F02 Error On 4 year old BN1500M2 - Solved

[Mark850_apc]

I experienced a power outage during a thunderstorm last week and my <4 year old BN15000M2 immediately failed with the F02 error dropping power to all the 'backed up' devices.

Eventhough most references to F02 indicate a electronics failure, I was curious if it could be the battery.  I found this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhf_IvgrAsw referencing the Ancel BA101 automotive battery tester and how to use it to test UPS batteries.

The BN1500M2 uses the RBC161 battery pack which is 2 12v batteries in series; in order to test each battery, the the yellow jumper cable must be removed.  Testing showed that one battery was 13.13v (no load) and had an internal resistance of about 20m Ohm (Good Battery).  The second battey indicated 12.88v (no load).  Just attaching the tester dropped the voltage to ~4v and the test could not actually be performed.  Bottom line, the battery pack was no good.

I ordered a replacement RBC161 and the BN1500M2 immediately came to life and successfully backed up a test rig when the AC power was dropped.

It would appear a faulty battery can cause the BN1500M2 to fail with an F02 error.  Note that prior to the storm, there was no indication that there was a battery problem, it had passed an automatic self test a week before.