BR500I - dead?

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I got this unit used a few days ago. I'll try to describe the current status of the device (BR500I 230V model) as accurately as possible:

It doesn't flash any lights when the "On" button is pressed, neither when the battery is connected nor when it's not (it is connected to electrical supply, of course).

The circuit breaker won't hold in pressed state, after being pressed it just hops out, it doesn't matter if the unit is connected to power or not.

I started charging the battery, but after 15 minutes or so it started making a hissing sound, which unnerved me, so I unplugged the AC cable.

The only way I can get some life out of the unit is to unplug the battery, plug in the AC plug, press the circuit breaker (which goes right back out) and then press the power button, which results in some of the status leds flashing very briefly (so briefly I can't exactly determine which of the leds are flashing. Due to the color (orangee/yellow) I'd say it's the "unit on battery" led.

I had a quick look inside, everything looks fine to me, which basically means no loose wires, no popped condensators and no corrosion.

I don't have access to a suitable cable, hence I can not connect the unit to a computer. Also, I have no multimeter around to measure battery voltage, but I could probably get one if it's needed.

I guess the battery is dead, at least.
I haven't seen those symptoms described anywhere in the forums let alone the manual. What I'd like to know is if you could think of any more things I could try to get it working again?

Thanks in advance

[Anonymous user]

Maybe one or more of the varistors are shorted out... have you tried removing them? They look like blue discs. It could also be one of the filter capacitors at the UPS input. Acctually it can be anything shorted out inside the unit.

[BillP]

if you decide to do what rau said, please keep in mind APC doesnt officially recommend or support opening a UPS and it will void any warranty remaining on the UPS.

if the breaker is tripped, it should be sticking out an inch or more. if it is not tripped, it sticks out about a quarter of an inch. so you may think its tripped if its not flush, but it probably is not.

i believe this model should turn out without a battery connected (it will just flash the replace battery LED) but it at least should turn on.

what is the history on this unit? is it older? if you give us the first couple digits of the serial number, we can tell.

thanks!

[Anonymous user]

If the varistors are those things that look like the fuses that are used in cars (blue plastic), i tried lifting those to see if they were replaceable, but I think they're soldered onto the board. I wouldn't want to go any further i.e. doing some soldering work on the board. My soldering skills are far from anything usable and besides, I have too much respect for appliances on 230V current. I would hook the unit up to a car battery or something tough if you told me that replacing the battery would do any good.

It said in the manual that it should be flashing the replace battery led if powered on w/o one.

The history of the unit I can't say, but I'm starting to think they replaced it because it's defective. I don't know how old it really is, it looks pretty old to me. I'm guessing the warranty is expired, else they would have had it reapaired. Anyway, serial# is BB0349001xxx, maybe you can find out something.

In this thread they're talking about "hissing" UPSes too. The people over there say it's normal, on the other hand, "hissing" could be any noise with any cause, it's just hard to compare this over the internet..

[BillP · Accepted solution]

it looks like that unit is from the year 2003.