zenit_swe 90 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 I land at my destination and power up the APU on my way to the gate. Once there I go through the shutdown procedures, place the wheel chocks and connect the ground power. How on earth do I switch from APU to ground power without going completely dark? Shouldn't AVAIL lit up in the AC button if the APU and/or ground power is connected once the engines are killed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaxterium 119 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 If you're not seeing the green avail light then the GPU is not connected. So once you pull into the gate use the EFB to connect the ground power. Look up and you should see the green avail light. Once you see that light, push the button. In the real plane you can feel the button get pushed in and remain depressed but in the sim it's really hard to see it. You can see it go in if you're looking really closely. Once you're sure that button is in then simply turn off the engine gens and the APU gen and the GPU should take over. What might be happening is that the AC EXT button is already pushed but you just can't tell so when you go to push it to connect the GPU you're actually unpushing the button. Does that make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesOReilly 314 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 14 minutes ago, zenit_swe said: I land at my destination and power up the APU on my way to the gate. Once there I go through the shutdown procedures, place the wheel chocks and connect the ground power. How on earth do I switch from APU to ground power without going completely dark? Shouldn't AVAIL lit up in the AC button if the APU and/or ground power is connected once the engines are killed? The button still needs to be in the ON position.... If you are on Ground before APU and it says IN USE but when the APU comes on it auto switches back saying AVAILABLE but the GPU is still in the ON position .... you fly away...you land you enable the APU... You get to gate and you see the AVAILABLE on the GPU button you push it.... and now you turned off the switch but it still says Available... You turn off the APU but since the GPU is Off you go dark.... This is why I have GPU bound to my Cowl Flaps switch on my Saitek panel... I am able to always see that it if physically ON or OFF... Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenit_swe 90 Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 Quite an intricate system but I get it. The problem I guess is the suuuuper small visual difference between a push button that is pushed versus a button that is flush. I'm sure they have modelled it correctly as it is in the real aircraft but it's probably easier to see it IRL. In the sim you really have to zoom in to see it and even then it's hardly any difference. It would be very helpful if they could model those buttons so that they are just a little bit further in when they are pushed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Arndt 4 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 The EX PWR switchlight often gets missed to push "out" (off) IRL because its semi-hard to tell the position from your angle in the cockpit, at least on the CA side. Also, as a general practice, check the AC electrical synoptic page to make sure external power is showing up on the page before switching a power source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesOReilly 314 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 11 minutes ago, Chris Arndt said: The EX PWR switchlight often gets missed to push "out" (off) IRL because its semi-hard to tell the position from your angle in the cockpit, at least on the CA side. Also, as a general practice, check the AC electrical synoptic page to make sure external power is showing up on the page before switching a power source. Nice tip... Question then based on that... Can damage occur if the GPU is enabled when connecting or disconnecting the external cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew2312 95 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 1 hour ago, LesOReilly said: Nice tip... Question then based on that... Can damage occur if the GPU is enabled when connecting or disconnecting the external cable? If it is no one tells us about it. It’s pretty standard practice here to leave that pushlight in the on position all the time. Anytime the APU is running the plane will be pulling power off of the APU over the ground power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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