Pc No-Break not charging

Bells · 08-12-2012, 04:39 PM

Dunno if anyone here has any knowledge on that stuff, but i guess it wouldn't hurt to check since i can't bring it to a shop to check repair costs for a couple of days more...

I have a no-break on my pc, mostly to protect it from sudden power surges and failures (somewhat common around where i live recently). The problem is that of the last couple of days... it's not picking up any charge.

It still "works", my pc is turned on through it. It has 4 outlets and i keep my PC and Monitor on it. And also my external HD, which is only turned on when in use.

Everything works fine, but as soon as the power goes out, everything shuts down... normally it should remain on for around 10~20 min.

I opened it up just to see if there was any visible damage, and it seems fine. No leaks, no rust, nothing burnt on the battery, no weird clicks or sounds it even warms up normally...

i even removed everything from it, let it turned off for an hour to see if it would help any. Then i plugged it alone and let it take charge for another hour... made no difference.

What i do think i might have done wrong is that from time to time i let my Pc off and forgot to turn the No-Break off, i would imagine that it would simply let it be on Stand By, but maybe it was stressing the battery?

I don't even know if it's worth repairing it or if i should just pick up a new one... i have had this one for about 2 years and it was perfectly fine until a few days ago!

Inbred Chocobo · 08-22-2012, 04:30 PM

So, I know this is around say 10 days long since a response, but I actually know a little about UPS's.

I am going to take a random guess and say that your UPS didn't cost you much, and on general principal, in a standard environment a UPS is good from 3 to about 5 years. However if you had a bad year where you saw power outages almost weekly, or there were surges that hit, then this will eat the lifespan right out of a UPS.

However, it may be that your UPS device has an interchangeable battery, as it sounds like the battery that is in charge of holding the charge has died. If that is the case, then you could just replace the battery. I don't know the model of UPS you have, so I don't know if its possible, but I know there are UPS's out there that can have the battery changed.

synkr0nized · 08-22-2012, 07:26 PM

I replaced the battery in an APC UPS I had. The first battery lasted about three and a half years and seemed to give decent time on power failures [one summer, the apartment building I was in had power loss often stemming from a failing air conditioning system and backup generator; there was a one-month period wherein most of us were without air during the hotter part of our summer while they replaced the unit], at least long enough for me to save documents and properly shut down or for the program to do it in my stead when I was out.

The replacement battery seemed to get the unit back to a reasonable amount of uptime on battery power once the original started doing nothing more than protecting from surges, but it did not last as long. Whether this was due to being a replacement or to the unit itself going bad over time, I cannot say.

Anyway what my blathering on is for is to suggest -- as I am no UPS technician -- that you may just be able to replace the battery. Of course look at the costs of doing that vs. the purchase of a new unit, as it may just be better to get a new unit.

Bells · 08-22-2012, 10:13 PM

Yeah, this was a 300 bucks unit. ($150USD) so, a steep cost but i wanted to protect my pc so i paid extra to have that better protection. Also, i don't know how the price range is over there, but around here you won't be getting anything basic with less than 100 to spend.

I opened it up (i'll see if i can get a photo up here shortly) and the battery seems (to me) like a cluster of DD Batteries tangled together with a protective plastic wrapping... from what i understand that's not uncommon and happens to be similar to what's done on Wireless phone batteries too... So it might be worth fixing, i'll have to check it out... but anything over $50 and ithink i should just get a new (probably cheaper) one...

08-12-2012, 04:39 PM	#1
Bells That's so PC of you Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In a Server-sided Dimension where time is meaningless Posts: 10,490	Pc No-Break not charging Dunno if anyone here has any knowledge on that stuff, but i guess it wouldn't hurt to check since i can't bring it to a shop to check repair costs for a couple of days more... I have a no-break on my pc, mostly to protect it from sudden power surges and failures (somewhat common around where i live recently). The problem is that of the last couple of days... it's not picking up any charge. It still "works", my pc is turned on through it. It has 4 outlets and i keep my PC and Monitor on it. And also my external HD, which is only turned on when in use. Everything works fine, but as soon as the power goes out, everything shuts down... normally it should remain on for around 10~20 min. I opened it up just to see if there was any visible damage, and it seems fine. No leaks, no rust, nothing burnt on the battery, no weird clicks or sounds it even warms up normally... i even removed everything from it, let it turned off for an hour to see if it would help any. Then i plugged it alone and let it take charge for another hour... made no difference. What i do think i might have done wrong is that from time to time i let my Pc off and forgot to turn the No-Break off, i would imagine that it would simply let it be on Stand By, but maybe it was stressing the battery? I don't even know if it's worth repairing it or if i should just pick up a new one... i have had this one for about 2 years and it was perfectly fine until a few days ago! __________________ *BELLS STORE : Clothes! You wear* them! Free US Shipping Subscription System? WTF?! Zazzle Black!**

08-22-2012, 07:26 PM	#3
synkr0nized synk-ism Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: throughout the Wired Posts: 6,857	I am assuming we are talking about uninterrupted power supplies. I replaced the battery in an APC UPS I had. The first battery lasted about three and a half years and seemed to give decent time on power failures [one summer, the apartment building I was in had power loss often stemming from a failing air conditioning system and backup generator; there was a one-month period wherein most of us were without air during the hotter part of our summer while they replaced the unit], at least long enough for me to save documents and properly shut down or for the program to do it in my stead when I was out. The replacement battery seemed to get the unit back to a reasonable amount of uptime on battery power once the original started doing nothing more than protecting from surges, but it did not last as long. Whether this was due to being a replacement or to the unit itself going bad over time, I cannot say. Anyway what my blathering on is for is to suggest -- as I am no UPS technician -- that you may just be able to replace the battery. Of course look at the costs of doing that vs. the purchase of a new unit, as it may just be better to get a new unit. __________________ Find love.

08-22-2012, 10:13 PM	#4
Bells That's so PC of you Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In a Server-sided Dimension where time is meaningless Posts: 10,490	Yeah, this was a 300 bucks unit. ($150USD) so, a steep cost but i wanted to protect my pc so i paid extra to have that better protection. Also, i don't know how the price range is over there, but around here you won't be getting anything basic with less than 100 to spend. I opened it up (i'll see if i can get a photo up here shortly) and the battery seems (to me) like a cluster of DD Batteries tangled together with a protective plastic wrapping... from what i understand that's not uncommon and happens to be similar to what's done on Wireless phone batteries too... So it might be worth fixing, i'll have to check it out... but anything over $50 and ithink i should just get a new (probably cheaper) one... __________________ *BELLS STORE : Clothes! You wear* them! Free US Shipping Subscription System? WTF?! Zazzle Black!**

08-22-2012, 04:30 PM	#2
Inbred Chocobo Bitches love the crown Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: In my happy place! Posts: 3,264	So, I know this is around say 10 days long since a response, but I actually know a little about UPS's. I am going to take a random guess and say that your UPS didn't cost you much, and on general principal, in a standard environment a UPS is good from 3 to about 5 years. However if you had a bad year where you saw power outages almost weekly, or there were surges that hit, then this will eat the lifespan right out of a UPS. However, it may be that your UPS device has an interchangeable battery, as it sounds like the battery that is in charge of holding the charge has died. If that is the case, then you could just replace the battery. I don't know the model of UPS you have, so I don't know if its possible, but I know there are UPS's out there that can have the battery changed.