Self Test drops power to all devices then reports success

[Dougga_apc]

I have an APC Backup-UPS XS 900
The device drops power to all computers periodically yet shows no faults.
Upon running a self-test, the device drops power to all devices and claims "Success".

This is much worse than not having any UPS at all.
The self test clearly doesn't work properly.

What can I do?

Message was edited by: Dougga

[Dougga_apc]

OK, for some reason this site is not showing replies on threads.
I found the following reply in an email.

"is this the original battery? can you give us the first several digits of the serial number? it is possible it is time for a new battery that cannot support the load but is not necessarily failing a self test (which i am not sure why yet)."

Response to this reply:

This is not the original battery. I replaced this battery last year I believe.
The load is about 15% so that certainly is not the issue.
The software indicates the battery will support the load for about an hour.

[Dougga_apc]

More details:

Serial Number: 3B0909X3...
Current load on UPS: 86watts Absurdly low!
Firmware: 830.E8.D

Message was edited by: Dougga

[BillP]

is this the original battery? can you give us the first several digits of the serial number? it is possible it is time for a new battery that cannot support the load but is not necessarily failing a self test (which i am not sure why yet).

[BillP]

hello. i was not insinuating your load was necessarily the issue but more so the capacity of the battery to support it. if it were me, what i would do is find out if when the UPS transfers to battery (besides a self test), does it support the load? i.e. try this with a non critical load of a lamp or similar and run the UPS and remove the plug from the wall and see if it also does the same thing or if it is specific to the self test function.

[Dougga_apc]

I tested the device with interesting results:

Upon removing the plug from the wall, power is lost for approximately 1.5 seconds.
Power is then restored to the device under battery power
The PowerChute software that I could find only gives rudimentary data but the load appears to be handled just fine by the battery with the expected reduction in battery capacity as time goes by.

In essence, the device simply turns everything off then back on.

This does not appear to be a battery problem but how the device manages a change to battery power.

Is there a way I can reimage the ROMs on the device?

______________


Note: During a rare Seattle thunderstorm today all devices were reset so it seems similar behavior occurs when even power anomalies are detected. There was no loss of power.

Message was edited by: Dougga

[BillP]

unfortunately there is no way to modify the firmware on these particular types of devices. i agree it sounds like the device is the problem here. perhaps it is still under factory warranty? they have a 3 year warranty.

[Dougga_apc · Accepted solution]

The software that runs this forum is broken.

I get the following errors.

APC has quality management issues.

An error in the system has occurred. Please contact the system administrator if the problem persists.

type: java.lang.NullPointerException

java.lang.NullPointerException