RS1500 Overload LED Blinking

[Anonymous user]

I suspect this is a continuation of the problems I've had with this unit as described in this thread: [Referenced content removed]

Last night, the unit started sounding an alarm while the Overload LED blinked. The breaker on back was not tripped. Querying the load status said it was only at 24% utilization (pretty much what it always has been). Power cycling the unit cleared the alarm, but I am unsure if the unit is still reliable. From reading other threads on this forum, I deduce that the blinking Overload LED indicates an internal fault as opposed to an overload condition.

Given the excessive number of on/off battery cycles it has been subjected to due to the utility company's Smart Meter (as described in the prior thread), would it be safe to assume this unit is dying a premature death?

[Erasmus_apc]

Double post by accident. Discard.

Message was edited by: Erasmus

[Erasmus_apc]

Based on the information in the previous thread regarding the gas Smart Meters, I would say that this would be a sign of premature unit failure. The only thing that should be triggering the overload LED is the unit's current sensor detecting a load pull greater than the unit's rated unit capacity. Is the power loss issue from the Smart Meter "thread" still occurring?

[Anonymous user]

Yes, the brief instances of cycling onto battery because the unit thinks the power has gone out (when it really hasn't) are still continuing. The power company has replaced my meter with one that uses a radio to transmit data, but my neighbors are still using TWACS meters and apparently that's enough to trigger it (unless this unit has always been failing all along and the installation Smart Meters turns out to just be a coincidence timing-wise).

According to my logs, it has switched over to battery 5-6 times a day since I started logging the events at the end of June. That's a bit less that 700 times in total over the course of 4 months.

Message was edited by: Shwaine

[Erasmus_apc]

What are you powering with this unit, load wise?

Also, can you try changing the sensitivity / transfer voltage of the UPS to the lowest setting? I would be curious to see if this affects the issue. The steps are listed below. It is probable that due to the constant power issues caused by the power meter setup and the state switching that the UPS has prematurely failed.

1. Plug the Back-UPS into the utility power source. The Back-UPS will be in a
Standby Mode (no indicators lit).
2. Press the front panel pushbutton fully inward for 10 seconds. All indicators on the
Back-UPS will flash to acknowledge going into Programming Mode.
3. The Back-UPS will then indicate its current Sensitivity Setting, as shown in the
following:
4. To select the Low Sensitivity setting, press the pushbutton until the yellow
indicator is flashing.
5. To select the Medium Sensitivity setting, press the pushbutton until the yellow
and red indicators (second and third from the top) are flashing.
6. To select the High Sensitivity setting, press the pushbutton until yellow and both
red indicators (bottom three) are flashing.
7. To exit without changing the Sensitivity Setting, press the pushbutton until the
green indicator is flashing.
8. Once in Programming Mode, if the pushbutton is not pressed within 5 seconds,
the Back-UPS will exit Programming Mode; all indicators will extinguish.

This setting can also be changed via our PowerChute software.

[Anonymous user]

I already tried all the sensitivity settings after talking to the phone tech support way back in March when this first occurred. It made no difference.

Plugged into the battery powered ports of the unit at the time was a computer with a 400W power supply, an LCD monitor rated at 43W according to its manufacturer, a cable modem rated at 9W and a router rated at 9W. So that's a total maximum load of 461W on a unit that is rated for 865W. Most of the time it has an average load of around 220W (~25% of the rating). There's a second computer that is plugged in with a 350W power supply, but it was not in use at the time (it's my new system and I've not had time to work on it recently), so it should not have contributed to any potential overload situation. The printer and speakers are plugged into the two surge-only ports of the unit, which again should not contribute to any overload situation.

So I just don't see how this could have been an overload. Even if somehow the cats managed to turn on the second system (which would have involved opening a case door, pressing the power button and closing the case door again, so highly unlikely) and both systems were pulling 100% of their power, that still would be just 811W which is less than the maximum rating for the unit. There was no on-battery event in the logs before the overload occurred (last on-battery had been several hours prior) and only the 350W system is an 80Plus PSU that might have an intermittent wattage spike during on-battery events. The reset button in the back was not popped. The LED was blinking instead of solid. From everything I've read, this all points to an internal fault instead of an overload condition.

This unit is only a year and a half old. Would it be possible to get it replaced under warranty? The power company swears they'll have everyone on my transformer upgraded to use the radio frequency meter instead of TWACS by Nov. 1st so the TWACS issue should be solved.

[Erasmus_apc]

I agree that the overload issue is likely a UPS fault.

While it is not APC's responsibility to fix problems based on an outside party's appliance (in this case a TWACS meter) I don't believe you should be punished by having to deal with a failed UPS. Can I e-mail you directly @ the e-mail address in your profile to set up an RMA for this particular UPS?

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Thanks. The email address on my profile is the best way to contact me. The power company assures me there will be no TWACS meters on my transformer by Sunday, so that factor should be eliminated by then. Why any power company thought TWACS was a good idea in the first place is a matter for another discussion, heh.