APC BE650Y-IN power button issues

quicky008

Technomancer
My APC BE650Y-IN ups which is now around 13 years old(bought in 2007) has been working really well these past few years,however occasionally its power button used to get stuck and i had to release it by gently tapping on it a few times.

However recently its been acting up again and needs to be pressed very hard in order to turn the ups on or off.I read somewhere that this might happen as the ups gets older due to dust and grime accumulating under the power button,which degrades its electrical contacts.I tried cleaning it with some isopropyl alcohol but the problem still persists.

This is actually a fairly common issue with this particular ups model and its later revisions reportedly included a bigger power button which was not susceptible to such problems.

Is there any other way to get the power button working properly again? If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.Should i contact APC's tech support about this?

PS how is the APC Be700-IND?It seems like an updated version of this ups thats currently being sold by APC.Will it make sense if i discard the old ups and get this one?
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
!3 years is long enough for any simple spring based mechanical system to develop issues(that dust & grime affects the very small spring like mechanism below the switch btw). I can assure you size of button has got nothing to do with this. Only way to fix this issue is by disassembling & reassembling the mechanism below the switch(if it is possible). Some people say that APC ups overall quality has gone down in recent years but that is also true for almost all major electronics products like tv,laptop,mobile phone etc.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
i cant disassemble it by myself-i may have to contact their service center regarding this.

However i am not sure whether these guys will provide any service whatsoever during the lockdown period.

Can the reliability of an ups decrease after its been in use for 13 years?
 

thetechfreak

Legend Never Ends
Authorized service center can evaluate the quality better. UPS other than the circuit stuff is just a battery, so if you're lucky you'll be good.

So get it checked and you probably won't need a new one.

Sent from my vivo 1807 using Tapatalk
 

ico

Super Moderator
Staff member
I think spring behind the button is acting up. You will have to open the UPS up to somehow fix it.

Can the reliability of an ups decrease after its been in use for 13 years?

Mechanical components like buttons? Yes. Battery life also decreases but I'm sure you must have replaced the battery once.
 
I had that UPS. Same button issue, then its back spring rusted. So changed it after using for 7-8 years. As said earlier 13 years is way too long. There's chance that other electronic components might fail as well, so better buy a new one.

This is a new model which has good reviews as well:
Robot Check

Maybe some amazon seller has defective products, maybe look for it locally.
 

bssunilreddy

Chosen of the Omnissiah
Maybe replacement buttons from aliexpress might help:US $1.02 31% OFF|5pcs/lot Wholesale UPS Switch Flashlight Self Locking Switch Push Button Micro Power Switch 10A Height 13.5/15.5/18.5mm|Switches| - AliExpress
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Bx600c in is a popular model but i don't particularly like it, its voltage regulation is sub par and it cannot handle upto 90 percent of its rated load.

Replacement buttons from aliexpress.com are not very useful either as i can't open the ups and repair it myself.

I was thinking of buying the apc be700y ind-it looks similar to my current ups but is rated slightly higher ie 700 va as opposed to 650va.Has any one here used this ups? If yes, some feedback regarding its performance / reliability might be useful.

Yes the ups is really old, i wonder whether the newer models from apc have the same degree of reliability as my current ups, which has lasted so long.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
I have almost decided to buy the newer apc be700y-ind ups. However when i looked up its specs online, it was mentioned that it does infact have an avr, but strangely this feature is "not available" on all models-this is really ambiguous, how can i ascertain whether it has an avr or not?

Also its output voltage was mentioned as 190v-250v. For My older be650y ind, it was around 200- 239v(based on my experience of using it for all these years).

While its lower voltage threshold doesn't worry me too much , the upper one at 250v seems a bit high-does it mean the ups should step down the voltage once it exceeds 250v?

Can computers work well at voltages between 240-250v?is it likely to cause any damage to it in the long run? Most modern psus have an input voltage range of 100v-240v,i wonder what might happen if the input voltage stays closer to the 250v mark, which is higher than its recommended range.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
I think it means that UPS can supply required voltage within this range so if a device need 190v it will supply 190v & if a supply need 250v then it will supply 250v.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Most psus have an acceptable voltage range of 100 - 240v,in that case can it sustain any damage if its fed 250v from a power source?
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Most psus have an acceptable voltage range of 100 - 240v,in that case can it sustain any damage if its fed 250v from a power source?
I am guessing its overvoltage protection will kick in & cut off the input if voltage exceed psu operating input voltage range.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
I had that UPS. Same button issue, then its back spring rusted. So changed it after using for 7-8 years. As said earlier 13 years is way too long. There's chance that other electronic components might fail as well, so better buy a new one.

This is a new model which has good reviews as well:
Robot Check

Maybe some amazon seller has defective products, maybe look for it locally.
Can you tell me which one did you buy after discarding your older BE650Y-IN ups?
 

bssunilreddy

Chosen of the Omnissiah
I was using APC 600VA UPS for my older Intel 4th gen PC then after upgrading to Intel 6th Gen i5 I bought APC 1.1KVA which I am using even now.
APC is APC regarding UPS's. never let me down even with their RMA which they coem to home and do the repairs and replacement of battery for the UPS.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
You probably never bothered about things like output voltage range and so on which is an important factor to take into consideration as it could seriously compromise the safety of any connected equipment, perhaps you live in a cosmopolitan area where the utility voltage always lies within safe limits and therefore the UPS's output voltage didn't really matter for you.

Like you i was also under the impression that "APC is APC" when it came to UPSes, and i too had been using their products since 2005 or thereabouts. But i have observed that lately their UPSes esp. the lower priced models don't have the same level of quality and safety features as they used to in the past - also i am rather shocked to learn that sometimes they even resort to false marketing to win customers.

For instance, one of their popular models the bx600c-in is marketed as an ups which has a built-in AVR functionality - but that however is a blatant lie as this ups doesn't have this feature at all(i tested this ups my self and so i can attest to this - also you can find some reviews on Amazon that mention it as well).

Also even in some of their costlier models like the br1000/1500g-in the output voltage can go as high as 252v before the ups steps it down to safe levels. This is a fallacious and extremely stupid design decision which could put any delicate electronic equipment at serious risk! They should have designed the upses such that it reduced the line voltage to safe limits as soon as it crossed the 240V mark-a simple fix which i don't think would have been very difficult for them to implement.


Most people pay no heed to these issues and hence they can get away with them-even apc's technicians themselves don't know what the safe operating voltage limits are for devices in India. Recently i had a chat with an Apc rep and when i questioned her about this she said the safe range is 160-280v-go figure!!
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Also even in some of their costlier models like the br1000/1500g-in the output voltage can go as high as 252v before the ups steps it down to safe levels.
Did you measure it or do you have some concrete proof for this?
*download.schneider-electric.com/fi...c_Ref=SPD_VGUA-A7NF6K_EN&p_enDocType=Brochure

1590917294738.png


Also there is your psu too which usually has 100-240V input range & outside of that it should safely shut down.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
Refer to this thread

*forums.apc.com/spaces/4/back-ups-s...e-regulation-on-back-ups-pro-model-br1000g-in

Also in the user manual for this ups(available at its official product page), its mentioned clearly that the upper threshold of this ups is 252-282 v, which means it will regulate voltage only if it exceeds 252v,which is fairly high(and dangerous).
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Very old thread so can't be sure info is still relevant unless you do the testing. Also whether that is still true or not, fact remains that this is enough for any good psu so at least PC has no issues & other than that I am not sure you should connect anything else to ups anyway unless there is no home inverter in which case connecting at least a monitor is must.
 
OP
quicky008

quicky008

Technomancer
An update on this issue, albeit belated.

I contacted apc's service center in our area recently and was informed that as my ups is quite old, its not possible to get it repaired anymore, even for an issue as simple as replacing a faulty power button. Apparently the necessary spare parts are "no longer available" , which is really strange.

Apc does manufacture two other upses that are similar to mine(be 700 and 800) , and they appear to have a very similar type of power button-so i find it hard to believe that they cannot provide a replacement power button for this ups, when they are manufacturing new models with similar power buttons.

I was told that buying a new ups was the only solution.

Also today while i was using my old ups, i observed something strange - earlier it consistently stepped up voltage below 200v to 230 v, but now it seems its not doing that properly anymore. Even when the input voltage dropped to 194v,it sometimes stepped it up and at other times continued to output 194v.

Does it mean the ups is not functioning properly and is likely to fail soon?
 
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