APC RS 1000 Problem

[Anonymous user]

My RS 1000 (Indian version) has been in storage for a year (without batteries). I just had a local computer store buy two new batteries for it and fit them. Now I am charging it.

However, every minute or so there is a clicking sound and the fan starts spinning really fast for about a second, then another clicking sound. Anywhere between 5 seconds and 2 minutes later it does this again. When it first clicks, the "online" light flashes orange and then goes off. There are no lights on while the fan spins really fast, then the last click happens and the "online" like comes on and the "replace battery" light flashes a few times. I shouldn't have to replace the batteries unless one is a dud or something. There are also a few other variations of this. Sometimes the overload light comes on as well.

Edit: I just took the batteries out and connected them to the slot at the back of the UPS. Since doing this it has not been having any problems. Is the wiring at the back separate to the wiring inside the front of the UPS?

Does anyone know what the problem is or what I should do to troubleshoot it? Can I fix this myself? I can solder wires and so on if necessary, or should I take it back to the shop?

Thank you.

Message was edited by: Kesava

Message was edited by: Kesava

[Techie_apc]

Kesav,

How did you attach the two batteries to the UPS? The Back UPS RS 1000 IN has got an Anderson connector in order for it to attach to the battery pack. This is most likely the battery connection problem. Do you have another Identical UPS with genuine APC RBC installed using an Anderson connector? If so, swap the Replacement Battery Cartridge(RBC) and check if the issue lies with the battery or the unit.

[Anonymous user]

I don't know what is on the battery end of the cable because both batteries are taped together, but on the other end is a gray "triple plug" thing like the one that came with the UPS when I first bought it. It plugs perfectly into the UPS's battery connectors.

I don't know if you read my post after I edited it, but I plugged the batteries into the connector at the back of the UPS and since then it has no problems. The green "online" light is on and there are no noises or anything. What could this mean?

Thanks

[Techie_apc]

You are welcome Kesav! Have a nice day!

[Anonymous user]

Ok well I have found a different solution anyway.

Thanks for your help and once I get the UPS back I'll post on here in case there are any problems. This seems to be the best place to get helpful answers.

[Anonymous user]

I mentioned that this wasn't the proper place for me to ask because I was actually talking about an Inverter. Not a UPS. I don't know where better to get advice about batteries. We use an inverter to power all the lights and fans and sometimes the TV. I'd imagine that a UPS would be quite sensitive as to the batteries you can use, but is an Inverter different? You can use pretty much any inverter battery for our Inverter, but I'm just wondering if there would be any problems when using 2 different batteries.

I'll have to find somewhere that specialises in Inverters, not just UPS's.

Anyway thanks for your help.

[Techie_apc]

Kesav,

Don’t mix batteries of different makes, different Ah capacity, different state of charge while connecting then in series or parallel, as it will result in accelerated aging of the whole string.

[Techie_apc]

Okay...this unit requires 24 Vdc battery input. So the two batteries should have been attached in series. I presume that the output of the new batteries on the gray connector is 24 Vdc. If it is not 24 Vdc, then you need to verify the battery connection and wire them in series. The External Battery connector at the rear of the unit is used to connect the External battery pack in order to increase the run time. The unit's External battery pack increases the total battery AH and the battery bus bar voltage(i.e.,24Vdc) will not change. In my opinion, APC does not normally recommend to connect the internal batteries to the external battery connector at the rear of the unit even though if the unit works fine.

[Anonymous user]

What do you mean by "wire them in series"? I'll undo the tape and check the battery connections, but what do I need to check to see if they are wired in series? If my research through google is correct then there should be a wire going from the negative terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of another battery. Then the grey cable itself should be connected to the 2 remaining terminals.

Is that correct?

[Techie_apc]

Yes, that is right. You have to connect the two batteries in series.

[Techie_apc]

I also sent you the attachment file to your email address which will walk you through the steps to connect the batteries in series. I hope that it helps.

[Anonymous user]

After looking at your wiring diagram and reviewing the current wiring on the batteries, I'm pretty sure it's right.

The positive terminal on battery 1 is connected to the negative terminal of battery 2. The negative terminal on battery 1 is connected to the black UPS wire and the positive terminal of battery 2 is connected to the red and yellow (they are both in the same connector) UPS wire.

I'm sorry if I didn't explain this clearly.

The problem keeps changing. I have tested it in different power points around the house and have had different results with some of them. I also tried reconnecting the battery wires. This morning I plugged it into a different power point and the online light came on. There was no problem with the fan speeding up or anything like that of my original problem. I thought this was good so I put the batteries inside the UPS. (I had them externally before, they were still plugged in the same way, but weren't actually inside the battery space on the ups)

After I put the batteries inside, I plugged the UPS in and it started up with the online light and then every minute it would flash the "replace battery" light around 5 times. I tried again in a different powerpoint and it worked normally without the "replace battery" light flashing. After leaving it to charge all day, I tried it in a different power point and the "replace battery" light starting flashing every minute. I put it back in the power point where it had been working and it is doing the same thing.

While I haven't been that clear about all this, all I'm trying to do is explain to you how ridiculous this is. No matter what I do, the problem keeps changing and I have no idea how else I can solve it other than to take it back to the shop.

Another question I have, they have soldered a wire from the positive terminal of battery 1 to the negative terminal of battery 2, as you have to in order to achieve a "series". When they did this they used 2 small black wires (I'm guessing that this was because they didn't have a big wire so they thought 2 small ones would work fine). Is that ok? I have actually now found the original connector for that. So should I replace the soldered black wires with the original wire that came with the UPS? Or would this have nothing to do with the problem?

Thanks for your help, I really have no idea what to do. If this was a simple troubleshooting thing, I'd be able to work something out probably. But this problem has changed so much, now the original problem I posted with doesn't even happen anymore.

[Techie_apc]

I recommend you to replace the black wires with the original wire that came with the UPS. If this does not fix the issue, then I recommend you to contact an APC authorized service center to diagnose the issue.

Secondly, you can also swap the RBC from a good known identical UPS to find out the root cause of the issue.

[Anonymous user]

After going back to the computer store, they have found that the UPS had a problem in the circuitboard which didn't allow it to charge the batteries. Also, one of the batteries also had a problem. It is still under warranty so they will replace the battery and they have already repaired the charging problem. Once they get a new battery it should work fine.

I do have another question, although this isn't necessarily the proper place to ask, but I know I can get a good answer here.

I currently have an inverter running on a 12v 150ah battery. I am wondering if it is possible to connect up a 12v 135ah battery in parallel. The batteries are different sizes and brands, however I'm wondering if seeing as I'm connecting them up in parallel in order to improve backtime up, it will work.

Would it be possible for me to do this or do I need more compatible batteries?

Thanks

[Techie_apc · Accepted solution]

The UPS is designed to support ONLY the battery it came with it. It is not a good idea to connect the UPS to a higher AH battery. It is as if you are using a by-cycle to pull a truck.

APC does have UPS solutions which can provide a longer run time by adding external battery packs.