Back-UPS ES 450/550G "off", then flashing red/green

[Anonymous user]

Ups is powering a PC and security system dvr. Got home and saw PC and dvr were off. Checked ups and saw it was also off. I pressed power button on ups and the ups beeped once and its led is flashing red and green. 

Any idea why the unit would be off? I don't think there was an outage. I have a coffee maker that would've been flashing if so. I had only been away from home for an hour. Would a weak or nearly dead battery cause the ups to turn off even when getting adequate power from the wall? Will the ups no longer stay "on" and forward wall power to connected devices if the battery is low or nearly dead? 

[BillP]

Hi J,

To clarify one thing, both the BE450G and the BE550G have two sides - a battery backup (+surge) and a surge only side. The surge only side is unaffected by the power on button, if the battery is dead, etc. I'm assuming your PC and DVR were plugged into the battery backup side.

A few things come to mind -

What's the serial number of the UPS and the serial number of the battery (if you have replaced it)? I'm assuming you have either a BE450G or BE550G correct?

Has this UPS been working fine for a while or is this a new install? Has the UPS supported your devices in an outage before?

I have both the BE450G and the BE550G in our lab, and they both will turn on without a battery present. They will however give you a constant tone and flash the red LED, but the UPS itself will pass power on the battery backup side of things.

A scenario that might explain your situation: if the UPS was running a self test (it does so every two weeks) or if there was dirty power (enough for the UPS not to like it but still keeping the coffee maker on), the UPS will go to battery and if the battery was bad, it would drop the load. The LED will flash between greed/red and give a constant tone when a bad battery is present. 

Let me know what you think.

- Tommy

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for relying!

It's an ES 450. I've only had it installed for a week. I bought it from an individual. It was used but looked new, but not sure of its actual history. The serial # is 3B1125X13127. It does have a genuine APC battery installed. The negative wire was unconnected when I opened the box last week when I received it. It looked new, with all the accessories and paperwork in place. This UPS replaced a Back-up Network 40 that had been working perfectly (no issues) in the same setup for many months. I needed to move the Network 40 to another room for another purpose.Last night was the first time I had powered on the PC that had been connected to the ES 450 (and that had been working fine for months powered by the on the Network 40). The security system DVR had been plugged up to the ES450 for the last week. The PC had been running fine as I used it for several hours last night (it rebooted several times, which was necessary as I was reinstalling windows). I left home for an hour or two with the PC at idle and came home to find the PC and ES450 powered off. No lights. No beeps. The coffee maker I referred to is plugged into the wall (not into UPS). If its clock is flashing, I know I've had a power outage. It was not flashing when I arrived home this morning. The PC is plugged into the battery side of the UPS's outlets. The PC is my plex video server, so I want it to run 24/7 even in the case of a short power outage. The PC is set to power back on if it loses power and plex then starts itself. This morning, the led on the ES450 was flashing red/green when I turned it back on. It has now flashed those colors for about 7 hours. To test it, I just unplugged it and it simply shut off. No lights or beeps that I recall. When I powered it back up, it was flashing red (actually looks amber). It flashed amber when I received it and while the battery was disconnected. So, today, I opened it up, unplugged battery, measured 13 volts DC across the battery terminal, reinstalled and plugged it back up and again it still flashed red (or amber). Nothing was plugged up at the time. I then plugged the PC into the ES450 and the led turned green and I the powered up the PC with no problems. This is all so confusing!!!

[Anonymous user]

Your Back-UPS ES 450 dates from the 25th week of 2011. If the battery is original, it is either worn out or has been left discharged too long for the UPS to bring it back up. A genuine APC battery should have a serial number of its own.

The UPS is designed to detect power failures and disturbances that some other things (like your coffee maker) may never notice.

A new battery would have your Back-UPS ES 450 up and working like new once again. You could also trade it in for a discount on a newer model with the APC Trade-UPS program, if you would rather have a new UPS.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Hello 

I have a Back-UPS ES 550, with serial number 4B1106P16045.  I bought it used and wondered if you can tell me if the battery is still good, and if not, how to order a replacement.  Thank you.

Joanie

[BillP]

Hi,

When you plug the unit in and power it up it will run a self-test. The test is to determine if the battery is good. Based on the serial number the unit is 7 and 1/2 years old. If the battery has never been replace you should replace it as the expected life is 3 to 6 years.