Smart Array 6400 Accelerator Battery Failures

[Tom123]

I have had a number of DL380G3 servers all with 6400 Smart Array controllers fitted in which the server is reporting a battery failure.The fix as advised by HP was to upgarde the firmware on the controller to the latest version v2.34 which worked in some cases but not all.Changing the battery as well as upgrading the controller firmware solved the problem.I am now getting the same errors again less that 4 months later.The issue as stated by HP is that there is a "False reporting issue".So does that mean the battery is fine but the server is misreporting (Agents misreporting ?)When i reboot the server i get a post error saying "battery low".

These batteries should last at least 3 years so i dont think there is a battery issue as such.The firmware was up to date at the time so do i have to update the firmware again.

If so why.....if you can help that would be good.
I change a battery on a server in which the firmware which was v2.34 and has been working fine,the battery then failed as reported by insight manager.I replaced the battery recently and the battery is still showing failed in insight manager.

[Tom123]

A bit surprised at the lack of response to this issue,I was hoping that others had experienced the same problem.One of the server's in question is reporting the battery as recharging and has been doing so for the past 2 weeks.The other server is reporting a failed battery,although the firmware on the controller was upgraded to v2.43 and fitted with a new battery.

[christine betz]

Hello,

we have nearly the same problem with a ML350G3 and a smart array 6400.
Did you solve the problem up to now?

Thanks
Christine

[Sven Rubach]

Hello,
We have the same problem using Proliant ML570G2 including Smart Array 6400 controller. We use Firmware 2.34 and have since a long time the Accelertor temp. disabled caused by the battery status is : "Recharging". We changed the battery and this new battery is since them still Recharging.
I will try to install Firmware 2.58A to solve this hopefully.
If it works then I will write a new replay of this forum. So long

[Sven Rubach]

Hello,

I have updated smart array controller Firmware to version 2.58 and it works.
So long !

[Tom123]

Thanks for all the replies.
The HP advisory suggests that both batteries
should be replaced at the same time.The battery on the array accelerator and the battery on the controller.
I have kept the firmware to 2.34 as it was working fine and replaced both batteries as suggested.All is now ok.

[Frogman]

Hi All

Please note new firmware avlb for the 6402/6404/641/642

2.68 A 20 Jun 06

It is mandatory to update to this version as it would pro-activly save you many man hours and possible downtime.

Cheers
Froggy

[Phil Helme]

Having a major problem with ML370, and saw this thread regarding the battery status showing failled. The server will not start up, initially got the blue screen OD but now gets to a DHCP search and then says no system disk is present, but when using the diagnostic on smartstart shows no problems at all, except that there are no logical disks available!!!! Might be barking up the wrong tree here but how do I update the firmware for the offline smart array 641/642?

[Sven Rubach]

Hello,

you can download the latest offline firmwareupdate from HP websites. You will find a desciption how to use this frimwareupdate.
You have to copy the cpxxxxx.exe file to a blank floppy disk (really blank - no other files).
Boot from smartstart CD and choose maitenance.

[superdave_1]

i get the same thing, replaced the battery but it still shows replaced battery, does this affect the performance of the controller card cause i have noticed lately that the speed seems to have slowed down, or is it just in case the power is lost

[Tom123]

With the cache module being disabled the performance of the controller is reduced.The controller will now be writing to disk all the time,as apposed to writing to the cache module first.The data in the cache module is then written to disk when the controller is idle.

[nicbot]

I have had the same issue. I've upgraded the FW to 2.84 and replaced both batteries on my Smart Array 6402/128 Controller. The array accelerator status is still:

::::::
Temporarily disabled.
Batteries are not fully charged

Battery failure on battery pack 1, replace battery.
Battery failure on battery pack 2, replace battery.
::::::

The status light on the card is yellow blinking indicating (apparently) that the batteries are charging. My question is, how long does it take for them to charge assuming they actually do need to charge?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

-N

[Mike Bryenton]

Nicbot - did you ever get this fixed?
I have the same issue ...

[nicbot]

Not yet. We ordered a replacement card from CDW, but it's an HP spare part so it is taking a bit to get to us. Should be here tomorrow though, so I'll post my results after I install and test.

...But it seems the card is failing. Up to date firmware, 2 new batteries installed following the correct procedure on the HP site and the failure is still showing.

Luckily in our case even though performance is degraded, we managed to get the load to a manageable point for our users.

The card was discounted to us, but I think you can get them for under $200 fyi. Might be a good idea to order one up to have on hand anyways :)

-Nic

[Mike Bryenton]

We did order new one! Our old Smart Array was giving us the battery failure problem so we order a new one. Even with the upgraded firmware we are still getting the same error.

[nicbot]

Mike I have another thread going on this topic.

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=1408947

...we to just received, installed, flashed to current a 'new' controller and are still showing the status of:

::::::::::::
Array accelerator status:
Temporarily disabled
Batteries are not fully charged
Battery failure on battery pack 1, replace battery.
Battery failure on battery pack 2, replace battery.
::::::::::::

At this point I don't know what else to do... :/ Even tried a different slot for the card and nothing.

[K Haroldsen]

I have a ML 350 g4p with a smart array 6400 controller. We are having the same issue. I have upgraded the firmware to 2.84 and we are still getting this message:

Smart Array 6400 in Slot 3 has one or more array accelerator batteries/capacitors that are failed. Array accelerator operations such as Expansion, Extension, and Migration are temporarily suspended until the batteries/capacitors are replaced. Please consult the user guide to identify and replace the failed components.

We have replaced both batteries.

[K Haroldsen]

I also went through the latest PSP and updated everything possible on the server.

[Mike Bryenton]

My conclusion is it is definitely the batteries. I just got my 4th card - updated the firmware - and after an hour or so - batteries were charged and cache enabled.
On all cards batteries seem to be dated from 2006 or 2007 - anyone seen any newer batteries?

[Mike Bryenton]

Can anyone help me source new batteries? The new card that was working - the batteries died again. All seems to be dated from 2006 or 2007. Are there any newer batteries out there and if so from where?

[nicbot]

An update...

We recently did some hardware relocating and maintenance. During the process I was able to take down 2 servers that had identical 6402 controllers. Since one server is just a web server, I swapped the known good card with the failing one (took 60 seconds). After power up and a few min, I checked the controller status on both and both showed no errors!

Now after it's been 3 days, the card in the high I/O server is still showing no errors, but the suspect card now shows the following error:
:::::::::::

Array accelerator status:
Temporarily disabled
Batteries are not fully charged
Battery failure on battery pack 2, replace battery.

::::::::::::

I have another 'new' battery that I will replace the suspect battery pack 2 with, but it will need to wait for a maintenance window.

I find it interesting that before the swap, the suspect controllers status would not change and showed both packs failed. Now after the swap, only one pack shows failure. This is a new controller card with new batteries. It's looking like there is some inconsistency with the replacement batteries functioning properly.

I'll update after I am able to replace the battery again :/

[Romish]

We have the same problem on HP DL360 G5 with Smart Array 6400. Firmware version is 2.84. Sometimes we need to replace batteries 2-3 times before they begin recharging...

[Vktor]

Replace the 3.6V batteries and solved your problem.  i updated the firmware for two controller on unsupported (OS Windows 7) .in compatibility mode.