APC BN650 M1 Flashing Red Light and Alarm Tone

[Anonymous user]

Symptoms: When unit is turned on, it flashes green for ~15 seconds, then flashes red with alarm tone.

Background: Unit battery went bad and was replaced with a 3rd party battery "RBC154 Compatible Replacement Battery for APC BN650M1 by UPSBatteryCenter", purchased on Amazon. Symptoms occurred during power up.

Corrective Attempts: Replaced battery with a known-good APC battery from another BN650M1, but symptoms remained. Put the compatible battery in the second BN650M1, and it works fine.

Questions:

1. What, exactly, does the flashing red light with tone mean? It's not covered in the user docs.

2. Is there anything I can do to correct this situation, or do I need to buy a new unit?

TIA for any insights/advice!

[MikeV · Accepted solution]

A flashing red LED with constant tone typically indicates a battery disconnect alarm. This could mean that the battery is disconnected, dead (even though it is connected) or there is an issue with the UPS not detecting a healthy battery. You can check page 1 of the user manual under Status Indicators.

https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_File_Name=BU+UM+990-5679+MN01+EN.pdf&p_Doc_Ref=SPD_A... 

If the issue remains in the unit, it is possible that the unit is faulty. You may want to reach out to your local support to see if the UPS is still under warranty.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks very much for explanation, Mike.

Looks like the unit is done, and it's out of warranty. Looks like I'll have to get a new one.

[mozandy]

These UPS’s have 2 40 amp fuses soldered onto the circuit board.  When they short it’s as if you don’t have a battery installed.  If you have a soldering iron you can replace the fuses and not have to replace the unit to save some bucks 🙂