“I replaced the batteries on my Smart-UPS, the replace battery light went OFF but the battery charge LED’s are still flashing, what do I do?”
There are several reasons the battery charge LED’s flash, but in this case, the calibration is inaccurate. When the previous battery was coming to the end of it’s life, it wasn’t able to support the protected load for more than 2 minutes. That sets off an alarm in the UPS and it starts blinking the battery LEDs to let you know. The firmware in the UPS has reprogrammed itself with this error.
When you replaced the battery, the UPS sensed the battery was holding a charge and the replace battery light went off, but the UPS really doesn’t have a way of knowing how good this battery is. So the blinking lights remain to let you know the UPS doesn’t think that it can provide more than two minutes of run time.
In order to clear this error, you need to perform a run time calibration. If you have a newer SUA unit like the SUA750, SUA1000 or the SUA1500 you can try the software calibration feature in PowerChute. If you’d like to perform a manual calibration, that will work as well (some say even more accurately). Make sure to charge the battery to 100%, it’s even better if you let the unit charge for 24 hours.
If you have an older unit like the SU700NET, SU1000NET, SU1400NEt then it’s best to perform a manual run time calibration. The software calibration isn’t as accurate with these units.
Follow the manual calibration instructions to perform this calibration and clear the error.
Once the calibration is complete, the UPS should be reprogrammed with the new run time availability and the blinking lights on the battery bars should disappear.
If you replaced the batteries on a Back-UPS 800 or any other Back-UPS model but the replace battery light didn’t go away, the unit might need to be reset. This is called “brain dead”, to purge the brain of the UPS of any remaining charge. This is also useful if your unit is acting strange, it’s always good to give this a try to see if the problem can be reset.
Follow this easy procedure to brain dead the Back-UPS:
1. Disconnect any attached load. (any equipment that’s plugged in to the UPS)
2. Unplug the UPS from the wall socket.
3. Disconnect the UPS’ internal battery. (you can disconnect the connector or pull the battery out completely if it’s easier)
4. Push and hold the “On” button on the UPS for 5 seconds (you might hear a click, chirp or lights will blink)
5. Reconnect internal battery.
6. Plug UPS in wall socket.
7. Turn UPS on.
This procedure should reset the UPS.
Battery calibration can be performed by software, network management card, or manually. On the newer units (SUA, SMT) software calibration has become more accurate so you can give it a try. On older SU models, it’s best to do the manual hardware calibration. If you’re not getting the run time you thought you should have with the software method, perform a manual calibration to get a more accurate run time calculation.
Some people only do software calibration and consider that good enough, others prefer to do a manual calibration as a tried and true way of getting exact run time numbers. Neither is really wrong, it’s a matter of preference.
Follow these steps to do a proper manual calibration on your APC UPS:
1. Battery must be at 100% capacity when the Runtime Calibration is initiated/started. (charge the UPS for 24hours prior)
2. The UPS must have 30-34% load on it during the calibration (Constant load, try: lamps, computers, monitors. Measure load % by PowerChute)
3. Disconnect the serial/USB comm cable from the UPS (you don’t want PowerChute to shut down equipment)
4. The battery must be discharged completely (unplug UPS from wall outlet, let the UPS to shut off completely due to a discharged battery).
5. Remove the attached load (ie – lights, computers)
6. Let the UPS charge for 8 hours while OFF (plug back into utility power, press OFF button when UPS turns ON)
7. Turn on UPS (run time should now be accurate)
If you’re confused about this process or stuck on one of the steps, email us at sales@excessups.com or give us a call toll free at 866-311-1945.
How many batteries go in to a Smart-UPS 2200XL?
This is a common question so don’t feel bad if you’re confused. The SU2200XLNET uses 1x RBC11. The RBC11 consists of 2 sets of batteries the replaces the two sets of batteries inside your UPS. All you need is 1x RBC11!
If you have external battery packs attached to your 2200XL, then you need a RBC11 for each one of those. Always replace them all at once to make sure everyting is synced, keeps maintenance simple.
