SmartUPS 450 (SU700INET) Not detecting input voltage

[oliolioli_apc]

You can hear the buzzing from the UPS when plugging the power in but there is no LED on the front to indicate the power has been plugged in at all
powerChute initially said it was okay communicating but later that day the UPS just turned off without any warning. After the server was rebooted, powerchute could not detect the ups. I plugged it into a freenas system and connected to the ups fine but the stats seemed odd. there is no power output from the ups without holding down the test/power on button until it beeps to bring it in to test mode.

There are possibly a number of problems:

• I am in the uk so the input / output voltage shouldn't be ~100volts  it should be ~230volts.
• The battery charge is saying 7% when the battery voltage is reporting 28volts which is fully charged

This is the output from freenas system using NUT (upsc and upsrw utilities) -- note: I didn't have any load attached to the ups at the time of the report below:

[root@NAS /usr/local/etc/nut]# upsc ups
battery.alarm.threshold: 0
battery.charge: 007.0
battery.charge.restart: 00
battery.date: 06/01/15
battery.packs: 000
battery.runtime: 1500
battery.runtime.low: 120
battery.voltage: 28.55
battery.voltage.nominal: 024
device.mfr: APC
device.model: SMART-UPS 450
device.type: ups
driver.name: apcsmart
driver.parameter.pollinterval: 2
driver.parameter.port: /dev/cuau0
driver.parameter.synchronous: no
driver.version: 2.7.3
driver.version.internal: 3.1
input.frequency: 50.00
input.quality: 00
input.sensitivity: L
input.transfer.high: 132
input.transfer.low: 103
input.transfer.reason: unacceptable utility voltage rate of change
input.voltage: 000.0
input.voltage.maximum: 000.0
input.voltage.minimum: 000.0
output.voltage: 000.0
output.voltage.nominal: 115
ups.delay.shutdown: 020
ups.delay.start: 000
ups.firmware: 40.11.D
ups.id: ups
ups.load: 000.0
ups.mfr: APC
ups.model: SMART-UPS 450
ups.status: BOOST
ups.temperature: 043.6
ups.test.interval: 1209600
ups.test.result: OK 

I have tried various steps including:

1. unplugging the UPS and left it unplugged for 1+hr
2. disconnected/reconnected the battery
3. changed the voltage sensitivity to the 2 other settings
4. plugged the UPS into a different outlets and using different cables
5. tried to change the ups configuration using command line and PowerChute interface to change the 'input.transfer.high', input.transfer.low' (receiving invalid value error when changing to various values)

[BillP]

Hi Oli, 

Can you please provide the model and serial number of your UPS. It is located on white sticker on either the back or the bottom of the UPS as below: 

Regards, 

Nicole 

[Brad_C]

It sounds horribly like your unit did what one of mine did a few years ago. Mine is a 3.5 Generation unit. Here's my initial post with detail. It won't help you directly, but it will give you an idea as to how it can be fixed : SU1400 RM with Amnesia. If it's any consolation, since I re-configured it things have been sweet for...

You have a 3rd generation Smart-UPS. The default model code in the firmware (model 0x00) is a Smart UPS 450 120V model (the 40.11.D). 40 is the Smart-UPS 450, 11 is the firmware revision and D means Domestic (120V US). The unit appears to have defaulted the eeprom and lost all it's configuration, so it thinks it's a US model 450 (thus the 100V reading and nothing else working correctly).

The apcupsd document "maintaining_ups.rst" has the correct constants for your unit listed under "SU450,700". You'll want model code 0x07 (which should be 50.11.I on your chip). I've verified this against an SU700 I have here (although mine is version 14 so the firmware is newer, same constants though).

If you are interested in sorting it out, I can help with setting all the constants and talking you through the setup, but you will need to be able to measure and calibrate the line voltage, battery voltage (reading only, the battery float voltage is actually set in hardware on that unit) and load power. You'll need an accurate load and a decent multi-meter that does true RMS AC voltage to set it all up correctly.

Also, do you have a log somewhere with the UPS serial number and manufacture date in it? apcupsd gives it to you in the output. It's handy to be able to restore that in the config also.

[oliolioli_apc]

Hi Nicole,

Model# SU700INET
Serial# NS0202242828

Thanks,

[oliolioli_apc]

Thanks for taking the time to help!

I like the sound of resetting the configuration! I would like to know the steps if you have them handy, then I can organise to get my hands on some equipment as I don't have anything that is accurate enough in my possession at the moment.

I'm sure I can drag the manufacture date out of the thing somehow and the serial number is on the back of the unit so that's fine.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks,

[Brad_C]

Send me a PM with your email address and I'll put something together for you.

[oliolioli_apc]

Thank you so much for replying to me!

The instructions look great, I really appreciate the time you took to help me. I have been very busy and haven't had the chance to reprogram it yet (And we've already had 2 power cuts with the server loosing power unexpectedly as a result!). I should be able to have a crack at it next week or two.

Thanks again, Oli.

[Brad_C]

Best of luck. It's not a complex procedure, and luckily with the older generation units it's pretty hard to do anything that is unrecoverable if you have a serial cable.First thing I do when I get a new unit now is make a record of *all* the constants. (4,5 & 6 included). That way if it does lose its mind, it is just a matter of setting it back up.

[oliolioli_apc]

Thank you so much! It looks like it has worked! I get 230V on ups output and it flicks over to battery mode when mains unplugged. Im not sure about the battery and input constants though but I tried my best with the tools I had.

Just a few questions...

1. Could you explain the "Hit 4, Hit 5, Hit 6, Hit 0" instructions  to me? I converted them from Hex to Decimal to get 40, 242, 250, 93 but the values don't mean much to me.
2. With the firmware version, it was defaulted to 40.11.D before modifying it. Why do I need to change it to 50.xx.x ? I know D is USA and I is International but what is the '50'?
3. My battery voltage was 27.33 when measuring, is this close enough to fully charged? My UPS reports it is fully charged.
4. Is it damaging if the values I have entered are out?

When I first got the UPS I changed the UPS Identification attribute and what is interesting is that the value was still programmed in. Does this mean it was possibly only the firmware version that has gotten messed up?

Also, for other people's sake, you can re-program the UPS by (thanks Brad for the instructions!):

• Using a serial cable and opening a terminal (2400 baud, 8-n-1), I used Putty
• Hit "Y" and the UPS should respond "SM"
• Hit "1" .. wait 4 seconds and hit "1" again... UPS should respond "PROG"
• Then use all applicable codes for your UPS model from http://www.jusch.ch/dokus/apcupsd/upsbible.html along with '+' and '-' to change the values to re-program the UPS

Thanks again,

Oli.

[Brad_C · Accepted solution]

On 27/12/2016 2:48 AM, Oli said:

Could you explain the "Hit 4, Hit 5, Hit 6, Hit 0" instructions  to me? I converted them from Hex to Decimal to get 40, 242, 250, 93 but the values don't mean much to me.

4, 5 6 & 0 are constants. In prog mode you press "4" and the UPS will respond with a hex value. Use the + & - keys until the hex value matches the ones I gave you. They are reported in hex, so no point converting them to decimal.

On 27/12/2016 2:48 AM, Oli said:

• With the firmware version, it was defaulted to 40.11.D before modifying it. Why do I need to change it to 50.xx.x ? I know D is USA and I is International but what is the '50'?

From memory 40 is the SU450 & 50 is the SU700, so it's the model code.

On 27/12/2016 2:48 AM, Oli said:

• My battery voltage was 27.33 when measuring, is this close enough to fully charged? My UPS reports it is fully charged.

27.33 is 2.277V per cell and yes that's fine.

On 27/12/2016 2:48 AM, Oli said:

• Is it damaging if the values I have entered are out?

No. All good.

The constant 4, 5 6 & 0 are required to get the UPS to do the right thing on battery. If they are out of whack you'll either get significantly reduced run time or you'll get the UPS dying before it asks stuff to shut down (as the battery will die before it thinks it will). 0 is the battery constant and the UPS adjusts that as the battery ages. 4, 5 & 6 determine how the UPS reports battery life when it first transfers to battery. From what I can tell they compensate for internal values like battery impedance & internal UPS cabling resistance.

On 27/12/2016 2:48 AM, Oli said:

When I first got the UPS I changed the UPS Identification attribute and what is interesting is that the value was still programmed in. Does this mean it was possibly only the firmware version that has gotten messed up?

I haven't been able to determine the why and wherefore as to what causes this yet. I have a theory about a stored checksum being off and causing the firmware to default the eeprom, but I don't know what it defaults when that happens.