phone system power loss

[blackmagicj]

my phone system has been browning out the past couple of days. This happens several times a day, where all telephones in the building lose power at once. this power loss happens for about a second, and when it comes back you can still continue the conversation you were having on the phone. it is plugged into a battery backup, which is in turn plugged into the wall, so im guessing the problem is with the 5 slot carrier? any advice would be great. Thanks.

there are about 31 lines in the building, and they are run off from a range of 5 partner r2.0 - r3.1 slots, all of which are seated inside of a 5 slot carrier

 

[skip555]

are you sere the UPS is functional and properly sized ?

pull the power cord from the UPS to the Wall , does the System stay up ?

how long ?

 

[dagwoodsystems]

The presence of a UPS doesn't guarantee that the phone system won't die on you. Whether it does or not is a matter of load calculation and battery age.

Perhaps the UPS is only marginally capable of handling the PBX. Battery backup won't keep up if you're taking long and frequent power losses.

Two days ago, I got a service call on a similar problem with a Legend. When I chose the UPS for this customer two years prior, I had allowed a 25% overhead. Meanwhile, the customer plugged in a whole ton of other stuff into it and never had the batteries serviced. They complained that the battery backup only lasted 15 minutes.

By the way, are you able to hear the UPS alarm during these times? I'd like to know how much holdover time you're getting, if any.

____________________________
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magix. --Arthur C. Clarke (imbellished).

 

[blackmagicj]

yes this ups has been used for a long time. when i unplug the system does stay on. i left it unplugged for about 2 mins and there was no power loss..thanks for the fast reply

 

[skip555]

how is dial tone being provided ?

you say the conversation goes away but it continues when the power comes back do you lose lights and display on the phones or is it just the conversations in progress that are interrupted ?

 

[blackmagicj]

yes lights and all are lost when this happens. as i said before, when the power comes back the person on the other end is still there.

 

[dagwoodsystems]

That's good to know.

Is the UPS alarm sounding at the time these Partner phones die? If not, then we are probably barking up the wrong tree by looking at the battery backup. We may need to look at a failing power supply.

____________________________
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magix. --Arthur C. Clarke (imbellished).

 

[jconrad0305]

can you look at a log for the ups. Ie software that can me installed and conencted via serial or usb port to monitor it.

ACA & ACS IPO Implementation

http://www.computingagain.com

 

[blackmagicj]

i will try to bypass the UPS all together and see if that remedies the issue. but i am pretty sure i will have to find someone in the galveston/houston area who services these devices.

 

[blackmagicj]

so it doesnt seem to be the UPS, my question is, do you think the problem lies with the 5 slot carrier, or with the ACS proc? again, the system loses power for a second at a time all throughout the day. any advice would be great. avaya wants to charge $1000 to come out and diagnose

 

[dagwoodsystems]

Well, at least we now know what the problem ISN'T.

If I were on site, the first thing I would do is receed and reinsert the boards into the backplane. Depending on the age or revision of the backplane, this can be a bugger-bear. Some versions make it so that the boards are kinda tight against each other.

Depending on the frequency of the brownouts--I would wait around, have coffee, chat you up and see if this thing happens again. If it did, my next choice would be to replace the backplane.

$1000 seems incredibly steep for a travel charge and one hour of diagnosis. Are you sure that the total doesn't include parts and all that good stuff? I know you're not in the business of buying and selling phone gear, but the price they quoted you could buy a backplane and a processor with change coming to you.

____________________________
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magix. --Arthur C. Clarke (imbellished).

 

[cvrbob]

are any of the power light on the partner blinking,or just blinks before this happens I would think it is 1 of the modules causing the partner to reset, but i would also think that you would lose the phone call & not the Carrier

 

[fonedude]

I've seen this happen when the cards in the system get too hot. Sometimes just removing the cover will allow the system to breathe better. Put your hand on the top of the cards. They should be warm but not hot. The 2.0 cards are notorious for their heat output. I've even had customers put fans in front of or under the systems.

 

[blackmagicj]

you guys have all given great advice. i reseated the cards in the carrier friday evening (5p) before i left. sat and sun we were closed, and now today at 1:22 they have not cut off yet..

 

[skip555]

you know I had this with a new customer where someone had jammed a ACS processor in a Partner 11 carrier , the one that had the hooks on the end of the tongues on the bottom of the slots to hold the cards in .

we replaced it with a ACS carried and the problem went away , I had forgotten all about that one untill now

On your carrier do the plastic "tongues" hook up at the end or are they straight ?