UPS 650 - Trouble After Electrical Fault in Building

[Anonymous user]

Each one of our computers has its own APC UPS 650. A faulty piece of equipment was plugged into an outlet. There was a spark, but the 20-amp circuit breaker on the 200-amp panel didn't trip.

Two computers were on at the time. The UPS for both computers beeped and clicked (going to battery), but both computers shut down. (Both computers were disconnected from the UPS before I could check whether the computers were plugged into Battery Back-Up or accessory only.) There were no noises from any of the UPS connected to the computers that weren't on at the time.

When both of the shut-down computers were turned on again, the "safe mode" screen came up. Re-started Windows normally, and all OK.

Then, the moron plugged the same faulty piece of equipment into the same outlet again. Just like the first time, the 20-amp circuit breaker didn't trip, and both UPS beeped and clicked, and the computers shut down.

But this time, when the computers were turned on again, the UPS beeped and clicked. The "safe mode" screen came up, but Windows didn't boot up in "load normal" mode. Both computers went to blue screen and turned off.

Turned both computers on again. More beeping and clicking from UPS. Windows didn't boot up in safe mode. Went to blue screen, but computers didn't turn off.

One more try. Turned both computers on again. Beeping and clicking from UPS. Both computers went right to blue screen, but didn't turn off.

Hard drives are OK -- tech ran chkdsk /r in shop. (Whew!) But I can't figure out if the UPS are OK.

The green lights on the front are ON and steady. When I press the Test button on the front, there's one long beep. Neither Site Wiring Fault light on the back was ever on.

I can't tell if the Overload Protector buttons are out or not. The center bars aren't flush with the housing, but they protrude maybe 1/16", not 1/4" as indicated in the specs. I can push them in, to be flush with the housing, then they pop back out to protrude the 1/16" as before.

Both computers are 5-year-old Dell Dimension 2400, 2.4GHz Pentium 4.

What the heck happened -- why did the UPS beep and click when the computers were turned on, for example? Should we put the UPS back in service?

[Techie_apc]

H.Goodman,

Typical battery life is three to five years. I notice that your unit is 8 years old. So I think that the battery in the unit is no longer in good condition to provide power during power problems. You may force the UPS to work on battery by unplugging it from the wall to check if the unit provides power on battery mode.

If it does not provide power to the equipment on battery, then the battery may needs to be replaced. However, I would just trade in this old unit to a new unit.
http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=298

I hope that this helps.

[Anonymous user]

Model: BK650MC
Serial: PB0112124417
Batteries have never been replaced.
Since first posting, I've learned that the computers were plugged into Battery Back-Up, not accessory only.

[Techie_apc]

H. Goodman,

I think that the UPS transferred to battery due to power problems on the line, and then It might not have had the battery charge to provide power to the Computer when it transferred to battery mode. This may occur if the unit has got a bad battery.However, let me gather some more information from you to provide you an insight.

Mode and Serial number of the two UPSs. You can find these details on a white bar code sticker at the rear.
Have the batteries ever been replaced in these units?
Were the Computer and Monitor plugged into the battery backup outlets?

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for your reply, but you didn't answer my questions.

I have the UPS disconnected from the computer that it didn't protect, of course, and there's no equipment attached to it, since I can't trust that the UPS won't damage equipment that's connected to it.

The UPS is plugged in, and the green light is ON, and there's no beeping or clicking. When I unplug the UPS, there's one long beep, then a short beep every five seconds.

Does this mean that the battery is good, or not? If the battery isn't good, why isn't there a "Battery Failure" light on the UPS, to warn users that it's time to replace the battery?

[Techie_apc]

Okay, if the unit does not provide the expected runtime after 3 or 5 years of use, then that is the indication of the Bad Battery for this unit. The battery run time can be checked by pressing and holding the "Test" switch and waiting to see how long the UPS provides power to the equipment before the low battery warning is sounded.

Press the "Test" portion of the Test/Alarm Disable Switch to simulate a power outage - the UPS battery
supplies power to the equipment.

The UPS runtime can be seen in the UPS user manual. Click on the below link to download the UPS user manual.
[http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/ASTE-6Z7UZ8_R0_EN.pdf]

Unfortunately, this old model does not have a separate Replace Battery Indication. For your information, the current UPSs will indicate the users if the battery is bad.

I hope that this helps.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Sorry, no, your answer was not helpful to me. But I understand that helping me isn't your objective. Helping APC sell more product is your objective, and in that, you may indeed have been helpful.

I sent an email through the APC online support system at the same time that I posted in this forum. The reply to my email helped me determine that the batteries are dead.

Never got answers to my other questions, of course, since answering those questions would have required actually reading and understanding my questions.