Back-ups 650 Doesn't Recognize Power Outage

[BillP]

I'd had a few very brief power outages recently and my 650 Backups unit does not automatically transfer PC power to the battery. My computer goes dead instantly when the power blinks off. I've pressed the "test" button and my computer stays on. I presume the power is being transferred to the battery when I press the test button -- so I presume the battery is OK. Why would it not automatically change over to battery power when the electrical power actually goes off?

Patrice

[Techie_apc]

Patrice,

How old Is the Battery? Has the original battery ever been replaced in the unit? Is the UPS making any beeps during power failure? Could you please force the UPS to work on battery by unplugging it from the wall for a while and see what happens?

If the battery is too old, it may not hold the charge on battery mode.

[BillP]

I don't know how old the battery is, however I don't recall replacing it for quite some time. No beeps during power failure however I've got the alarm turned off. I unplugged it from the wall unit and all power shut off (battery did not power the computer). The only thing still on was the green "on" light on the front. When the battery is not holding its charge, will the "test" function not work properly? Seems like testing it should tell me that the battery is dead, but my computer keeps running when I press "test" -- isn't that an indication that the battery is working?

Patrice

[Techie_apc]

Patrice,

I assume that you are referring to the Self test which is used to check the battery integrity. How did you do it?

Did you press the Test button until you heard two beeps? Did the UPS transfer to battery mode after some time and then transfer to online mode? How did the light sequence go after pressing the Test button?

Secondly, were you able to perform a test which I asked you to do? Did the UPS work on battery after you unplug it from the wall? How long did it run on battery?

[BillP]

There is a button on the front of the unit. When I toggle it up, it is a test -- according to the unit instructions, this switches the unit to battery power. I turned the alarm back and then pressed the test button again. The alarm was steady -- it did not beep. I am not sure what you mean by light sequencing. There are no light sequences on the unit I have. It is a BK650M. I did disconnect the unit from the electricity and it failed to run my computer on the battery. However, the green light on the on/off button stayed on when it was unplugged.

Patrice

[Techie_apc · Accepted solution]

Patrice,

My suspect is that the battery needs to be replaced in the unit as it does not run the unit on battery mode. The BK650M is an old model, and it does not have any specific Replace Battery Indication.

However, if the unit is pretty old, I would upgrade it to a new unit instead of replacing the battery in the old unit.

You may participate in the APC Trade UPS program..By trading your unit, you can get a great deal. Click on the below link for more information.
http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=298

I hope that this helps. Have a nice weekend!