BX1300LCD suddenly dropped power - won't come back on

[BillP]

I've had my BX1300LCD supporting my file server, HTPC, TV & receiver for a couple of years, and everything's been running smoothly. Earlier this evening, everything shut off for no apparent reason.

I looked at the UPS, and it was turned off. I assumed that the power to that circuit must have died without us hearing the beeping (it's in the living room, so not likely), and turned it back on. All the equipment came on, then about 2 seconds later, everything shut off. I checked the power cord - it was still firmly plugged in, so I checked breakers - nothing had tripped.

I unplugged everything from the back of the UPS and turned it back on. It now beeps twice every few seconds, there are no bars lit up in the battery charge indicator, and the battery level indicator is blinking. The "bad battery" icon is NOT lit up. There are no faults indicated. I've let the UPS sit for about 4-5 hours, thinking that for some reason the battery had drained without beeping at me. There is still no indication of any battery charge, and the beeping and blinking continue.

I tried the reset suggested here and the reset/self-test here, but neither seem to have had any impact.

A) Is this a bad battery or has the UPS itself died?

B) Why won't the UPS power its outlets when plugged into a live outlet, even if the battery is dead?

[BillP]

"a couple of years"... According to the APC site, by serial number, my unit was manufactured 1 Apr 2007. I guess I've probably had it for 6+ years...

I'm OK with it being dead at this point, it's served well, I'm just not thrilled with the way it died. Any trouble shooting tips to identify if it is, in fact, dead?

[BillP]

Hi Brett,

I am sorry for the issue you are experiencing.  I would first recommend consulting the product manual as it does have many explanations for different errors.  Specifically, take a look at "Warning Four" in the manual as this is what I believe you are experiencing  (the link to the manual is below).  If you have an empty battery bar graph that is blinking, the unit is indicating it needs a replacement battery.  Have you ever replaced the battery in this six year old unit?  A six year old battery would definitely need a replacement.  I see that you have done the two troubleshooting steps we do recommend, so that is great.  I know that you mentioned a load drop which is atypical of the unit signalling a bad battery unless the battery is completely discharged to the point where a blip in utility power would cause the load to drop due to inability to support the load on battery.  If you are still having drop issues after the reset procedures, I would recommend calling into APC at 800-800-4272 to further discuss the issue before replacing the battery.

Cheers!

http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/ASTE-6Z7VAU/ASTE-6Z7VAU_R0_EN.pdf?sdirect=true

[BillP]

Thanks, for the effort, Jordan. I had looked at the referenced PDF.

On 12/22/2014 11:43 AM, Jordan said:

Specifically, take a look at "Warning Four" in the manual as this is what I believe you are experiencing

It's not. My UPS is indicating that it's on-line, not on battery, and there is no "LOW" blinking between the load level and battery level icons.

On 12/22/2014 11:43 AM, Jordan said:

 If you have an empty battery bar graph that is blinking, the unit is indicating it needs a replacement battery. 

Unless I'm totally missing something, there's no indication in the 'manual' that the blinking battery indicator is a sign for battery replacement. There is a battery with an 'x' in it that indicates the battery has failed, though. Is the manual incorrect?

On 12/22/2014 11:43 AM, Jordan said:

Have you ever replaced the battery in this six year old unit?

I have not, but am willing to do so (or just replace the whole unit, at this point), if that's what's indicated.

On 12/22/2014 11:43 AM, Jordan said:

 I know that you mentioned a load drop which is atypical of the unit signalling a bad battery unless the battery is completely discharged to the point where a blip in utility power would cause the load to drop due to inability to support the load on battery.

There were no discernible drops in power, and numerous subsequent attempts to get the UPS to power on were met with nothing but the beeping and blinking I initially described. We don't have the best quality power in the world, but I highly doubt that the voltage had dropped significantly enough to warrant on-battery running each time I attempted to power on the UPS. At this point, it's not so much a "drop" issue, as an unwillingness to even pass on the power that it present at the input to it's output outlets.

I note that you seem to be fairly new here, and are not listed as one of the space administrators for this forum. I also don't recall having seen your name on the 6 or so pages worth of posts I read last night about similar issues. Have they just failed to add you to the admin listing?

[BillP]

Brett,

Yes I am new to our forum posting.  The blinking battery bar graph is representative of the battery being in a weak state unable to support the load (run time too low).  This, mixed with the fact the battery is six years old, would warrant a battery replacement.  However, because of these load drops, I would recommend a unit replacement over a battery replacement or calling into tech support to further troubleshoot the issue.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Ordering a new UPS to replace this one.

Very disappointed in how it handled the dying battery - a beep and a warning light would have been much better than just shutting down.

I might pick up a deep-discount battery set to replace the ones currently in the box, just to see if it comes back to life. If it doesn't, I'm not out much. If it does, I'll get some life out of it, and might invest in a better quality battery when the cheapies die.

Thanks for your help. Guess I'll consider this one solved, though unsatisfied.