[Sussex] APC Smart-UPS 1000 Problems

[Paul Graydon]

Sounds to me very much like a dead battery job.  We've faced similar
problems at work, which only get thrown up by failures during a weekend
test or when the power glitches and we discover a powered off server.
The current principal where I work learnt that if we say the batteries
need replacing we're not joking.  The phase the servers were on got
tripped about 10 minutes before he was due to make an important
presentation, using a ppt file we stupidly had only got stored on the
servers (since then I've always made sure at least a day in advance to
have an off-line copy of any presentation..)  Batteries we'd pretty much
known were dead failed to keep the servers up.  The very next day some
money suddenly appeared in our budget for replacement batteries..

-----Original Message-----
From: sussex-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk
[mailto:sussex-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ronan Chilvers
Sent: 21 April 2005 09:22
To: LUG email list for the Sussex Counties
Subject: [Sussex] APC Smart-UPS 1000 Problems


Hi folks

Anyone played with UPS systems much?  Its an APC Smart-UPS 1000 (old
model in white not black).  Seems to charge alright but if I test by
shutting off the mains the power dies immediately.  The on-battery light
flares briefly before it dies.  Also despite having all the outlets
connected to equipment, I get either no load indicator lights or just a
single light of the potential 5 load lights (that's with the same
equipment plugged in and turned on so, theoretically, no change in
load).

One clue is that if I enable apcupsd, the server immediately shuts down,
logging an out-of-power signal from the UPS.

Slightly reluctant to start digging around inside the thing in case I
manage to fry myself.  Anyone have any thoughts?  I'm thinking the
batteries have died (lead acid sealed unit) but that doesn't really
explain the lack of load indicators...

If it is the batteries, does anyone know of a source for APC UPS spares
around Sussex?

Cheers
--
Ronan

e: ronan at thelittledot.com
w: www.thelittledot.com
t: 01903 739 997