XS 1300 Battery Replacement Questions?

[jcuervo_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/31/2011

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So the replace battery light (the battery with an X through it) lit up today on my XS 1300. I think I bought it around 3 or 4 years ago so I don't believe it's still under warranty. I think I'm gonna replace the batteries, but I wanted to ask a few questions here before spend the money.
-How reliable is the replace battery light? Since new batteries are most likely not returnable, I'd like to be sure they are actually bad before I buy them.
-Other than the battery backup, the UPS seems to work fine. Is it safe to continue to use the UPS with the battery light on or with the battery pack not installed?
-Any suggestions on a good place to buy replacement batteries? The APC replacement is a bit costly for a couple of standard 12v 9Ah lead acid batteries, so I'd like to explore other options.
-Can I upgrade the batteries to 12Ah or should I stick with what it came with?
Any other advice from others who have swapped out the battery packs on their XS 1300 is welcome.

Thank You,
JCuervo

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Jonathan on APC forums on 7/31/2011

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The RBL (replace battery light) can either be off, flashing or solid. Do you recall if it was flashing or solid? If the RBL was flashing, it means that the UPS has a disconnected battery condition. If it is a solid RBL it means that there is a bad battery on the UPS. To check if it is indeed a bad battery we advise our customer to perform a self-test. Self test can be done by pressing and holding the On/Test button while the unit is online. Once you see the Online LED is flashing the button needs to be released. If the RBL would still come on solid it just tells you again that a battery is indeed bad.

With the RBL on, you can still use the surge only outlets of the UPS. This would still be on and would give you the surge protection that you need. With regards to upgrading/changing the battery into a different specifications I would say for you to stay on the original rating of the battery. Our UPS is designed to use that specific battery.

[jcuervo_apc · Accepted solution]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 8/2/2011

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I'm pretty sure the RBL was solid, it also started making a chirping sound. I left it unplugged overnight and when I plugged it in today, the RBL wasn't on but the battery was dead. I ran the self-test and it didn't report anything wrong, so I let it sit and charge for about 8 hours. When I turned the unit back on, the battery showed a charge, but when I unplugged it and let it go into battery mode, the charge dropped off fast. If I plug something into one of the outlets the unit shuts down immediately, even if the battery meter shows half full. I pulled out the batteries and did a load test with my multimeter and I think only one is bad. Is it ok to replace just one of the batteries in the pack or do I need to replace them as a pair? The only other concern I have is that, around the time the RBL lit up, I noticed a little bit of burnt electronics smell blowing out the back vent when the fan came on. I smelled it again when I was testing the UPS in battery mode, but it seemed to go away after a little while. The batteries haven't been cycled in a while so I wonder if it could just be some dust burning off due to the heat emitted during charging/discharging. Thanks for your help.