ES 550 constant bip and computer shut down

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I own an APC BACKUPS 550 and i have an issue that happened two or three time since i bought it 2 years ago.

So i was coding and my computer just shut down. The APC emitted a constant bip. I had to rearm it and restart my computer. There was no problem like no electricity problems. But i don't really know what this means. Could someone help me ? I own this for my personal use and it always worked like a charm.

What should i look for to see if the APC is still working ? What's that beeping ? There's 3 stuff that can cause constant beeping in the manual but i don't know how to differenciate it. 

I try to unplug the APC and the computer was still on so i think it's still working but i don't understand what is happening with that constant bip.

TL;DR

- Out of the blue. Computer shuts down. Constant bip.

- Rearm. It's fine.

- Tested to unplug the APC from the wall. 

- Computer is on. Bips from the APC (normal ones when there's a problem with power)

Sorry for my english 😞 and thanks in advance for your help.

[Anonymous user]

It's possible that your Back-UPS ES 550 is being overloaded. I don't think it would cut off power to attached devices in the face of an overload unless there is a power problem and the inverter is running from battery.

An inexpensive inline metering device (something like the P3 Kill-A-Watt, or a similar device) can tell you exactly how much electricity your computer consumes. Easiest thing to do would be to plug the Back-UPS into the measurement device and see what everything is drawing. To get the worst-case figure, do something that holds the CPU usage at 100% for a little while.

Although they're sold as being suitable for computer use, all the various "plugstrip" style APC UPS products really a bit light for the job. It's best to keep a UPS loaded to about 50% of its capacity rating at any given time.

If checking with a power meter rules out an overload condition, the battery could have failed or the unit itself may have a problem.

[Anonymous user]

Hello.

Thank your or your answer. Well it can't be the computer since it's plugged in since the start so.... But i tried anyway since i ddon't have a measure device

I have done a really simple test since the problem happened again. 

I hooked up the APC on another wall alone. With NOTHING on it. Two hours after. It started to do the constant bip again.

Weird thing, there's no light with the beeping. Which is OVERLOAD in the manual. Overload with nothing ? i thought APC lasted longer than 2 years 😞

[Anonymous user]

I do not completely understand what you are saying about the constant beeping sound and exactly when it happened during your test.

It is possible that the unit has failed, or the battery is no longer any good. How much life you get from the battery varies depending upon the quality of your electrical service.

Several things can cause the constant beeping sound:

1. An overload.

2. A bad battery.

3. An internal fault in the UPS.

4. Low battery.

The LED light flashes when the unit is running on battery or performing a self test. It may be "latched" off when the fault occurs.

Maybe there are other things that can trigger the constant beeping. I do not work for APC or Schneider Electric, and as a result I do not know everything about how they programmed the microcontroller in your UPS.

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I plugged the APC alone (with nothing plugged on it) and 2 hours later, it did the constant bip. I don't think there is other things that the thing you mention (because that's exactly what is in the manuel).

Is there a way to test the battery ? Other than plug something on it then unplug the APC ? (a real test i mean) ?

Thanks again for your help.

[BillP]

Hi,

You can test the battery with a DC volt meter. When not connected to the UPS the voltage should read 13.5 for a good battery.

[Anonymous user]

Ok thanks. I need to find one. Mine was lost when moving.

[BillP]

On 1/9/2016 6:32 AM, William said:

It's best to keep a UPS loaded to about 50% of its capacity rating at any given time.

What happens, if the load goes up to, let´s say, 70% or even 80%? Will the UPS become unstable or will it shut down earlier than expected?

[Anonymous user]

On 1/21/2016 4:34 AM, Malte said:

What happens, if the load goes up to, let´s say, 70% or even 80%? Will the UPS become unstable or will it shut down earlier than expected?

It may shut down sooner than expected due to faster battery exhaustion. This is especially true if the batteries are no longer new. Batteries will wear out faster under the heavier load, and may have to be replaced more often.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hello Antoine,

I have a similar problem with my ES 550. Just of the warranty of 3 years expired, it started to do a bip sound. And I don't mean just a bip-bip-bip, but one long biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

I disconnected it from all devices and I still have the same problem: As soon as I turn on the battery support I get that sound. I also connected it to a PC and installed the "PowerChute Personal Edition v3.0.2" which I downloaded from APC. But I didn't seen any problems there.

The interesting thing is: If I take the ES 550 to another electrical socket it doesn't do the sound (didn't try to connect any device to it). If I take it to another socket I get it again. If I take it back to the socket which was okay, it doesn't give me the bip again. So I can reproduce it, but I don't know the reason / the cause for it.

First I thought that maybe the battery is too old. But the PowerChute didn't show anything. And it also wouldn't explain why I get that sound on some sockets while I don't get it on some other ones. Somehow mysterious...