BR800BLK Windows 7 PowerChute odd behaviour

[BillP]

Hi;
I have the BR800BLK powering my PC running Windows 7 Ultimate (SP1).
PowerChute Personal Edition ver 3.0.2 is installed, the two APC services (APC Data Service, & APC UPS Service) are set to Automatic.

Recently, I replaced the battery pack in the BR800, and wanted to run some load tests.
During these tests, I found that when PowerChute is allowed to put the computer into hibernation - before Windows 7 does - the BR800 acts oddly.
PowerChute was set to "medium" sensitivity, with over-voltage limit at 139V, and under-voltage limit of 102V.
I set PowerChute to run only 1 minute on battery before shtting down.
After the PC shut down, I waited about 30 seconds, then re-connected AC power to the BR800. I did not power up the PC at this time, so there was almost no load on the BR800.
The BR800 failed to switch from battery to AC power, even though the AC mains measured 120V.
I ran this test several times, and found the condition to be 100% repeatable.
I then tried disconnecting AC power from the BR800 while the PC was running. The BR800 switched to battery when AC was lost, and switched back to AC when it returned.
 
If I set PowerChute to a longer time (5min) then set Windows 7 Power to hibernate in 1 minute on battery, the BR800 performed normally, switching back to AC power when I re-connected it to the mains.
So the problem appears to be that PowerChute is interacting with Windows Power services, and bad data is being sent over the USB to the BR800, causing it to fail to switch to AC when it returns, and is well within the specs as set by PowerChute.

To rectify the problem, I set both APC services to Manual, and don't set PowerChute to shut down the computer - instead, I set this in Windows Power options.

Interestingly, with the services set to manual, and not running when the computer is booted, PowerChute still runs and displays the (apparently) correct information on battery and AC power.
When PowerChute is started, the APC services do not start, so it appears that these services are used for other functionality than simply displaying the data from the UPS.

ANOTHER ISSUE with the BR800:
It appears that, when the battery is depleted (such that zero runtime is available), the UPS will not even switch to AC when it is connected to good mains.
When the unit is connected to known good mains, but with a depleted battery, the relays chatter for a moment, then the unit shuts down. If allowed to sit, the relays chatter every few seconds, or the RED indicator comes on and the unit shuts down. This continues until the battery has some amount of charge.
I found this to be true when the old battery died, and after I received a new set of batteries, which happened to be depleted.
After allowing the UPS to remain off but plugged into mains for several minutes, the unit did switch to AC, with the green indicator glowing steady.
Is this normal behaviour of the BR800, or is my unit bad?

Thanks for your help

FW

[voidstar_apc · Accepted solution]

I'm not sure but two things:

1) Usually PowerChute commands the UPS to turn off after giving the computer enough time to turn off. Typically 2 minutes. Perhaps wait after PC shutdown to see if the UPS shuts itself off. Presence of AC does not abort the shutdown -- the PC needs to see loss of power in order to turn back on.

2) Usually UPSes will charge their batteries to some minimum runtime before turning their output on (minimum return runtime). Ideally this should be at least enough runtime to perform another safe shutdown. If the output turns on before the batteries have sufficient charge, then an inconviently timed power failure could lead to an unsafe shutdown.