BE650G1 Reporting Bad Battery, but New Battery Doesn't Work Either

[Anonymous user]

A couple weeks ago, my BE650G1 began to emit a continuous beep and alternating red and green on the status indicator.  I called APC tech support after not seeing documentation for this condition anywhere, who advised me that the battery had gone bad.  I ordered a new genuine APC battery and replaced the "faulty" one, but the UPS believes the new battery is faulty as well and still emits the continuous beep with flashing red and green status light.  PowerChute Personal says "battery in unit needs to be replaced," while reporting 705 minutes estimated battery time.

I was able to temporarily force the UPS to believe the new battery is good by removing the battery, disconnecting AC power, and holding the power button down on the unit for about 5 seconds.  After replacing the battery, plugging in the UPS, and turning it on, I got a solid green status light and no beeps.  PowerChute reported normal conditions.  However, after forcing a low voltage situation by turning on a vacuum on in the same room, the UPS failed to switch over to battery and my electronics turned off.

Is the problem with the UPS itself?

[Anonymous user]

It is possible that your BE650G1 UPS has suffered a failure. The user's manual would seem to indicate that a bad (or discharged) battery can be indicated by either the "replace battery" light blinking or both of the power and replace battery lamps blinking. Do you have the serial number for your UPS and the new battery?

Although these units are not terribly intelligent, the microcontroller inside may have become confused in some way. First, turn the UPS off. Then disconnect everything that is plugged into it. Next, unplug it from the wall and disconnect the battery. Finally, press and hold the power button.

Reconnect the battery and plug the unit back into AC power. Leave it turned off and let it rest for about eight hours. Then connect something like a lamp as a test load, and turn it back on. See what it does. If it works, try putting it back into normal service.

If you have a multimeter, you could check to see what the battery voltage is. A fully charged battery should read around 13 volts DC or so. Likewise, you could check to see if the charging circuit is working. Unplug the unit, disconnect anything plugged into it, and disconnect the battery. Then press the power button to discharge the unit, and connect the meter leads to the battery leads inside the UPS instead of attaching the battery. Plug the unit back in to the wall outlet, and it should immediately output around 12-15 volts DC at the battery terminals as indicated by your multimeter.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

No luck after leaving it to rest overnight.  I do have the serial number for the unit and battery.  The unit is out of warranty, but the battery is definitely under warranty.  I have a voltmeter, but someone else is borrowing it right now.  I'll have to check the voltage when I get a chance.