Issue with SURTD3000XLI

[Anonymous user]

Dear all

I have the following issue with an SURTD3000XLI.

The unit was bought back in 2012 in my company, and was then in use for about 18 months under average load in our data center under perfect conditions. After, the unit was taken offline and was standing by, with batteries disconnected - because we invested in a big ups solution for the full data center. So in fact, the unit is in perfect condition - except its age. As far i remember, it was never running on batteries except for some tests.

Some weeks ago, i was able to get this unit for free for home use (home lab), but i have some issues.

Both battery packs are completely discharged (voltage at about 44VDC/39VDC). If i'm going to connect them, the unit is not able to start the self test, it's just klicking with a relay for some times - and some leds are flickering. I think this is related to the low DC voltage?

But if i connect the unit to the AC - the 16A fuse on the power installation fires of. If i connect the unit without the battery packs - nothing happens, it's just running in bypass mode - no leds are on.

My question:

• Will new battery packs solve the issue? Im willing to invest some bucks for batteries - but not if the unit itself is broken.
• Is there any hope by disassembling the battery packs and charging them individually with an professional car battery charger?

And: I have a graduation in electronics and IT - so i really know about the risks.

[MarkC_apc · Accepted solution]

First the battery issue.  With the very low voltages on (each?) battery cage, it is very unlikely that any of these small AGMs can be rejuvenated - I have tried every trick to do so and for any long term usage, it is not worth the try - especially at 4+ years of age.  I would not use these battery cages in the unit - it could be possible to damage the charging circuit??

Second - the inability to start - APC/Schneider can be more definitive on this issue, but my experience has been that if the UPS throws a (good) breaker upon connection, there is likely a "fault" of some type in the unit.  If you can get the unit to power up a network card (no batteries, plug in the AC and see if the Ethernet connection lights up), you can get more fault information from it.  

I'd try to "borrow" the two battery cages from someone rather than spending the big bucks on new batteries - SURTS are very commonly used in the network business.