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Author Topic: Tripp-Lite Smart UPS troubleshooting Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-14-2018 11:46 PM                        Looks like we lost our Tripplite UPS for the server rack on Screen 2 tonight. The unit is a Tripp-Lite SMART UPS 1500LCDXL. Happened during intermission, so it really didn't interrupt the show. Everything in that rack is plugged into an ETA power conditioner and power distributor, and then the power conditioner is plugged into the back of the Tripplite UPS. Pretty simple setup. It's raining here tonight, but we haven't had any lightning that I know of. Employees said the lights flickered, but didn't think anything about it. I was able to unplug the power conditioner from the back of the UPS and plug it directly into the wall. Ran the second show with no problems, but we've got no voltage spike protection at the moment. After that screens movies were finished for the night, i was able to plug the UPS back in and got it to power back on. The screen on the front tells me the input voltage is 123v, the batteries are 100% charged, the output voltage is 123v, and the system runtime is 64 minutes. The system load right now says zero because nothing is currently plugged into the UPS. The fan on the back is making a weird noise, but there is warm air blowing out the back. While the UPS was powered on, I unplugged it from the wall and it SHOULD have automatically kicked over to battery power. It didn't, it just shut off. What do you think happened? Voltage spike? Dead batteries? The batteries are 5 years old. Don't know if the lights flickering CAUSED it to go out, or if it caused the lights to flicker. They all run on the same panel. The unit is 5 years old, so it may have just died of old age. Any thoughts?  |  IP: Logged Arnold Chase Film Handler Posts: 41 From: West Hartford, CT United States Registered: Nov 2013 posted 04-15-2018 01:04 AM                     Five years is a long time for UPS batteries. The units periodically test themselves for a very short period of time, so with no load you can't assume the validity of those batteries. Since the unit is off-line now, plug a significant amount of load into it and see how well it then passes the battery test. My call is bad batteries.  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2018 06:04 AM                     Devices that use "sacrificial components", like metal-oxide varistors for surge suppression can only take so many hits before resigning completely. I don't know how the voltage regulation in your area is, bit if this thing has taken five years worth of spikes it's possible that the light-flickering incident was the last straw for an MOV that was on the edge of dying anyway. I only took a quick look at this devices's spec sheet but I would think that if the MOV let go you would get some kind of display warning, though.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 04-15-2018 07:38 AM                     What Arnold says. Plug in a smaller load (like a Monitor, etc.) and see if it switches over. Chances are, though, that the switch over alone could drop the battery voltage enough that the device shuts off. After 5 years, I guess it's time to swap the batteries. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2018 09:10 AM                        Definitely start with the batteries. The life expectancy for those is generally in the 3-year range. I know that APC UPSes will give a warning when they are about to fail, though. I am surprised that yours did not. It could also be a bad relay inside the UPS.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 04-15-2018 10:04 AM                     Do you have more than one of these models? Battery swap would be a quick test to see wether the issue changes over with the battery. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2018 12:52 PM                     I have had the best luck with Powersonic batteries. Not a single failure on over 300 UPS battery changes over the last few years. Also, if the UPS does turn out to be toast (unlikely) then you'll have to replace it. Tripplite does not repair any equipment thats out of warranty I have only ever had one Tripplite UPS that actually failed and had to be replaced. Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-15-2018 03:59 PM                     Batteries are 3-5 year items, tops! Start there. Tripplite has the bad characteristic that if the batteries fail (one cell opens even), then it appears to be dead as a door nail. No lights no "change battery" nothing. The battery indicator only comes on IF the unit was on when the battery failed. But, like Mark, I can't think of any time when changing the batteries didn't bring it back to 100%  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-15-2018 05:46 PM                        I found a set of replacement batteries on Amazon this morning and went ahead and ordered them. They should be here before the weekend, so I'll start there first.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-15-2018 06:34 PM                        So, the batteries on these are not hot-swappable?  |  IP: Logged David Buckley Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 525 From: Oxford, N. Canterbury, New Zealand Registered: Aug 2004 posted 04-15-2018 07:40 PM                        Given that (with noted irony) UPS units do fail, for not very much money one can have an automatic transfer switch, that has a backup feed, that will switch the loads over to the backup when the UPS dies. For example, the CyberPower ATS units. The only gothca is that the backup input should be on the same phase as the prime supply for a clean switchover.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 04-15-2018 07:59 PM                     So would you run an ATS on a UPS? - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-15-2018 08:43 PM                        quote: Scott Norwood So, the batteries on these are not hot-swappable? Hot swappable.. as in like "on the fly"? Not on this particular model. I was able to remove it from the rack, remove the rack ears and 6 screws from the case and easily separated the case to access the batteries.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-16-2018 06:37 AM                     The Tripp Lite units we use (SMART and Smart Online [AKA SU]} do have hot swappable batteries. You do have a finite amount of time while the unit "yells" at you to get the batteries swapped (I forget what the time is but I have never run into it). The battery packs load in/out through the front cover. It takes just a few minutes to pull the screws (typically 6 or so), release the two screws that secure the battery pack, pull the plug and remove the battery pack. Reverse for installation. As for transfer switches, we incorporate it into our "automation system" but you'll find that most people will look at a transfer switch for the UPS as essentially doubling their costs.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-16-2018 09:23 AM                     I find that installing a transfer switch in every console is a bit on the ludricous side. If a complex is receiving normal maintainance that transfer switch is never going to be used. Just having one transfer switch per complex in the parts cabinet is sufficient and it can be subbed in place of a dead UPS in about 5 minutes time and you are back up again. Thats less time than it takes a DSS-200 to boot up! Mark  |  IP: Logged

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