SmartUPS 1000, Battery unable to support the load problem.

[Anonymous user]

I currently own 2 SmartUPS 1000 models.
The first one had a battery replacement over half a year ago, the second one just recently.
With the first one all went well, but the second UPS still complains about the battery that's unable to support the load (battery leds flashing).
The load didn't change at all, It's still the same machine as it is for years.
I have to admit that the ups complained several months that it needed a new battery, but since the load wasn't that critical, I've postponed it.
Also both ups' have the AP9617 smartslot card's installed.
When I googled the warning, I came across this white-paper: http://www.buyuptime.com/commerce/storefronts/buyuptime/pdf/AskTheExperts.pdf
Suggesting me that I needed to perform a manual runtime calibration.

For this I used the following technique:

- Fully (24H) charge the batteries
- Disconnected entire UPS (even the battery connector)
- Connected a reliable steady non critical load (500W light bulb)
- Disconnected all communication with the ups (removed the smartslot card, disconnected serial / usb ports)
- Reconnected the battery
- Plugged the power cord in
- Turned on the light bulb while working on AC power
- Pulled out the power cord
- Waited until the light bulb went out (UPS switched itself off)

This gave me the following result:

- The runtime for a 500W load seems normal (+- 19 minutes)
- The ups immediately gave me the 'battery critical low' warning after unplugging the power cord
- I left the UPS charging for about 2 hrs (battery indicator telling me the battery is recharged again)
- Plugged the machine (+- 29% of total ups load) back into the ups (leaving the power cord plugged in), booted the machine, the ups immediately gave me the same warning as the one I started with (battery light flashing).
Even with the management card still not inserted. (so I'm sure the ups uses its own hardware build in system to monitor the battery).

I'm all out of ideas... any help?

[BillP]

About how long did the 500w light bulb run on battery before the UPS turned off? Was that the 19m value you reported, or did you see that in the NMC? And how does that compare to what the NMC shows as the expected runtime after running the calibration?

You'll need to reinstall the NMC to see this (or use the PCBE software) to find this setting. Then again, you said the computer creates 29% load so maybe it's already installed... unless you just remember that from before you began this procedure.

Also, what is the low battery duration value set to? What's the complete model number for this unit (SUA1000 vs SU1000, for example)?

[Anonymous user]

The 19 minutes is the time the light bulb ran on UPS power.
The 29% load is the value I remembered from a previous check-up with the management card.
The expected runtime (before manual calibration) was +- 2 minutes, the same as the low battery duration setting in the management software.

Today I'm reinstalling the management card and let you know about the rest of the values.

Greetings.

[Anonymous user]

I've reinstalled the management card, and in addition to my previous post, I've gained the following values:

Last Battery Transfer: No transfers have occurred
Internal Temperature: 29.7°C
Runtime Remaining: 7 minutes
Power
Input Voltage: 230.4 VAC
Output Voltage: 231.8 VAC
Frequency: 50.0 Hz
Load Power: 30.5 %Watts
Battery Capacity: 100.0 %
Battery Voltage: 27.54 VDC
External Batteries: 0

Model: Smart-UPS 1000
Serial Number: AS0142132617
Firmware Revision: 600.1.I
Manufacture Date: 10/19/01

Self-Test: Passed on April 02, 2010
Calibration: Passed on April 01, 2010

[BillP]

So it's almost 10yrs old... Not too surprised it's a little bit off in terms of estimated runtime. The battery constants probably need to be reset. I think I've seen some posts around here from "unofficial" sources with instructions for that, though you'd be better off calling in to tech support to make sure you don't change the wrong values.

The battery bar graph shouldn't be flashing anymore though, since it should only do that when the runtime is within 2m of the low battery duration (which you said is also 2m). So as long as your runtime > 4m, it shouldn't be flashing...

[Anonymous user]

The battery bar indeed isn't flashing anymore.
But sometimes the management card still tells me that the batteries are unable to support the load.
Probably when the cpu is dooing some calculating.
Can you point me in the right direction about the reset for battery constant?
Thanks.

[BillP]

Unfortunately, not really, because it's proprietary information that APC doesn't publish. [This thread|Referenced content removed] kind of outlines the discussion. You may need to call your regional tech support to get a calibration key.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the replies.
I was able to fix it with the APCFIX.exe utility.
Your post pointed me in the right direction.