Ups Goes Randomly On Battery And Starts Beeping Very Loudly

[WhiteCadillac]

My Syndome SE-series UPS goes randomly on battery and starts beeping very loudly. The online indicator switches off when it does this.

It might do this for 15 seconds or two minutes. Going on battery and back repeadetly.

My other electronical devices that are connected to the same electricity circuit are working fine and the power is on.

Whats the reason for it doing this? I only have my ADSL modem and router behind it. Not much load.

[BB1950]

Sounds to me like your line voltage is dropping below the low voltage limit set on the UPS.

On some UPS, the limits can be adjusted, others it is fixed. Best to leave alone if you don't know what you are doing.

It is a common problem in the countryside, if your house uses single phase wiring. The voltage can drop when you or your neighbor(s) hot water heaters and air conditioner compressors cycle on.

You didn't mention where you lived, but if you are in the countryside you might contact the PEA (Provincial Electrical Authority) or a qualified electrician to check it out.

It's difficult to find qualified electricians in Thailand, and even harder in the countryside.

Edited December 17, 2010 by BB1950

[Crossy]

I'd be tempted to agree with the above suggestion that this is brownout protection. Are you noticing any dimming of lights etc. during the beeping?

A possible cure would be to get yourself an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) sometimes called a stabilizer and run your UPS off that, the AVR will mitigate the brownouts and allow your UPS to beep only when the power actually goes off

[MartinBKK]

I had this same issue with my Syndome UPS and sent it back to IT City (under warranty) for repair. I have no idea what was wrong with it but i got it back after 2 weeks and the problem went away. I don't think there was any issue with my electricity supply as i run more than 1 UPS and the other unit was absolutely fine.

[WhiteCadillac]

I had this same issue with my Syndome UPS and sent it back to IT City (under warranty) for repair. I have no idea what was wrong with it but i got it back after 2 weeks and the problem went away. I don't think there was any issue with my electricity supply as i run more than 1 UPS and the other unit was absolutely fine.

I think it might be this.

I am out of luck though because I got this UPS from a friend who bought in Bangkok a couple of years ago.

[longball53098]

I can add 2 bahts worth to this topic,,,,,,,,I also have a Syndome UPS and experience the same thing from time to time. When the unit goes into this condition it may last for a few seconds or longer,,,,,,,some times it has been so frustrating I shut down and wait a bit. Lately this condition only happens once in a while.

Back a month or two I got to the point I wanted to know more about this. Like many I suspected a brown out and voltage dropping below the threshold for a low voltage condition for the unit but nothing else was having issues like fans or lights. I pulled out my trusty meter and connected the leads to an outlet on the same circuit as the UPS and monitored it for some period. What I discovered is not a low voltage drop. Every time the unit would beep and switch to battery I could see a spike in the line voltage.The digital meter is not fast enough to react to the immediate changes and what the maximum spikes are but I could definitely see spikes. My normal line voltage is about 232 and when I was seeing these spikes the line voltage was up around 238/9. In looking at the min/max thresholds for this unit the upper max level is 240 and not adjustable higher or lower. So I suspect the spikes were high enough to cause the sensing circuits to trigger the fault.

This is my uneducated guess what could be happening in you're case also.

[BB1950]

I can add 2 bahts worth to this topic,,,,,,,,I also have a Syndome UPS and experience the same thing from time to time. When the unit goes into this condition it may last for a few seconds or longer,,,,,,,some times it has been so frustrating I shut down and wait a bit. Lately this condition only happens once in a while.

Back a month or two I got to the point I wanted to know more about this. Like many I suspected a brown out and voltage dropping below the threshold for a low voltage condition for the unit but nothing else was having issues like fans or lights. I pulled out my trusty meter and connected the leads to an outlet on the same circuit as the UPS and monitored it for some period. What I discovered is not a low voltage drop. Every time the unit would beep and switch to battery I could see a spike in the line voltage.The digital meter is not fast enough to react to the immediate changes and what the maximum spikes are but I could definitely see spikes. My normal line voltage is about 232 and when I was seeing these spikes the line voltage was up around 238/9. In looking at the min/max thresholds for this unit the upper max level is 240 and not adjustable higher or lower. So I suspect the spikes were high enough to cause the sensing circuits to trigger the fault.

This is my uneducated guess what could be happening in you're case also.

Yup, a voltage spike can also cause a UPS to switch to battery. Seen that myself too.