Back UPS ES 500

[Anonymous user]

We have several workstations using the BackUPS ES 500 units. We had a surge yesterday and one of them ended up beeping (one long tone) incessantly. I tried to reset the circuit breaker, but that didn't help. Is this unit fried? Does it just need a new battery? Is it under some sort of warranty?

[Anonymous user]

We actually had a surge this week and one last week. The one last week did fry the scanner on this unit. The one this week did not seem to damage anything else on it.

I don't see anything that specifically says model number, but there is a sticker with two bar codes on it. Under the first it says BE500C. Under the second it says JB0203006747.

[Anonymous user]

And yes, I turned the unit off, unplugged, plugged back in, and tried again and it still sets off the beeping noise. I did not try with a known working battery, as I only just realized the batteries could be replaced. We have 3 other units like this. I will have to go pull them out and see if they're the same model and see if I can swap the battery out and give that a try. I don't want to use the one at my desk, as only half the outlets work on mine, so I'm not sure it's functioning correctly either.

[Anonymous user]

I had some ES 350 units that were also emitting a constant tone. If replacing the battery does not remove the irritating constant tone, then I would say with some confidence that the ES 500s are toast. I know my ES 350s were.

[BillP]

BE500C is the model number of your UPS while JB0203006747 is the serial number of your unit. From the serial number we can determine how old the UPS is, your unit was manufactured on the 3rd week of 2002 which makes it 8 years old making the unit out of warranty already.

For troubleshooting, we've verified that the unit is making a noise. How about any blinking/ flashing LED? If there are no loads attached to it and there are no LEDs that are lit up/ flashing then the unit needs to be replaced. Please let us know if you can see an LED lit up, if it is make note if it is flashing or solid and what color is it.

Regarding your scanner, were you able to have it fixed and or RMA'd?

JonPro

[Anonymous user]

I haven't attempted to do anything with the scanner yet.

If I plug the unit in with no loads attached, the green power light comes on and the tone starts and won't stop. Nothing else appears to be lit or flashing.

[BillP]

With the load attached to the battery side of the unit, have you tried unplugging it and letting it run on battery? Does it still provide power to the load? What if you plug a load on the surge side, does it provide power as well? Have you tried swapping the battery with a known good one? If you remove the battery from this unit, does it stop producing the constant tone?

If the UPS fails to provide power to the load when it's on battery

JonPro

[Anonymous user]

Well, now I feel like a COMPLETE idiot. I can't figure out how to detach the battery!

[Anonymous user]

I just pulled out the two that are having issues with the battery side and realized they're both Belkin units, so I'll contact them first, and then worry about the Trade UPS program. I saw the number and website for it already. Thank you very much for your help.

[BillP]

Let me help you out. Attached in this post is the user manual for this UPS, I hope you can open this on your end. You'll need an Adobe PDF reader to view the document, it'll show you an illustration on how would you disconnect/ reconnect the battery.

JonPro

[BillP]

You are very much welcome. Thank you for using the APC forum.

[Anonymous user]

Thank you! I apparently just wasn't pulling hard enough. I was afraid I was going to break something.

You'd asked me several questions earlier. Here are the questions and my responses:

With the load attached to the battery side of the unit, have you tried unplugging it and letting it run on battery? I have now.

Does it still provide power to the load? No.

What if you plug a load on the surge side, does it provide power as well? Not when running on battery.

Have you tried swapping the battery with a known good one? I don't know that I have a good one to test with. I've now discovered that at least two of the other units we have only provide power on the surge side, not the battery side, so I'm going to guess those batteries are shot, correct?

If you remove the battery from this unit, does it stop producing the constant tone? No, it does not.

[BillP]

If the batteries were already removed/ disconnected and the UPS still gives out a constant tone, the has failed and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, that UPS is already old and has been phased out. You can call our APC Support Team and inquire about the Trade-UPS program.

For the other 2 units that provides power on the surge side, what kind of LED indicators can you see? Any kind of tone? What have you done so far? Does it still turn on? If you put a load on the battery side, does the load turn on when you plug it in? How about if you let it run on battery? Does it remain on?

JonPro

[Anonymous user]

Hi! a power surge suddenly occurred when I was playing my Playstation 3 (which was connected to my ES 500) and was surprised that the my UPS shut off (like the other electrical appliances in my room) with a long beeping sound. I just want to ask if there is any explanation for what happened? I'm a bit concerned since I bought my ES 500 specifically for my PS3 to prevent the auto saving feature from being corrupted by sudden power surges/brownouts.

[Anonymous user]

We have several workstations using the BackUPS ES 500 units. We had a surge yesterday and one of them ended up beeping (one long tone) incessantly. I tried to reset the circuit breaker, but that didn't help. Is this unit fried? Does it just need a new battery? Is it under some sort of warranty?

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Is there a way for me to be sure the batteries in the other units are good? Or do I just assume that since the power light is on and they're not emitting a tone that they're good?