APS Back-UPS ES 700 Continuous Tone with Specific Device Connected

[Anonymous user]

I have a UK version of the APS Back-UPS ES 700, which I've had for a few years now without any issues, but today it suddenly started making a continuous tone. However I can't get my circumstance to quite line up with any of the cases in the table in my manual; the tone is continuous, but the battery indicator light isn't lit or flashing, which suggests the battery doesn't need replacing (is there any other way to check?)

After a bit of trial and error I've discovered that the continuous tone only seems to occur when I have a specific device connected to one of the battery backed sockets.

I'm using the UPS with a computer and its peripherals, and my set up was as follows:

• Battery Backed Sockets:
  • 2018 Mac Mini (max. 120W, typical ~50-60W)
  • Philips 43" 4k HDTV (max. 100W, typical ~70W)
  • Seagate External Hard Drive (max. 10W, typical ~5W)
• Non-Battery Backed Sockets:
  • External speaker system (not sure, can't imagine its much though)
  • Desk light (usually off)

As you can see it shouldn't be overloaded; it might not get a lot of time on battery but all I really need is enough time to save and shutdown normally.

My first thought upon getting the tone was to try unplugging everything and switching the UPS back on, this resulted in no continuous tone. Reconnecting the battery backed side caused the tone to resume, and I've narrowed it down to the HDTV. After switching that over to a non-battery backed socket my UPS has now switched back on without issuing the continuous tone.

This is probably fine, though it does mean in the event of a power outage I won't have a usable screen (no way to save documents and such) so I'll just have to trust the whims of auto-save I guess.

But is this a fault or a low battery? The lack of a low battery warning light is what has me confused; if the unit is able to issue a continuous tone it should be able to indicate a low battery. While I've never seen the battery warning lit, the power light works just fine and isn't flashing either (except when switching on, after that it's continuous as normal). All I'm getting is the continuous tone with the power light still lit.

The fact that it seems to be objecting to one specific device is what I find strange, and only with it connected to a battery-backed socket. Is there anything specific that might cause this?

[Anonymous user]

Was this setup working for you and now this is a new issue? Like something has changed.

[Anonymous user]

I've had the HDTV now for a few months and the setup was working fine until this continuous tone suddenly started. I've not noticed anything that's different or has changed that would seem to explain it.

After switching the HDTV over to a non-battery socket the UPS has returned to working as normal again, though I haven't tested a power loss (switching off at the wall) as I have some long running tasks on my computer that I'd like to finish before doing that.

[Anonymous user]

So annoyingly the same shrilling tone started again, and I've had to disconnect all devices from the battery-connected side and turn off battery backup entirely to get it to stop, meaning I'm now left with an incredibly huge regular extension block.

Still no flashing light or other signal to indicate a low battery, so I'm reluctant to order one in case that's not the issue. Any ideas what the problem might be?

Even while the shrilling tone is happening there is no interruption of power; other than being unbearable it wasn't affecting the performance of anything connected. Could it just be a fault with the alarm?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Iain,

Have you tested the battery with a volt meter? A good 12v battery should read around 13.6 volts. If the battery reads 12v or below it needs to be replaced.