BackUPS ES700G beeping for seconds a number of times per day

[BillP]

Dear all, i have a 6 years old BackUPS ES 700 G the unit started to emit a loud beep for a number of seconds 3 to 4 times per day.

I thought the battery would be bad, so I installed a new battery in Oktober 2015. The beeping never really disappeared but is now returning 3 to 4 times a day, when the beep sounds the red LED flashes fast, after the beeping the red LED is off and the green LED continuously on. The unit seems to work well, on my NAS the UPS battery is shown to be at 100% and 3400 secs estimated life. If i disconnect mains, all equipment runs fine, and the UPS beeps 4 times every 30 seconds with flashing red LED. When power is on again the short beeps stop, green LED is on and red LED is off.

I cannot find any solution in the manual.

The loud long beeps are pretty annoying, who knows what is wrong and how to stop it?

[BillP]

This is an interesting situation. By loud beep, would be referring to a constant tone? 

Based on the information you've provided, the Flashing RED LED with Constant tone would be indicative of a Replace Battery indication. This indication however should not be popping up on it's own without the unit first performing an automatic self test. Once triggered, it should not be resetting itself without user intervention. Given the age of the unit, it is possible some of the solid state components used in the battery detection circuit are close to end of life. For example, the electrolytic used in a capacitor can dry out over time.

It may be time to replace the unit.

Secret Squirrel

[BillP]

Hi Squirrel, thanks for your explanations.

Yes the beep is a loud constant tone for at least 3 seconds. After a few seconds it stops. In a normal situation how should the battery alarm be reset, i cannot find anything in the manual. I tried with unplugging the whole unit and reconnect everything, but without result. 6,5 Years sound like a short term for passive component to wear out. Is it possible to do a check on the capacitors, either visual or with Multimeter without removing them from the PCB?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

The replace battery indication can be reset by replacing the battery and cycling power to the unit. There is no way to silence this alarm and continue using the UPS without replacing the battery, if that is in fact the issue. On a side note, it is possible the battery voltage is teetering on the threshold between good and bad, which may be triggering the failure and return from failure.

The 5-6yrs is based on the thermal ratings for the components used within the enclosure when subjected to the expected internal temperatures during normal operation. The ambient temperature of the room in which the unit is located, can effect the internal temp. of the UPS resulting in either shortened or extended life of the unit. In addition, electrical anomalies can also shorten the life of these components overtime. 

I would not advise opening the enclosure to perform any measuring.

Secret Squirrel