The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REVIEW

BATTERY MASTER
• First Switch “ON” and Last Switch “OFF” prevents W-OFF-W by keeping BATT BUS voltage
from dropping below 18V and making Proximity Electronic Sensor Units (PSEU) default to
W-OFF-W
• Battery Master turned ON – connects APU BATT DIR BUS and MAIN BATT DIR BUS to
the BATT BUS
• Battery Master turned ON does NOT connect batteries to the BATT BUS
• Battery Master Switch would be located on the “HOCKEY STICK” below the BATT BUS
• Once AC power is established, “HOCKEY STICK” goes hollow (as if you turned the
BATTERY MASTER off ) – but batteries are in “STANDBY” waiting for a loss of AC power
• Five (5) minute limitation on DC power only – ED 1/2 powered by DC, but cooled with AC
fans

AC POWER
• 3 PHASE, 115 VOLTS, 400 Hz FREQUENCY @ 30 kVA (12,000 RPM from Constant
Speed Drives (CSD))
• One (1) AC generator can power more than one bus at a time
• More than one (1) generator CANNOT power same SINGLE bus at any one time
• Main Generators – 30 kVA to 35,000’ and 25 kVA > 35,000’

AC POWER PRIORITY
• ONSIDE ⇒ APU ⇒ CROSS-SIDE ⇒ GPU (or other source)

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AC EXTERNAL POWER
• Once External AC Power is plugged in with correct PHASE / VOLTAGE / FREQUENCY –
Green AVAIL light illuminates on overhead panel
• IN USE light on overhead panel illuminates ONLY when ALL ONBOARD GENS are
OFFLINE (AC power priority)

INADVERTANT ADG DEPLOYMENT

The following conditions must be met:

1. Loss of both AC BUS 1 and AC BUS 2

2. Last AC source was an INTERNAL source (i.e., GEN 1, GEN 2, or APU GEN)
3. W-OFF-W
4. Parking Brake OFF

–– During flight or
–– On the ground when BATT BUS voltage drops below 18V with PARKING BRAKE OFF

• PSEU’s are powered from BATT BUS and default to W-OFF-W when power is lost or decays
• If power for PSEU’s decays faster than that for firing the ADG and the first 2 conditions above
are met, the ADG could deploy
• With BATTERY MASTER ON, you will not get into W-OFF-W condition because PSEU’s
will be powered and will be W-ON-W

EXTERNAL DC
• Once External DC is plugged in with correct VOLTAGE / POLARITY – Green AVAIL light
illuminates
• Replaces batteries and batteries drop offline
• Batteries are NOT charged when using external DC power (need AC power)
• DC Power can be used to start APU but is very rarely used
• DC Power energizes:
–– APU BATT DIR BUS
–– MAIN BATT DIR BUS
–– DC EMER BUS
–– (And BATT BUS if Battery Master ON)

AC ESS XFER SWITCHLIGHT

• MANUAL or AUTOMATIC
• Switchlight is either OFF (Dark) or WHITE ALTN (Illuminated)
• If ALTN (white) is illuminated, AC ESS BUS is not powered by its normal source AC BUS 1
(i.e., it is “searching” for power)
• If ALTN (white) is illuminated, AC ESS BUS may or may not be powered – Check AC
synoptic page on EICAS

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

• With only BATTERY MASTER ON – light is illuminated because AC BUS 1 is not powered
(No AC on aircraft)
• You can press ALTN push button MANUALLY if AUTOMATIC feature fails transfer power
source or you want to power AC ESS from another source.

Note: Always refer to your “Emergency Procedures” first before accomplishing or call your
maintenance control.

AC BUS AUTOMATIC TRANSFER (AUTO XFER) SWITCHLIGHT

• FAIL – AMBER (AUTOMATIC)
• OFF – WHITE (MANUAL)
• Either way – you are inhibiting the AC POWER PRIORITY
• AUTOMATIC – AMBER – FAIL
Condition:
1. Condition for AUTO XFER - BUS FAULT/SHORT
2. Condition for AUTO XFER - BUS OVERVOLTAGE (demanding > 37 kVA)
Result:
1. AUTO XFER FAIL amber on AC SYNOPTIC
2. System AUTOMATICALLY inhibits AC POWER PRIORITY
3. Do not want good generators to try and feed a bad BUS
4. At 35 kVA – Generator Control Unit (GCU) will kick ONSIDE GEN OFFLINE and you
will get “GEN 1 (2) OVLD” Caution Message
5. CANNOT undo in flight (AIRPLANE MUST BE COMPLETELY POWERED
DOWN TO RESET)
• MANUAL – WHITE – OFF
1. Prohibits AC BUS 1 or AC BUS 2 from being powered by either APU GEN or OFFSIDE
GEN
2. One-way Check Valve – no power in but IF GEN STILL ONLINE - could power offside
BUS
3. If a GEN is unable to power its respective BUS – it CANNOT power anything else
4. “AUTO XFER OFF” white message on AC SYNOPTIC page
5. To completely isolate a bus at this point, turn OFF respective GEN
6. May press again to restore NORMAL operation

AIR DRIVEN GENERATOR (ADG)

• 3 PHASE / 115 VAC / 400 Hz @ 15 kVA
• Powers AC ESS and HYD 3B regardless of switch position (ON, OFF, or AUTO) when
deployed
• To restore AC ESS to normal source – get GEN online, store ADG handle, and press PWR
TXFR OVERRIDE button on center pedestal
• ADG will continue to power AC ESS after GEN is restored until previous steps are
accomplished
• EMER PWR ONLY Warning Message – ADG powering AC ESS bus

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

Two (2) types of ADG’s:

1. Wet (Old) – Constant generator speed controlled by hydraulically adjusting blade pitch
• Airspeed limited to 250 KIAS
• If operationally necessary – 330 KIAS for 12 min then 331-335 KIAS for 4 min
2. Dry (New) – Constant generator speed controlled through use of counterweights (No speed
restrictions)

DC POWER
• DC Power uses 28 vDC
• If lose AC BUS 1 – Lose 1 TRU (TRU 1) – possibly 2 if AC ESS does not transfer
• If lose AC BUS 2 – Lose 3 TRUs (TRU 2, SERV TRU, ESS TRU 2)
• SERV TRU is normal BACKUP to TRU 1, TRU 2, ESS TRU 2 (via TIE 1, TIE 2, ESS TIE)
• TIE 1 and 2 are MANUAL and AUTOMATIC
• ESS TIE is MANUAL ONLY
• TRU outline GREEN ⇒ TRU is ONLINE and output is ≥ 18 vDC
• Lose TRU1
–– Lose power to DC BUS 1 and DC UTIL BUS 1
–– TIE 1 should AUTOMATICALLY close
–– DC BUS 1 now powered by SERV TRU and DC UTIL BUS 1 is shed
• Lose TRU 2
–– Lose power to DC BUS 2 and DC UTIL BUS 2
–– TIE 2 should AUTOMATICALLY close
–– DC BUS 2 now powered by SERV TRU and DC UTIL BUS 2 is shed
• Now lose ESS TRU 2
–– Single Chime, Master Caution – ESS TRU FAIL
–– QRH tells you to close ESS TIE
–– If you do, you will lose power to DC BUS 1 and 2 – TIE 1 and 2 will open and the control
to close them is powered by DC BUS 1 and 2 (you will have permanently lost DC BUS 1
and 2)
–– IF SERV TRU IS POWERING BOTH DC BUS 1 AND DC BUS 2 – DO NOT
CLOSE THE ESS TIE

If aircraft loses all AC power while in flight, prior to ADG deploying and powering AC ESS BUS,
the “HOCKEY STICK” will come out of standby and power both DC BATT BUS and DC ESS
BUS.

Normally, on the ground, APU BATT DIR BUS and MAIN BATT DIR BUS powers the BATT
BUS (and DC EMERG BUS), not the DC ESS BUS.

Once ADG deploys and powers the AC ESS bus, you get power back to ESS TRU 1 - DC ESS
BUS and DC BATT BUS, and “HOCKEY STICK” goes back to standby.

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

Upon landing, pulling the ADG handle forces the system to power DC ESS BUS, the ADG spins
down and no longer has the RPM to generate proper AC power.

BATTERY CHARGING
• Main battery (24V / 17 amp-hr) charging – AC UTIL BUS 1
• APU battery (24V / 43 amp-hr) charging – AC UTIL BUS 2
• CHARGER message on DC synoptic page:
–– Charger failed
–– NICAD cell reversal / thermal runaway
–– Charger will shut off after 90 minutes of charging
• AC UTIL BUSES shed when:
–– In flight, during single generator operations
–– On ground with doors closed and flaps > 0°
• EXTERNAL AC will charge batteries as long as AC UTIL BUS 1 and AC UTIL BUS 2 are
powered
Two modes of battery charging ⇒ BULK (High current), Trickle (Topping off ) – monitors 10th cell
voltage and temperature:
1. Bulk
–– Once -29°C is reached
–– APU Battery ⇒ 40 – 42 amps
–– Main Battery ⇒ 20 – 21 amps
2. Topping Off
–– Temp < -29°C
–– APU Battery ⇒ 10 – 12 amps
–– Main Battery ⇒ 5 – 6 amps
• Normal charging temps ⇒ -29°C to 60°C

DC SERVICE SWITCH
• DC SERV BUS powered directly from APU BATT DIR BUS (if SERV TRU is unavailable)
• Lights up NAV lights and lavatory lights

AC SERVICE CONFIGURATION
• AC EXTERNAL power is available with proper PHASE/ VOLTAGE/FREQUENCY
• No internal AC power source is selected
• AVAIL/IN USE switch is pressed in on the “External Services Panel”
• The following buses are powered:
–– AC UTIL BUS 1 and AC UTIL BUS 2
–– AC SERV BUS↓
• DC SERV BUS (through SERV TRU)
• Flight deck EXTERNAL AC AVAIL/IN USE switch OVERRIDES “External Services Panel”
switch
• No AC cooling fans

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

• Since AC UTIL BUS 1 and AC UTIL BUS 2 are powered – Battery charging is occurring

APU SERVICE SWITCH ON FLIGHT ATTENDANT PANEL

• If pushed in – forces APU GEN to power AC SERVICE CONFIG in APU GEN switch is not
on
• AC GEN switch on flight deck overrides FA switch

IDG AND DISCONNECT SWITCHES

• INTEGRATED DRIVE GENERATOR (IDG) is comprised of two components:
–– Constant Speed Drive (CSD) – Transmission which produces constant 12,000 RPM
–– Generator
• FAULT amber light:
–– LOW CSD oil pressure
–– HIGH CSD oil temperature (>160°C)
–– IDG has not disconnected yet, but QRH will lead you to push FAULT/DISC switch
–– Amber IDG on EICAS
• DISC white light on switch:
–– Case OVERTORQUE – automatically disconnects
–– Case OVERTEMP (i.e., High Case Temp) – automatically disconnects
–– Can MANUALLY press switch to disconnect
–– CANNOT RECONNECT IN FLIGHT
–– DISC white light by IDG on AC SYNOPTIC page
–– DISC illuminates because of a difference in rotation between the engine shaft and the CSD
shaft – when disconnected, the shaft is either broken or sheared (OVERTORQUE) or
pulled away/disengaged from engine shaft (OVERTEMP). Either way, when the engine
rotation stops, the DISC light will go away because there is now no difference in rotation
between the engine shaft and the CSD shaft
–– If you MEL a disconnected IDG – MEL may state that you MUST VERIFY white DISC
light is ILLUMINATED – you WILL NOT see this light at the gate with the engines
SHUT DOWN.

DC EMER BUS
• Powered by APU BATT DIR BUS and MAIN BATT DIR BUS
• Normally not depicted on DC SYNOPTIC page unless it loses power from 1 of the 2 sources
above
• DC Emergency Bus powers fire extinguishing capabilities:

–– ENGINE L/R FIREX 1and2

–– APU FIREX A/B
–– FUEL SOV L/R
–– APU SOV
–– HYD SOV L/R

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

HOT BUSES
• APU BATT DIR BUS
• MAIN BATT DIR BUS
• DC EMER BUS

BUS LOCATION
• AC BUS 1 and DC BUS 1 – CB PANEL 1 on flight deck behind captain seat
• AC BUS 2 and DC BUS 2 – CB PANEL 2 on flight deck behind co-pilot seat
• APU BATT DIR BUS and MAIN BATT DIR BUSE – CB PANEL 5 in avionics bay

BATT BUS POWERED ITEMS

• ED 1 and ED 2
• Backup Tuning Unit (BTU)
• PSEU’s for W-ON-W and W-OFF-W
• IGNITION B (IGNITION A powered by AC ESS BUS)
• L FUEL BOOST PUMP (R FUEL BOOST PUMP powered by DC BUS 2)

CRJ700 SYSTEM DIFFERENCES

• AC Power Centers (ACPC’s) are incorporated in the CRJ700
–– Contains the electronic architecture that controls AC power distributions
–– Supplies AC control logic
–– Transparent switching of power sources between available AC sources (Bus Priority/Auto
Transfer)
–– Includes a large number of circuit breakers
• Generator Switches
–– Two-position switch, OFF/RESET and AUTO
–– Switches remain in the AUTO position for normal ops
• No AC utility buses
• 40 kVA rated IDG’s
• 40 kVA APU generator
• No altitude restrictions on IDG’s
• Any generator can support the entire AC load - Shedding of buses or electrical components not
required
• Hydraulic B pumps remain available during single generator ops
• ADG BUS is displayed on AC synoptic page
• Same ADG as the CRJ200 dry unit
• When operating, the ADG bus provides power to:
–– Slats and flaps
–– ACMP 3B
–– Stab trim channel 2

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

–– AC ESS
• ADG CONTROL panel - No lamp test function
• Four (4) TRU’s rated at 120 amps vs. five (5) rated at 100 amps on the CRJ200
• No provision for external DC power
• Two separate DCPC’s (DC Power Centers) which control DC power distribution
–– Automatic switching of power sources between available DC sources - (Bus Tie System)
–– Includes a large number of circuit breakers that used to be on the flight deck
• Five (5) DC Tie Contactors
–– MAIN TIE
–– CROSS TIE
–– ESS TIE
–– DC ESS TRU 2 transfer contactor (Not shown on DC synoptic page)
–– Service Bus Contactor (Not shown on DC synoptic page)

Scenario 1: TRU 1 Fails

• MAIN TIE contactor automatically
closes
• TRU 2 powers DC BUS 1
• DC UTIL BUS is not powered

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

Scenario 2: TRU 1 and 2 Failed

• DC MAIN TIE and CROSS TIE
automatically close
• ESS TRU 2 powers DC BUS 1, DC BUS
2 and DC SERV BUS
• DC UTIL BUS is not powered
• ESS TIE closes ⇒ ESS TRU 1 powers the
BATT BUS

Scenario 3: ESS TRU 1 Failed

• DC ESS TIE automatically closes
allowing ESS TRU 2 to power the DC
ESS BUS

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 The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide

Scenario 4: EMER POWER ONLY

–– ADG powers the AC ESS BUS
which powers ESS TRU 1
–– DC ESS Tie closes to allow ESS
TRU 1 to power the BATT BUS

• Two (2) NICAD batteries:

–– Main battery in un-pressurized nose
compartment
–– APU battery in aft equipment bay

• There are only two (2) circuit breaker

panels accessible from the flight deck
–– CB1 behind the pilot
–– CB2 behind the copilot

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