How to Replace the Battery in an APC Smart-UPS 1500

Here at County Battery, our staff has the expert knowledge in dealing with any form of battery changing or replacement. Please follow the steps below to learn and become a DIY expert in replacing the battery in an APC Smart-UPS 1500. To start, don’t take out any screws in the bottom that is not necessary. Though it allows you to look at more of the insides, it’s not required to remove the batteries and it doesn’t help you remove them either.

Step 1: Unplug the UPS, if you haven’t already.

Step 2: Remove the battery connector. On the back of the UPS there is a plug that disconnects the battery from the UPS. Pull out the battery connector to disconnect the internal batteries from the UPS.

Step 3: Snap off the face plate of the APC. You should be able to do this without a tool, by grabbing it at it in the notches on both sides toward the top. The cover has a notch on each side along the edge to help you get a hold of it.It’s tough to pop off and it will be retained at the bottom so you’ll need to treat it at first like it is hinged at the bottom. Also note that there is a ribbon connected to the top but it’s really long. Watch ribbon that connects the circuitry that stays on the cover with the rest of the UPS. Scoot the UPS over the edge of the bench to give it room to rotate out and then you can lift the cover up and out of the notch it sits down into on the bottom. You can just place the front cover on top of the UPS once you get it off.

Step 4: Remove the battery case screws. Remove the two screws at the top right and left of the metal plate on the front. Pull the top of the plate out; the bottom of it sits into two notches. You will be able to lift it up and out once you have pulled it out a bit.

Step 5: Slide the batteries out. They are connected together and are very heavy.  Stick a flat screwdriver up under them to help get them moving.  There is a connector that you can disconnect to free the batteries from the UPS.  Don’t pull by the wires, grab a hold of the plastic grey connector. Step 6: Remove the plastic terminal covers. Take off the plastic covers over the terminals on each battery.

Step 7: Disconnect the terminals. There is a fuse between the negative and positive terminals on the left and then the connector for the UPS is attached to the terminals on the right.  Pay attention to how they are laid out when you take yours apart.  The batteries are in “series” meaning that the negative from one is connected to the positive of the other and the connector to the UPS is connected to the remaining positive and negative giving you 12+12=24 Volts. If your terminals are corroded then you’ll want to definitely clean the connectors before putting everything back together.  Baking soda in water works good to clean it off.  It is suggested to do that outside though because of the gas that is put off by the reaction of the baking soda and acid.

Step 8 and onward: Now that you have the battery out, reverse the steps, taking care to re-connect the terminals of the battery the same way (keep your reds connecting to red and blacks to blacks). Here is a video of County Battery’s Richard Fuller demonstrating how to change batteries in APC 1500 Pro UPS www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN6QWklzOck If you need any more help or advice on how to change batteries, please call County Battery on Tel: 01623 757377 or visit our website www.countybattery.co.uk to get in touch with us.