Hopefully this is the right place to ask.

I have an APC Back-UPS XS 1400U that I use to keep my home server running 24/7.

It was purchased in 2015, batteries replaced around 2020, everything was fine until around June 2023 when it started randomly switching to battery for a few seconds for no apparent reason once or twice a day.

The UPS is connected to my home server via USB so I can get some readouts. It says “Unacceptable line voltage changes”, but it’s configured to switch when it’s outside the 160-280v range and it gets nowhere near those thresholds, the voltage fluctuates in the 224-234 range.

I connected an oscilloscope to the mains to see if there were transients when the problem occurred but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary and the problem has been getting worse, now it switches an average of 50 times a day.

The UPS still works, it can keep the server up for hours if I unplug the power, so the batteries should be good. What’s going on?

  • Catsrules
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    1 year ago

    Could be battery. That is usually the first thing to swap no matter what.

    It could be whatever internal component the UPS uses to measure the line voltage is going bad. If that is the case your probably looking for a new UPS :(. Unless you want to do some very indept troubleshoot and potentially board level repairs.

    Other option is to try the UPS on another circuit, or if available, another building entirely.