Issue
There appears to be a low battery on the control board. How can the NiCAD Battery be tested on the controller to see if it needs to be changed?
Product Line
TAC INET
Environment
I/NET Seven
Cause
Possible low battery on control board.
Resolution
There are some checks you can make regarding the battery condition. The battery has a design life of 7 years and sometimes lasts much longer.
With power applied to a controller for at least 72 hours, take a DMM and measure the DC voltage across the battery. It should be in the neighborhood of 4.2-4.3 vDC.
Remove power from the controller board and take the same measurement again. The beginning voltage should still be between 4.1-4.3 vDC and should start slowly tapering off (a tenth of a volt over a period of minutes would be normal).
When the battery voltage reaches 3.6 vDC this is the threshold at which the battery can sustain the RAM memory. Any voltage below this value will subject the RAM memory to loss of data (+ - a tenth or two).
If the initial voltage with power applied to the controller is less than 4.0 vDC after 72 hours, the battery may need replacing.
If the battery voltage drops rapidly after power is removed from the controller, the battery needs replacing.
If the controller memory inexplicably gets lost (not counting power surges, brownouts, etc.) and a station restore is needed, the battery may need replacing. Normally the above-mentioned tests will show that the battery has lost its storage capacity.
The TAC part number for the White NiCAD battery that is on most of the I/Net Controllers is 01-2100-545. These batteries can no longer be ordered through the Customer Care department.
For further battery info please reference Replacement I/NET Controller NICAD Battery info.
