Belkin UPS shuts off on power failure

[Danny Kewl]

Hi, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, can't find a specific UPS
NG. I do have Win XP Pro. I also have a Belkin UPS, model number F6C120-UNV,
1200 VA. It's about 3 years old. The loading level is generally in the 25%
to 30% range. The battery always states 100%, if I do a 10 second test, it
will drop, but be back to 100% soon. I had a couple minor power outages,
just for a second or two. One last week seemingly due to high winds that
day, and again this morning, possibly due again to gusty winds and heavy
snow falling. Previously, when there was a power interruption, the UPS used
to do what it was supposed to, keep the PC, monitor, and cable modem and
router on. Now these last two times, everything went off including the UPS,
and both times I had to turn on the UPS with the button on front, and
restart my PC and everything else. Any ideas what's wrong? Thanks.

--

 

[V Green]

Hi, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, can't find a specific UPS
NG. I do have Win XP Pro. I also have a Belkin UPS, model number F6C120-UNV,
1200 VA. It's about 3 years old. The loading level is generally in the 25%
to 30% range. The battery always states 100%, if I do a 10 second test, it
will drop, but be back to 100% soon. I had a couple minor power outages,
just for a second or two. One last week seemingly due to high winds that
day, and again this morning, possibly due again to gusty winds and heavy
snow falling. Previously, when there was a power interruption, the UPS used
to do what it was supposed to, keep the PC, monitor, and cable modem and
router on. Now these last two times, everything went off including the UPS,
and both times I had to turn on the UPS with the button on front, and
restart my PC and everything else. Any ideas what's wrong? Thanks.

The so-called "battery indicator" on cheap UPS's, whether it be software
based and read on your PC, or a series of LED's on the unit itself, are
horribly
inaccurate and cannot be trusted.

It's probably time for a new battery, something you can do yourself
if you feel up to it. 2-3 yrs for gelled lead-acid batteries is about
typical.

Don't let Belkin rape you for the battery, they are usually available
locally
(skips large shipping costs for heavy item).

Be sure to take your old battery in for recycling.

 

[Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]]

In additon, the monitor is the power hog, so, if it's not attached, you
may be able to issue your "save" and "exit" commands in the blind plus
have the benefit of a much longer power reserve to wait for the power to
come back on.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

 

[Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]]

longer reserve <<

My age is showing... assuming that it is a crt monitor ;-)

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

 

[NobodyMan]

In additon, the monitor is the power hog, so, if it's not attached, you
may be able to issue your "save" and "exit" commands in the blind plus
have the benefit of a much longer power reserve to wait for the power to
come back on.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

Most UPSs now come with software that handles the save/exit commands
and shut down your computer when the battery level drops to a certain
point. You don't have to issue the commands manually anymore.

 

[Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]]

most units come with... <<

showing my age again

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

 

[Danny Kewl]

Thanks everyone for the replies. On last check, the battery level fluctuates
from 0% and sometimes goes into the 50% range, and then back down to 0%.
Can't do a 10 second test nor a deep battery test, I go to click those and
nothing happens. I pulled the UPS plug out of the wall, and indeed,
everything went dead and I had to turn the UPS on at the front button again.
Just a few days ago, even after it's first bad power-off, it was showing
100% battery level, and letting me do the 10 second test, didn't try the
deep test.

So, now I assume the battery is dead, unless I hear otherwise here. I'm just
wondering why the battery level fluctuates, is there a possibility of
another problem that I should look for? If the battery was dead, wouldn't it
just stay put at or near 0%, instead of going up in the 50's? Loose
connection to look for? Bad/corroded contacts? I really don't want to mess
around inside the UPS until I have an idea what to do. I tried looking up
the battery online, and can find all kind if Belkin replacement batteries
except for this one, the F6C120-UNV. Any ideas? Thanks again.

 

[w_tom]

Numerous reasons why battery acts that way. For example
corroded electrodes are now sitting at bottom of battery are
causing intermittent shorts to remaining battery plates in one
cell.

Lead acid car batteries tend to last on the order of 7 and 9
years even when the automobile is outside always (some models
don't do as well due to hardware design). Lead acid batteries
inside high reliability buildings with controlled temperatures
average more like 20 years. So why is the so inexpensive UPS
killing batteries in 3 years and less? What they are
marketing to is telling. Plug-in UPSes are sold predominately
on price. Therefore no interest in preserving battery life.
3 years on a plug-in UPS battery is best you could have hoped
for.

These UPS batteries should be sealed. Wires should be
located so that battery cannot be connected voltage reversed
(if you get the correct battery). Battery replacement should
be trivial. Finding someplace to properly recycle lead
battery is an important and more difficult problem.