ESS Bus switch not normal (XP11.3 and 11.26)

[cwjohan]

Not sure you want to hear about XP11.3 bugs yet, but I was testing TBM 900 v1.1 in a flight from KBUR to KLAS (again) with vertical navigation.  The vertical navigation mostly worked as expected.  However, after landing and powering down I called up the Maintenance Manager and tried to find out the status of the Electrics and Avionics.  It wouldn't let me see them because it said "the ESS Bus Switch was not Normal".  However, examining the ESS Bus Switch on the breaker panel, it was guarded and in the Normal position.  The other Maintenance Manager functions were OK.  I was using XP11.3b2.

Log.txt

GizmoLog.txt

Edited November 7, 2018 by cwjohan

[mfd529]

You can try deleting the State folder and that puts the TBM back to square one as if you never have flown it. Give that a try. I had the same ESS failure and never could figure out what happened in XP 11.26r2. Good luck

[cwjohan]

I was able to "fix" the issue by editing the .airframe file in the Output\TBM900\state folder.  I changed:
elec/sw/ess_bus_tie_cover = false
elec/sw/ess_bus_tied = false

to

elec/sw/ess_bus_tie_cover = true
elec/sw/ess_bus_tied = true

However, the Maintenance Manager changes it back to the original false values.  Re-loading the aircraft again (after having loaded a different aircraft), the Maintenance Manager is now OK.  So, obviously, the particular values there didn't matter.  May have been an coincidence that it just started working again regardless of those values, or maybe it jogged something that needed jogging.  :-)

Edited November 7, 2018 by cwjohan

[cwjohan]

I keep re-experiebec60d2f85eba99e5ed388bcb34f54b2.airframencing this problem.  Something is always setting elec/sw/ess_bus_tie_cover and elec/sw/ess_bus_tied to false.  TBM 900 v1.1 and XP11.3.

[cwjohan]

UPDATE:  I'm also getting the same "ESS bus not normal" error in XP11.26r2 as I see in XP11.3b2.  Additionally, there is the following issue:

1.) When the crash bar is move to UP and the Source switch is OFF, the PFD turns on -- exactly as it should -- not a problem.
2.) When the crash bar is up and the Source switch is moved from OFF to BATT, the PFD and MFD go dark (turn off).
3.) When the crash bar is up and Source is BATT and the Generator switch is moved to MAIN, the PFD and MFD and other avionics start flashing.
4.)  A workaround for this problem is to use the GPU as the source.  Then the avionics work just fine.  Of course, the Generator must be set to MAIN.

I think "ESS bus not normal" problem is somehow connected to this problem since I also cannot look at Electrics or Avionics in the Maintenance Manager when I see this problem.
 

bec60d2f85eba99e5ed388bcb34f54b2.airframe

Log.txt

GizmoLog.txt

[cwjohan]

Deleting the state folder does work initially, thanks, but then one can do something that puts the battery back into a bad state.  Still tracking down what the something is.  Might be having the IGNITION switch in the ON position. 

I've discovered that the elec/sw/ess_bus_tie_cover and elec/sw/ess_bus_tied setting was a red herring (i.e., useless) -- it is always set to false and that doesn't appear to cause any problems.  Instead, I've found a more promising suspect: the battery settings.  When the battery is "bad" and causing the avionics flashing, the settings look like this:

elec/batt_charge_fract = 0.000000000000000
elec/bus/0/volts = 0.000000000000000
elec/comp/batt/wear = 1.000000000000000

When the battery settings are reset to more normal values, the bad battery issue goes away and one can view the Maintenance Manager Electrics and Avionics screens, plus the avionics don't flash.

elec/batt_charge_fract = 0.999777767935902
elec/bus/0/volts = 26.098259922938105
elec/comp/batt/wear = 0.000004359834887

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Some rubbish is getting inserted into this message.  Please ignore the images below.  I can find no way to delete them.

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by cwjohan

[cwjohan]

The flickering PFD and MFD is definitely associated with having a low battery level or dead battery plus having the SOURCE switch set to BATT and the GENERATOR switch set to MAIN.  When the GENERATOR switch is moved to OFF, the flickering stops.  If the SOURCE switch is moved from BATT to OFF and the GENERATOR switch is left on MAIN, the flickering persists for 5 seconds or so and then stops.  Whether one can access Maintenance Manager | Electrics to recharge or replace the battery seems somewhat random.  Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.  Quitting X-Plane and then re-starting it and resuming the previous flight seems often to fix the problem of not being able to access Maintenance Manager | Electrics because of "ESS Bus switch not normal". 

It appears that on startup of the aircraft, it can repair bad states in the .airframe file, perhaps because some values are calculated rather than obtained from the initial state.  Is that the case?

Edited November 9, 2018 by cwjohan