Hi all, Thought I'd forward this on, as the apcsmart driver doesn't appear to have any support for this (admittedly obscure) setting and it doesn't seem to be listed at http://www.networkupstools.org/protocols/apcsmart.html. Hope someone finds it useful. Later, Russ -- Russell Odom http://www.gloomytrousers.co.uk/ Fast, cheap, good: pick two. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Runtime estimate is very low; new batteries made no difference [Incident: xxxxxx-xxxxxx] Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 10:27:29 +0100 (IST) From: American Power Conversion <esupport.emeaen@apc.com> Reply-To: American Power Conversion <esupport.emeaen@apc.com> Recently you requested personal assistance from the APC Customer Solutions Team through our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response. [...] Subject --------------------------------------------------------------- Runtime estimate is very low; new batteries made no difference Discussion Thread --------------------------------------------------------------- Response (Radha Patturajan) - 06/01/2006 10:27 AM Dear Russell, Thank you for confirming the model number. The battery constant for DL3000RMI3U is 8C. Please go through the following procedure in the event that the batteries on a Smart-UPS have been changed and fully charged and when a self test has been performed, the runtime is incorrectly displayed or when the battery capacity LEDs blink. You may also get a message such as ?UPS battery is discharged? from the management software. Reference: In order to successfully reset the battery constant, all accompanying devices (SmartSlot Accessories such as Interface Expander, Web/SNMP Management Card) must be removed from the SmartSlot or from the Comport of the UPS. In order to fit into or remove devices from the SmartSlot of the UPS, please shut off all connected load, switch off the UPS, pull the power plug of the UPS and switch off the UPS once again till you hear a click. Turn on the UPS again and connect a computer with Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT 4.0 or Win 2000, which runs on Hyperterminal. ** You MUST have the cable with part number 940-0024B, 940-0024C or 940 1524C ** 1. Close Powerchute plus-Server. With Windows NT/2000, the UPS service must be stopped. If you are using PowerChute Business Edition, stop the Agent ? service. 2. Select Start | Program | Accessories | Hyperterminal | HyperTerminal. 3. You will be requested to enter a name and a symbol. Enter a favorite name and click on OK. When a message that a modem must be installed appears, you can ignore this message. 4. Select the serial port to which black serial cable is connected to. 5. The correct settings for the COM-connection are 2400 Baud, 8 data bits, 1 Stop bit, no parity, protocol Xon/Xoff. In this window, click on Advanced and make sure that the option FIFO activated is unchecked. Click twice on OK. 6. An empty window is opened. With the shift-key depressed, press the Y-key. You should get the response message SM. When you get the response message SM, Powerchute Plus can communicate with this connection. Warning: Do not enter any other characters via Hyperterminal other than that described in these instructions because this can cause irreparable damage to the UPS!! 7. Enter ?1? twice with a gap of two seconds. 8. The response message ?PROG? appears in the Hyperterminal window. 9. Enter a ?0? and the UPS reports the present value of the battery constant. In case this value does not correspond to the default value mentioned below, it must be changed. Battery constant = 8C 10. After you have entered ?0? and the battery constant is displayed, enter a ?+? as long as the correct battery constant appears as the most recent value (in the standard settings mentioned in the document) in the Hyperterminal window. (you can go back with ?-?). 11. Enter ?<Shift> R?, the UPS reports ?BYE? and you have exit the PROG mode. 12. Enter ?<Shift> Y?, the UPS reports again with ?SM?. 13. Enter ?0? once again and check if the UPS reports back the standard setting that has been set. 14. Hence the problem is solved. Close the Hyperterminal, start the UPS again and check the UPS runtime in the management software. Explanation: The battery constants give the battery status via their life expectancy. If the battery ages and is ?exhausted?, the constant is overwritten. The management software calculates the runtime of the UPS with these constants. If the battery is now replaced, a self test must be done with the new batteries. Through it, the red battery replace indicator goes out and the battery constants should be reset to the standard settings. This does not occur in some cases. Therefore, the constants must be reset manually. Please let me know if the problem is resolved. Should you ever require further assistance or if your UPS problem is not resolved, please do not hesitate to contact me again by responding to this incident. I would be glad to assist you. With kind regards, Radha APC Tech Support Customer (Russell Odom) - 06/01/2006 09:50 AM Hi Radha, Thanks for the response. The model number is DL3000RMI3U. Russ Response (Radha Patturajan) - 06/01/2006 06:40 AM Dear Russell, Thank you for contacting APC technical Support. Sometimes after replacing the old batteries in the UPS, the device needs to be told that there are new batteries present and even after replacement the UPS still assumes the characteristics of the old battery. This might be the cause of the UPS problem. To avoid this, we need to reset the battery constant. I would be glad to assist you in this procedure. But before proceeding with this procedure, we need to know the exact model number of the UPS. Every UPS has a specific battery constant value. Entering a wrong value may damage the UPS. So please send me the exact model number of the UPS. You can find out these details on the white barcode sticker at the rear of your unit. For more information on identification of these numbers, please visit the following link: http://www.apcc.com/support/model_number.cfm Is the UPS SU3000RMINET or SU3000RMI3U? Once I receive the model number, I would be glad to assist you further with the resetting of battery constant. With kind regards, Radha APC Tech Support Customer (Russell Odom) - 05/31/2006 04:13 PM Hi, We have a Smart-UPS 3000 RM that is seemingly calculating the battery runtime incorrectly. The calculated runtime at 45% load and 100% battery charge stays somewhere between 0 and 120 secs, but according to http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SU3000RMI3U the runtime should be about 13 minutes at half load. Since the estimated runtime is not more that 2 mins, the UPS is permanently in a 'Low Battery' state (with the front-panel LEDs flashing), and the monitoring software therefore forces an immediate shutdown any time there is a wobble in our mains supply and the UPS goes onto battery, even if it's only for a few seconds. The replace battery light came on a couple of weeks ago, although it went off again a few days later; I have just replaced the batteries (which were a little over a year old) with brand new ones, but it has made no difference. I tried a self-test and and completely powered the unit off and disconnected from the mains to try to force it to recalculate the runtime, but without any luck. I am using Network UPS Tools (NUT) with the "apcsmart" driver to monitor the UPS; status info as follows (all values agree with the front-panel LEDs where applicable): battery.alarm.threshold: 0 battery.charge: 100.0 battery.charge.restart: 00 battery.date: 02/15/01 battery.packs: 000 battery.runtime: 120 battery.runtime.low: 120 battery.voltage: 54.55 battery.voltage.nominal: 048 driver.name: apcsmart driver.version: 2.0.1 driver.version.internal: 1.99.6 input.frequency: 50.00 input.quality: FF input.sensitivity: H input.transfer.high: 253 input.transfer.low: 196 input.transfer.reason: T input.voltage: 243.1 input.voltage.maximum: 244.4 input.voltage.minimum: 241.8 output.voltage: 243.1 output.voltage.target.battery: 230 ups.delay.shutdown: 180 ups.delay.start: 000 ups.firmware: 92.11.I ups.id: UPS_IDEN ups.load: 045.2 ups.mfr: APC ups.mfr.date: 02/15/01 ups.model: SMART-UPS 3000 RM ups.serial: [deleted] ups.status: OL LB ups.temperature: 057.6 ups.test.interval: 1209600 ups.test.result: NO Having run some tests by powering off the mains and looking at the rate of battery discharge, I would guess that the real runtime would be perhaps 4-5 mins, which is higher than its estimate but less than the 13 mins your web site says I should expect. My other thought was that one of the batteries might not be properly connected, but all seems fine as far as I can tell. I'm not sure if this is a fault with the UPS or if there's something else I need to do to force it to recalculate the runtime. Can you advise? Thanks, Russ Question Reference #xxxxxx-xxxxxx --------------------------------------------------------------- Product Level 1: Smart-UPS Product Level 2: SU3000RMI Category Level 1: Troubleshooting Date Created: 05/31/2006 04:13 PM Last Updated: 06/01/2006 10:27 AM Status: Waiting Serial: [deleted] Management Software: Version: Operating System: Linux (RHEL4) [---001:007808:44035---] Radha Patturajan