Smart-UPS 2200 keeps restarting

[CIDAdvisors]

Smart-UPS 2200 keeps restarting

I have a Smart-UPS 2200 which has served me well for several years.  Lately the unit will restart itself and then run with no issues.  It's like a blink, where it turns off for a second then restarts and runs fine.  However, I leave my computer on 24/7 so this becomes an issue since the computer doesn't restart.  Nothing else is wrong, battery test shows the batteries are good, self test shows no issue.

How do I correct this?

[Teken]

If you remove AC Mains from the wall what happens? How long does the unit provide backup power? What does the error logs show as the last transfer state?

NOTE: If you remove AC mains from the unit and the system shuts down immediately the batteries are toast. If however the system continues to run for the expected runtime you have removed the batteries as the primary fault. 

Keeping in mind if the expected runtime is 30 minutes but you only see 5 minutes the battery is toast! 

The battery’s are rated for 3-5 years of service life. Which is based on usage, temperature, and environmental conditions. My expectation is if you remove power the unit will turn off immediately or within a few seconds. 

[CIDAdvisors]

I just checked and with the unit unplugged for several hours, run time is still 5 hours and 50 minutes at 94% charged. So it's not the batteries (I wish it was, that's an easy fix). But every day, at different times, the unit cycles and all the AC outlets go down. This happens if I'm working on the computer or away. Load does not seem to matter. Thoughts?

[CIDAdvisors]

Not sure if my reply posted so here it is again.

Thanks for the reply. With the unit unplugged for several hours, it shows a run time of 5 hours and 50 minutes. So it's not the batteries (I wish it was, that's an easy fix). Menu shows: Last UPS Self Test, passed; Battery Replace, Jul-2024; UPS Firmware 1, 08.8. Thoughts?

[Teken]

A couple of things you can do to help narrow down the issue. As to a UPS hardware issue, connected load, electrical wiring fault.

Brain Dead: This procedure will reset the main system to a default state. Power down and remove all connected loads. Remove AC Mains from the wall. Disconnect all batteries from the system. Press and hold the power button until you hear a click / beep. 

You may not hear anything when this procedure is done. 

Reconnect everything (except) the battery packs & loads. 

Report back what happens as the best case the problem is cleared by the brain dead procedure. If the system randomly restarts the unit has an internal fault.

Keeping in mind if your area has very poor grid power the system will obviously shut down when there’s a power blip! ☝️

The reason you’re doing this test (initially) without the battery cartridge is to isolate if the charging system / inverter circuit is a problem.

If you don’t observe the problem for 7 days. You can move forward by connecting the battery cartridge. If you see another reset after the cartridge is inserted (rinse & repeat) the removal of the battery cartridge to narrow down if it was a fluke vs it’s the battery charging / inverter circuit.

If everything is fine you can move forward by connecting the load and monitor what happens. 

If you have a NMC installed a lot more information could be gathered. If you don’t have a NMC installed please insure you have APC Power Chute software installed and connected to a computer system.

Doing so would help capture error codes, active faults, and line conditions. We are interested in knowing if there are power quality issues vs hardware issues or both.

Given you did a great job in replicating a lights out event with removing AC Mains. On the surface it appears the inverter circuit is working fine as it allowed the battery to supply AC power when needed.

NOTE: It’s important to check all line sets attached to the unit. This includes the main power cable to the UPS. Along with any cords inserted into the output outlets.

When everything is powered up and running wiggle each cord set. Nothing should happen when this is done. Please do post up what the NMC / Power Chute indicates the incoming line voltage is vs output voltage from the UPS. 

If there are any error messages like relay weld, ground fault, over temperature, etc in the hard logs please do call them out with dates & times.

[CIDAdvisors]

Ok, I pulled everything off the back of the unit. I'm not entirely clear what "Remove AC Mains from the wall" means but I left the UPS plugged in and removed the batteries. Then I pushed the power button and it immediately beeped, then when I released the button the screen displayed if I wanted to turn off the unit, I chose No.

I'll monitor to see if there is an interruption with the power. My area has a strong grid so that should not be an issue. I'll report back in 7 days (on or about April 13).

Thanks!

[Teken]

AC Mains = Unplug the (UPS) power cord from the AC wall outlet. 

[CIDAdvisors]

Ok, I pulled everything off the back of the unit, removed the batteries, unplugged the unit from the wall, then pushed the power button and it immediately beeped.  Ran it now for three days and it keeps shutting down briefly.  This does not sound good.  Any advice?  Hoping I don't need to buy a new unit but I've had it 9 years (although I only had a 6 year warranty).

[Teken]

If you followed my suggestion about running the unit without the battery cartridge. If there was a power grid issue I would expect the unit to turn off and possibly restart again.

Because there isn’t a battery inside. 🙂

If on the other hand the battery cartridge was inserted and plugged in and the system also shut down.

Theres a problem . . . 

Please connect the system to a computer running the APC Power Chute software. Doing so will offer you and I more factual data as to active faults, error codes, and the line conditions in your area.

You should be able to view past errors from the LCD - Logs. But we want to be able to track all of the above easier.

[CIDAdvisors]

It will take a minute to do this.  I need to see how to connect these units, and see if I even have a 9-pin connector on my computer (I presume this is what I'll need).  I do have the disk.  I'll work on this, this weekend.  Once connected, do I need to wait for a fault to see the error, or will a problem be immediately evident? Keeping in mind that when the UPS faults, the computer shuts down and does not restart (until I press the start button).

[CIDAdvisors]

Oh, and thank you for all this help!  I greatly appreciate it!

[Teken]

You’ll be connecting to the unit with the USB cable to UPS / Computer. For now the computer will be plugged (powered) directly to the wall outlet.

We don’t want the computer to turn off during this monitoring process. It goes without saying if the computer happens to turn off at some point and it’s NOT connected to the UPS.

You have other issues to resolve such as bad power / failing PSU inside of the computer system / both. 🤦‍♂️🤣

You may also download the Power Chute Business Edition from APC if you can’t find your copy. 👍

Lastly, in case I did not ask / mention this if you have the (EPO) Emergency Power Off in use and connected. Please insure this isn’t also the root cause!

The EPO is on the back and uses a small green / blue / black phoenix connector. That connector is wired to a N.O (Normally Open) / N.C (Normally Closed) switch and placed on the wall. 

Should there be an emergency and the power needs to be immediately turned off. Pressing that button will immediately shut down the unit! ☝️

If this EPO is not in place - no worries. If it is test it to see if works and all wiring is sound then disconnect it to rule out it’s not the EPO. 

Let me know what you see and observe in the next few days. Once the software is installed and monitoring the UPS.

Assuming you don’t experience a black out during this period (super bad luck) I would say! 🤣

The software will affirm the incoming line voltage / output voltage. Along with any active faults / error codes, etc.

As a reminder you need to test the system initially for 72 hours with no battery cartridge attached. If the unit operates fine without the battery let it continue this way until it turns off / faults. At this point you can share the logs and other metrics such as incoming voltage, frequency, etc.

Once the system has faulted out without the battery. Connect the battery and monitor again ignoring the obvious errors of the battery missing / installed.

Let the unit operate until it turns off / faults. The software will capture everything leading to the shut down.

Relay the error logs / metrics here for all of us to review.

NOTE: This is also a good time to validate the outputs have not randomly been programmed (scheduled) to turn off. Given the shut down is random this is pretty unlikely. Regardless you should default the UPS to a factory state a few times just to see if the unit behaves differently. 

Cheers! 👍🤟🍺🍺🍺