APC Back-UPS 1000 going to battery when plugged into server

[bcotes]

Hey everyone,

I just finished getting FreeNAS 9.3 setup on my new ThinkServer RS140. I'm loving FreeNAS but I'm having some issues with my APC BR1000G Back-UPS 1000 and my FreeNAS box. See, when I plug my UPS into the server via USB, the UPS instantly switches over to battery, even though the mains power is nominal. When I unplug the USB cable from the server, the UPS doesn't go back to mains power but stays on battery. I tried uplugging the UPS from the mains and plugging it back in but this does nothing. Now, here's the weird part... The UPS stays on battery for about 60 seconds (regardless of what I do), then cuts power to everything simultaneously then comes back up switched over to mains.

I'm really stumped as to why this is happening, so any suggestions would be great. I haven't configured the UPS settings in FreeNAS yet but that shouldn't matter, right? I read through the manual and I can't seem to find anything that would help me there, but I do have that Eco mode disabled and the sensitivity set as low as possible.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[marbus90]

I would assume that the UPS is broken. tried with another system?

 

[Bidule0hm]

Some UPS have two modes: a smart mode where it talk to the server over USB/RS232 and a dumb mode when you can control the UPS with just putting a signal to ground or +5V (logic low/high). In the last mode generally you can just tell the UPS to shutdown after a predefined delay (defined in the UPS by the manufacturer) and you've also a second signal which just tell if the UPS is on line or on battery. The two modes share the same cable.

It's sounds like if the UPS is in a dumb mode and when you connect the cable the USB signal is interpreted as logic low or logic high and the UPS shutdown. I suggest to read the manual and/or search the web about your particular model to see if it's this issue and how to solve it ;)

 

[depasseg]

I just went through this on my UPS. I plugged a (non-APC) serial cable into it's serial port and it immediately cut power to everything. Not what I wanted. Looked up my model and ordered the "Smart version" of the APC cable ($15 on ebay), and it is now working perfectly.

Make sure you are using the correct cable.

Does this happen when you plug the USB cable into the UPS without it being plugged into your RS140? If so, the port or cable might be bad.

You might want to try the APC forums.

 

[bcotes]

I would assume that the UPS is broken. tried with another system?

Ah. That's a good idea... Yup, just tried it on my laptop and it did the same thing... Guess it's not FreeNAS. Huh, thanks!

 

[GrumpyBear]

LOL. Noticed this too on the BR1300 I picked up on Saturday. As I'm still burning in the disks I haven't had time to look at this (thought maybe I was using the wrong driver in NUT) so I just unplugged the USB. Please post if RMA or replacing fixes this.

BTW the surge suppression on these low-end line interactive units vary from suck to non existent so do yourself a favour and spend $20 and get something with a >2000 joule rating to put in front of your hardware.