Replacing the batteries in a Belkin F6C800-UNV UPS
Here are some notes on replacing the batteries in a Belkin Universal Series 800VA 6 Outlet Uninterruptable Power Supply:
- The UPS clearly states that there are no user-serviceable parts inside and that opening the case is Bad. Since the batteries last ~3 years and the warranty is only 3 years long this is rather moot.
- It takes TWO (2) 12V 8AH batteries. I purchased my replacements from Apex Battery.
- The batteries are mounted securely inside the case. They are not simple to get to, but neither are they impossible.
Other than being sure to order 2 replacement batteries the hardest part about doing the replacement is getting to the batteries. Before you start make sure that you have the following:
- A long-handled 3/16″ Phillips screwdriver (or similar). The shaft should be about 4 inches long.
- A 9/32″ hex socket wrench with a long shaft (8″ or longer). You can also use an extender to get that length, but it needs to be taller than the case.
- A flat-head screwdriver or a molex connector remover of some sort.
- The replacement batteries.
The basic procedure then is…
- Open the case, there are 5 screws: 4 on the bottom and one on the back.
- Disconnect the batteries from the transformer. Disconnect the ground (black) that runs between the batteries, then the ground that runs to the transformer and finally the hot (red) that runs to the transformer.
- Unscrew the circuit board from the top. The board has 4 screws.
- Unscrew the back-plate from the base-plate. There are two screws on the bottom corners of the backplate.
- Gently pull the back-plate away from the circuit board. It will still be connected via wires, but you don’t need to disconnect these.
- Now that the circuit board has cleared the back-plate, lift it up slightly and unplug the molex connector from the front (towards the buttons). This connector is the connector from the front panel lights and buttons. You can remove it with a proper molex connector tool, two flat-head screwdrivers or one flat-head screwdriver and patience. Be careful when prying to pry it out evenly on each side so as not to bend the pins.
- With the molex connector unplugged you can lift and move the circuit board enough to unscrew the remaining two screws and two nuts.
- Unscrew the two screws holding the battery retention bracket to the front-plate. These are at the top of the battery retention bracket. You will need the long-handled Phillips to reach these screws — there are holes cut in the bracket to allow for access with a normal, straight screwdriver.
- Using the hex wrench unbolt the two forward-most hex nuts holding the other side of the battery retention bracket to the bottom-plate.
- Gently lift up on the freed battery retention bracket and slide out both dead batteries, noting their orientation and carefully setting them aside so as to not mix up the new batteries with the old.
- Slide the new batteries into place in the same orientation as the old batteries were.
- Reattach the battery bracket, the front panel molex connector, the back-plate, the circuit board and finally the case.
- Make sure it works, let the batteries charge up and enjoy!
Hopefully this will help someone out there…
30 Comments so far
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I hope my tools helped!!
Thanks! Just what I was looking for. I blanched a little when I saw the price of the batteries (I have 2 of these UPS). Maybe I’ll wait a bit; it’s just a bit over three years since I purchased the units. They are rarely used but after one incident with an HP minitower that was rendered completely useless (until HP sent a special repair disk) by a brief power outage I kind of like the insurance.
Thanks again.
Actually, I think the price is pretty good - remember, that price is for the “pack”, meaning both batteries are included.
Nice write up. I was surprised that I could not find this UPS on the Belkin website. I am assuming this is a Sam’s Warehouse special - and not something available to the general public. Where did everyone buy theirs?
Well, Thanks for the information on taking that thing apart.
Since you gave me good information, here is one for you.
GruberPower Services has the same battery (although they state it is 12V 7Ah for … get this.. $6.85 per battery!!! Yes, they are quality batteries, and I have replaced several old UPS with their batteries several years ago, and they are still going strong. http://www.gruberpower.com
Thanks, Jim!
Bill: I bought mine from a small computer store in my area; for all I know they could have gotten it from Sam’s Club, but somehow I doubt it (it was too inexpensive!).
Thanks Pug & Jim (7/28/06),
I bought my belkin f6c800 at Best Buy in October 2003 and the battery just went. I want to try Jim’s Gruberpower.com site, but I’m a little unsure which battery I need. I think it is 2 of part #58-GPS-6-7, but am wondering if it is 1 of part #58-GPS-12-7. Any way to find out from Jim? Either way, thanks for the tips.
Len
I work for GruberPower and the battery that should fit is either list as 58-GPS-12-7.2F2 or 58-GPS-1270. The reason I list both part numbers is that we a re migrating from an old store to a new one, so I am not sure which you might have seen. I think the price has been raised to $9.45 each and yes it takes two.
Just replaced my batteries with a pair from GruberPower. The total cost was $30.50. Half the price of the lowest competitor I could find.
Odd thing was that the UPS just died when the batteries needed replacing. No indication except for an amber light on the front and no power to the system. The UPS wouldn’t even turn on. Works great now with the new batteries.
Thanks mucho for the info!
I’ve got a doa APC here and a bid on a Belkin F6C800 on ebay that has no batteries.
The APC batteries are good and they will fit.
I have an F6C800 that is acting wierd. It has power running through it and all the meters show good numbers except the battery level meter which pretty much sits on zero. Every once in a while it jumps to a random level but not very often.
I have not been notified by it of any problems. When I try to run a test through the software, it will not do it. When I try the self test (holding the power button) it just shuts down.
I understand no one can physically see it but would you think that new batteries would fix this type of issue or could it be something else9 like a short)?
YOur help is greatly appreciated!
I was just about to place a $140 order for a new UPS, because my Belkin died a while ago. Then I found this site, thank you very much, this is great info. I ordered my batteries from Apex and have yet to install them, but I’m sure with the above it won’t be a problem. One comment on the Gruber replacements: the batteries for the 800VA model are $19 each (not $9), times two is the same price as the Apex, but the Apex batteries have 8 Ah, Gruber only 7.2 Ah, which makes the Apex the better deal. $47 replacement batteries versus a new $140 UPS, not a bad solution at all…!!
Cool, article but I don’t remember how to connect the batteries again; I mean how the cables are connected ?
I just found these batteries at:
http://www.arizonabattery.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=2036&category_id=38b7ed1f4bc0100fdd98949f754bed1b&
The price is $32.50 for both.
Thanks for the very helpful advice.
I just bought a $200 APC 1500VA 865W. Nice unit and the LCD tell you how much time you have when the power fails. It decreases as you hook up more devices. A very good feature.
But I still will replace batteries in my two Belkin F6C800-UNVs for other pcs. The price is very good indeed.
Thanks
Allan CA
THANKS !!! Found your info. & instructions on replacing batteries - ordered thru Gruber - great deal !
No more “UPS can not retrieve information” every morning - THANKS so much for the help again !!
I am experiencing the same behavior as Post Number 10. The unit appears to not be able to enter into Battery mode. when AC stops, unit turns off instead of going to DC. Then using the belkin software to “test” the unit, it turns off. I am also exhibiting the erratic Batter Level reading. All of this with a load as low as 40% (the minimum load possible with just my monitor and tower). I am hoping that new batteries are the solution. Can anybody verify this?
Apex is 39.90 + 6.95 = 46.85
Gruber 18.90 + 12.50 = 31.40
Hi guys,
Thanks for all the info.
i just picked up one these UPSs from my job. They tossed it for a dead battery.
I found similar problems as to what has been posted.
As to post #10 and #15.
The circuit is looking for a over charge of the battery. ie..13 volts instead of 12 volts.
If it can not find a certain voltage it kills every thing in the circuit.
It also looks at load capacity. First sign a battery is going bad. The
I’m trying my old remedy for bad UPS batteries.
A $19 lawn tractor battery from Wal-Mart. I did this with my APC unit and I now get about three hours of run time when the power goes out.
I’ll let you know.
David
Make that two lawn tractor batteries.
Silly me, I forgot to pay attention to the battery wiring when I took it apart. Are the batteries wired in series or in parallel?
The batteries are wired in series.
Not sure why people are reluctant to replace batteries (that last for 2 to 3 years) cause the price is high. You paid for the battery when you bought the product. If you really care about investing some money to protect the hardware that you connect to the UPS, you would gladly invest the cost of a battery than the cost to replace all of the hardware connected to it. This particular product was marketed as non user replaceable unit. If you can replace the battery you extend the life of your investment. It cost me 89.99 for this unit. It lasts the life of the battery. If you can’t replace the battery on your own you simply paid your price/the number of years it lasted. By the time it dies, the warranty is done.
Okay a couple things here.
First, be careful. Some websites indicate that Belkin produced a one battery model, so be sure to check yours first before ordering two batteries.
Second. One comment mentions using alternate batteries such as lawn mower batteries, or large external gel cells, etc.
People need to be aware that UPS’s generate heat when running on a battery. And components of the UPS generate heat. When manufactured, they are tested at various loads and run times to be sure they are safe when run. So, say you get 10 minutes at full load, it might be tested to be sure it is safe when it runs for that time plus a cushion time.
If you use a big battery, it is possible you could be opening yourself up to a fire hazard under your desk.
Thanks OP for the write-up. I found this site when I started to look for a solution to the problem I found with my unit: it failed the test with a load about 60% - it would shut down after a second or so, but otherwise, found function perfectly, and software said everything is OK. Apparently, the UPS is not very good at detecting a battery failure. Since I had it for a few years already, I decided it was time for a new set of batteries
Well, today the replacement arrived and I did the swap. Surpisingly, the original batteries were 7AH, while the replacements are 8AH, so I hope the renewed UPS will be able to hold the charge longer 
Forgot to mention, I got replacement from http://www.arizonabattery.com
With a little patience, the batteries are actually pretty simple to change and quite a sense of accomplishment for a guy like me! Thanks for the post. Also, http://www.replacementupsbattery.com has the wka12-7.5f for only $17.95, and there’s a 2 year warranty.
I think I have a similar issue to Humberto in #15. In the past couple of months, my
F6C800-UNV simply shuts down completely, no LED indications … it’s done it 3 times now.
I can’t seem to get a meaningful “self-test” output. (I don’t use UPS software … just the
front-panel button.) A one-second press does nothing; A 2-second press sometimes makes
it light the amber LED, for a period of seconds (not blinking), and then it turns off. But other
times, I see no LED but hear an odd, sort of quiet clicking sound from inside the UPS chassis.
I thought the clicks would quit, but they seemed to continue; I didn’t want to let it do that for
more than a minute. I can still turn “on” the UPS with a 3-second button press, but no LEDs
light up aside from the normal Green steady indicator.
I’m gonna power my equipment from a cheap surge protector, disconnect this UPS, open it up,
verify the battery type, and pay for new batteries. Thank you very much for this weblog article!!
Larry in San Jose, CA USA p.s. I believe I purchased this UPS from Office Depot, about 2+ years ago
Follow-up to #25 — I was able to open the F6C800-UNV, moved the main circuit
board aside, removed the upper bracket that forms the battery cage, removed the
two batteries. They are connected in series, and mine have the following type:
2 ea. Ritar RT1270 @ 12V, 7.0AH
Cycle Use = 14.6V -14.9V; Standby Use = 13.6V -13.8V;
Initial current is less than 2.8A
(* I saw a bit of mineral/oxide deposit on the black terminal between the two batteries,
and the other battery had a bit of buckling/warpage in its plastic case. At this point it seems
like the one showing the warpage has nearly normal voltage but the other battery is really low. *)
Now I can buy some new replacements!! Larry.
And I found another writeup on this same topic (Tom’s Hardware Forums) –
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/188275-28-belkin-model-f6c800-battery-replacement
There are a lot of great, accurate details in that forum post!! Larry.
Well done, Pug! Worked like a champ. I would advise installing the software to at least see what’s going on with your voltages and such… a wealth of information. Download here:
http://www.belkin.com/uk/support/article/?lid=enu&pid=F6C800ukUNV&aid=6153&scid=256
Thanks all!!
A friend has this UPS– same problem Larry is describing to a tee.
You can turn it on but when you unplug it it’s dead, immediately, as is anything plugged ito it.
I use SLA’s for mobile sound equipment and have plenty around.
The old batteries show fully charged, the new ones made no difference.
I’d be interested in a follow-up from Larry to hear whether the battery replacement solved his problem.
I’ve already removed the new batteries, cut the cord off, and the thing is going in the garbage.
FWIW the batteries are wired in series, meaning the voltage is 24 volts (for anyone hoping to jerry-rig a non-standard battery in there).
With respect to the post: Steve November 22nd, 2007 9:01 pm.
Has anyone tried the batteries under load - that is to run the equipment on batteries (after a full charge) for as long as possible - just to see if there is any heating hazard.
I leave my equipment on all the time, so a power failure could cause this situation with no one present.
Thanks.
Great thread, BTW.