Question about older Smart 1400 Pro

[Anonymous user]

Hello all! I just gave my older Smart 1400 Pro to my nephew, and he is unable to get it to turn on when he pushes the ON/OFF button. I was using the unit before I gave it to him, so I know it worked okay. He says that if he pushes in the ON/OFF button and holds it in, it will do a self test, so that means that the battery is connected.

When I had the unit, there were times when I couldn't turn it off. I'd push in the ON/OFF button, and I would hear a relay click, but it didn't click a second time (like it usually did) and the unit would turn off it's front panel lights, but the power remained on to my computer. It was as if something (a relay maybe?) wasn't unclicking. Usually, when I would push in the power button to turn it off, the unit would click as I pushed in on the button, then it would click again as I let off the button. When it wouldn't shut off, I would hear the click as I pushed in on the button, but when I let off of the button, there was no second click.

I don't know if that is related to the unit not turning on now, but I am trying to give out as much info as I can, in case anyone knows what might be wrong with the unit. Oh, and I replaced the battery about a year ago, so I know that the battery is good.

Does anyone have any ideas? Also, is there a service center that could repair this unit anywhere in the Baltimore-Washington area? I feel bad that I gave him this unit yesterday (Sunday) and he can't get it to work, even though I was using it up to that point.

[BillP]

The battery may still be good, but discharged. These units won't turn on without a charged battery. I'm kind of confused by the part about him getting it to self-test by holding the button. If you press & hold the I/test button, it should do one quick beep and then a 2nd longer beep. Let go immediately after hearing the 2nd beep and it should come on battery, performing a self-test. If it doesn't complete that self-test and stay on, I suspect the battery charge isn't enough to keep it on for long or to pass the test.

I honestly don't know about the clicking you're describing - it sounds a little odd to me that it would sometimes come on, sometimes not - but I would check out the battery first. Could you use a voltmeter to measure to voltage on the battery to verify it's charged? Swap in a battery from another unit?

Worst case scenario, the only APC Certified out of warranty repair/service company, [Coastal Business Machines|http://www.buyupsonline.com], has a couple of locations in the Baltimore area I believe.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for the reply Buzz. The battery can't be the problem, because...well, first, it's only about a year old. Second, I was using the unit, unhooked it, and took it down my nephew's house an hour later, so it was running fine before I took it down his house. I never thought to try it when I gave it to him, and he just set in on the stairsteps leading up to his computer room, when I gave it to him. He didn't try it out until after I had left.

When I mentioned a clicking sound, well I still get that with the new APC unit I just bought. When I push in the ON/OFF button, I hear a loud click, and when I let off the button, I hear a second click. It sounds like a relay, but I can't be sure.

What I am going to do is, when I see my nephew again next Sunday, I am going to pickup the unit and take it to the service facility that you mentioned. That place isn't that far from me, and I'm sure they can get it up and running. Thanks for the name of that place.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Sure, no problem. 🙂 Yeah, those clicking sounds are from the relay, that's normal. Good luck with the unit.