Successful fix report!
I've got an APC Back UPS RS 1500 LCD (model BR1500LCD) UPS that has served me well for many, many years. My area's known for having bad electrical power that routinely damages computer equipment, so it's been a fantastic investment.
Over the past few months, I've been hearing the relays click on and off maybe once a day, but since the unit did not actually switch over to battery power, I assumed it was just a typical power cut-out.
But, finally, it did switch over to battery power on a stormy day when power lines were getting blown down all over the region.
Unfortunately, it did not come back up when AC power was restored! Other devices were working fine, and no room lights were flickering. One other UPS did also switch over to battery, but it came back up on its own when power was restored. I went through the UPS' LCD display's readings and found that the RS 1500 LCD thought that it was receiving around 77VAC from the wall outlet, even though I could measure the wall voltage as a typical 118VAC.
The UPS was still supplying the connected computer equipment 115VAC, so I knew that circuit was okay.
Knowing that if I left this UPS to drain the battery, I could damage the battery permanently, so I shut it down, removed all attached equipment, and removed the battery.
Then, I opened it up. Remove four Phillips screws from the back panel, and it slides out about 2in. The front panel snaps off--use a plastic spudger to pry it off. It is pretty firmly snapped on.
Hidden under the front panel are three Phillips screws. In the battery compartment there are two, and that's all of them. The right side (when facing the front of the unit) lifts off.
On the mainboard, there are roughly a dozen electrolytic caps, most of them small and low-voltage. Nearly all of the ones in my unit were Jamicon, but three were CapXon.
Yup, sure enough, one of the CapXon caps, the physically biggest one that is marked C69, 22uF 400V, had vented its top. The other two tiny 4.7uF 25V ones looked okay, but I don't trust the CapXon brand, so I went ahead and replaced them too.
All in all, these are the parts I ordered:
1x Panasonic EEU-EE2G220S 22uF +/-20% 400V 105C
2x Nichicon UPW1E4R7MDD 4.7uF +/-20% 25V 105C
NOTE, I do not know if these caps are the "best" to buy or how long they will last. They seemed to have high enough ripple current ratings and were inexpensive and in-stock, so I ordered them.
I soldered them in easily, put the UPS back together, and it began working immediately without any trouble.
For less than $3 in parts, I got my >$150 UPS working again, probably for another many years and saving this from the landfill.
I did not replace any of the Jamicon caps since they did not seem to have vented and there were so many of them.
I've got an APC Back UPS RS 1500 LCD (model BR1500LCD) UPS that has served me well for many, many years. My area's known for having bad electrical power that routinely damages computer equipment, so it's been a fantastic investment.
Over the past few months, I've been hearing the relays click on and off maybe once a day, but since the unit did not actually switch over to battery power, I assumed it was just a typical power cut-out.
But, finally, it did switch over to battery power on a stormy day when power lines were getting blown down all over the region.
Unfortunately, it did not come back up when AC power was restored! Other devices were working fine, and no room lights were flickering. One other UPS did also switch over to battery, but it came back up on its own when power was restored. I went through the UPS' LCD display's readings and found that the RS 1500 LCD thought that it was receiving around 77VAC from the wall outlet, even though I could measure the wall voltage as a typical 118VAC.
The UPS was still supplying the connected computer equipment 115VAC, so I knew that circuit was okay.
Knowing that if I left this UPS to drain the battery, I could damage the battery permanently, so I shut it down, removed all attached equipment, and removed the battery.
Then, I opened it up. Remove four Phillips screws from the back panel, and it slides out about 2in. The front panel snaps off--use a plastic spudger to pry it off. It is pretty firmly snapped on.
Hidden under the front panel are three Phillips screws. In the battery compartment there are two, and that's all of them. The right side (when facing the front of the unit) lifts off.
On the mainboard, there are roughly a dozen electrolytic caps, most of them small and low-voltage. Nearly all of the ones in my unit were Jamicon, but three were CapXon.
Yup, sure enough, one of the CapXon caps, the physically biggest one that is marked C69, 22uF 400V, had vented its top. The other two tiny 4.7uF 25V ones looked okay, but I don't trust the CapXon brand, so I went ahead and replaced them too.
All in all, these are the parts I ordered:
1x Panasonic EEU-EE2G220S 22uF +/-20% 400V 105C
2x Nichicon UPW1E4R7MDD 4.7uF +/-20% 25V 105C
NOTE, I do not know if these caps are the "best" to buy or how long they will last. They seemed to have high enough ripple current ratings and were inexpensive and in-stock, so I ordered them.
I soldered them in easily, put the UPS back together, and it began working immediately without any trouble.
For less than $3 in parts, I got my >$150 UPS working again, probably for another many years and saving this from the landfill.
I did not replace any of the Jamicon caps since they did not seem to have vented and there were so many of them.
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