house. The unit doesn't want to power itself with regular current. The breaker isn't tripped on the unit. I'm really confused but trying to diagnose the situation.

Again, when you power on the unit with no load... the "On Line" Green Light continuously blinks for about 7-8 seconds. Then the green light stops blinking and goes straight to "On Battery" then the solid Yellow Light appears.

[SamirD_apc]

It's just a hunch, but it sounds like it's somehow getting hung up on the initial startup battery test.  Can you run the test manually and see if that fixes the issue or changes anything?

[Anonymous user]

How to run this test manually? Thanks.

[Anonymous user]

This is an older APC model. I think I purchased it near or around the year 2005. No LCD screen. It's been working like a gem forever. I did that one suggestion that WILLIAM said in this thread. The odd thing is... when I plugged it back in the unit wouldn't power up at all. I unplugged the unit again. Then plugged it back in and it finally came on. The green light blinked for about 7-8 seconds at then the "On Battery" light came on. I tried searching through YouTube for any video for about an hour earlier tonight. I couldn't find anything useful at all.

On the day this happened. I did notice the "Building Wiring Fault" Red Light on in the back of the unit. It was the first time I ever noticed this light on in 13 years. The electrical outlet seems to be fine because I'm currently using it and nothing is wrong with my other devices.

I also tried plugging the APC UPS in other outlets in the home and it's still not working properly.

[SamirD_apc]

If you're getting the 'building wiring fault' even when there isn't a real fault, then I would suspect the unit is finally near the end of its life.  Either that or it's working very well and has just found a wiring fault that may be related to the issues.

[Anonymous user]

But if it found a wiring fault and you use a different electric receptacle which is on a different line/different breaker... shouldn't the APC unit go back to working properly? It's quite possible that the life is over for this unit... I just can't believe there isn't any other troubleshooting techniques at YouTube? I'm not an electrical wizard but I know how to follow direct instructions if need be.

I'm kind of pissed off with APC. I may never purchase another unit again and I own 4 of them at the moment. I've seen countless videos of the newer models that have malfunctioned at YouTube. I'd rather work on the older units. They seem to be made with better components.

[SamirD_apc]

It depends.  If something has gone wrong to the site ground, then the unit may be assessing the site ground correctly.  I'd have an electrician or use test device to confirm that your ground is correct.

All electronics fail at some point unfortunately, and it seems all newer electronics are made to fail faster than their older counterparts.  Case in point is my 486dx-33 that still boots up today.  Whereas some Lenovo pentium 4s failed due to issues on the motherboard of some sort.  This never used to happen back in the day.

I blame it on the millenials who what things cheap and fast.  You can only pick two--cheap, fast, built right.

[Anonymous user]

Just to troubleshoot more I unplugged the battery cable and removed the battery. I plugged the APC unit back into the electrical outlet (without attaching the battery.) The APC unit power up and flashed Green Light "On-line" and Red Light "Overload" it was in sequence. Green, Red, Green Red, Green, Red. The fan was also on spinning in the back of the unit. I unplugged it after 10 seconds. Again, the APC unit didn't have anything plugged into the back of it. There wasn't any load.

[Anonymous user]

I too have a APC sua1500l that i got second hand knowing that it had failed and i was hoping that it would be an easy fix, seems to only run off batteries

[SamirD_apc]

On 2/27/2018 12:07 AM, T said:

Just to troubleshoot more I unplugged the battery cable and removed the battery. I plugged the APC unit back into the electrical outlet (without attaching the battery.) The APC unit power up and flashed Green Light "On-line" and Red Light "Overload" it was in sequence. Green, Red, Green Red, Green, Red. The fan was also on spinning in the back of the unit. I unplugged it after 10 seconds. Again, the APC unit didn't have anything plugged into the back of it. There wasn't any load.

On 2/27/2018 3:36 AM, Ben said:

I too have a APC sua1500l that i got second hand knowing that it had failed and i was hoping that it would be an easy fix, seems to only run off batteries

These are both odd behaviors compared to my experience.  None of my APC units will power on without a battery.

[Anonymous user]

Okay so I may have found the problem, If you have a multimeter check the secondary of T1 to see if it has around 9-10vac if not that component is most likely the problem and it can be replaced with a 230vac to 9v-0v-9v transformer or 9v + 9v, check attachments for measurements

IRabtI2YMtGhhTOz3ILNuw%3D%3D.jpeg2LrDzQ8IQ8PUsTGHHBFOeQ%3D%3D.jpeg The one next to the connector

[SamirD_apc]

Oh wow, did you fix it already?  Does it completely pass the self-test, etc now?  Could you tell what might have damaged it in the first place or does it just seem like component failure over time?

[Anonymous user]

havent fixed it yet waiting for parts. Im guessing it is a over time failure from heating and cooling or vibration, i powered the suspected transformer up outside the unit and it was arcing out inside and a wift of smoke was released just before i turned it off

[Anonymous user]

Did the new transformer repair the problem?

[Anonymous user]

On 10/28/2018 10:21 AM, David said:

Did the new transformer repair the problem?

In my case yes it did and it has been running well ever since

[SamirD_apc]

Awesome!  Glad to hear it. 🙂

[Anonymous user]

Thank you for the reply. 

[Coxwain]

I don’t think I could figure this out.   Can you be more specific on what to test and how to test it? Thanks

[Coxwain]

 

[Coxwain]

Anyone?

[Coxwain]

How do you test the t1? Is that the main transformer?