APC Power Conditioner & Battery Back-up Issues

9 years ago

I have a friend that installed an APC J type Power Conditioner & Battery Back-up on her entertainment system a few months back. She's on a rural electrical system and was having power surges and wanted to protect her equipment. She e-mailed me yesterday to say that her TV and satellite receiver was turning off and rebooting and wondered if the battery was out. APC says these should last 3 - 6 years before needing replacement. Even if the battery is bad wouldn't power still flow through the outlets to the equipment? Nothing else in the house is turning off like this and she said there's a floor lamp in the same wall outlet that the power conditioner is plugged into.

I've checked out the APC support site and there's no discussion I could find on a unit failing like this.

Suggestions?

TIA

Featured Answer

Mike C

9 years ago

While the battery is rated to last 3-6 years, it could die within weeks of installing, but not likely. What is the floor lamp doing? Has she tried removing the UPS from the circuit? If floor lamp isn't turning off and on, that would be the 1st step to try.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

toxcrusadr
9 years ago
+1 on that. And if the entertainment system doesn't switch on and off when plugged directly into the wall, another test you can do is to plug the lamp (only) into the APC. If it switches off and on you've confirmed it beyond a doubt.

I'd be looking at the warranty for the thing and get ready to talk to customer service.
jrb451 thanked toxcrusadr
Related Professionals
Lufkin Interior Designers & Decorators · Plattsburgh Interior Designers & Decorators · San Angelo Interior Designers & Decorators · Daytona Beach Carpenters · Dallas Carpenters · North Adams Carpenters · Syracuse Carpenters · San Bernardino Carpenters · Temecula Carpenters · Great Falls Carpenters · Sarasota General Contractors · Brunswick General Contractors · Baton Rouge General Contractors · New Haven General Contractors · Dubuque General Contractors
jrb451
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the input. She says the floor lamp is not affected when the power to the TV/DVR cuts off. I suggested she unplug from the APC unit and back into the power strip she'd used previously to see if that helped. The furniture was too heavy for her to move out from the wall and I will try that when I go out. I was trying to work through options before making the trip. I've got 2 of these same units at my house and had a few UPS on my computers and never experienced anything like this.
Mike C
9 years ago
Not mentioned, but a possibility - did the UPS ever work correctly, or did TV/DVR cut off from the start? Another thought, if there is a power drop-off and the equipment draws more power than the UPS is rated for it would shut off/restart. An UPS will usually beep when a power drop out occurs.
jrb451 thanked Mike C
jrb451
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The UPS was hooked up in August 2015 and worked without any issues until now. It's a 12 amp unit with a system load capability of 900W. She's running a 46 Sony LED TV, DirecTV amp with an amp for surround sound.

When I originally hooked it up for her the wiring fault indicator light was on. She had an electrician come out to ground that outlet but he said it was already grounded. (This may be a clue.)

I assumed that the unit would continue to act as a surge protector, allowing current to pass to the electronics, even if the battery had failed.

I appreciate you continuing to think and problem solve on this.
User
9 years ago
So she has been running it with a Wiring Fault light? And the electrician was called to correct a lack of ground? Does Wiring Fault = Lack of Ground?

How come the electrician left if the fault indication was still present?