Aircraft Electrics Variables
The tables below indicate the properties for the Simulation Variables that can be used to get and set variables related to the electrical system of the aircraft. For information on the units listed for each variable, please see here: Simulation Variable Units
You can find a complete index of all available SimVars here: SimVar Index
The SimVars below are all related to the aircraft electrical system (including lights). Large parts of this system are setup using the [ELECTRICAL] section of the system.cfg file, and many may also require the use of the different to retrieve and edit their values.
General / Buses
This section contains the SimVars related to the electrical buses and the electrical system in general. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:ELECTRICAL BUS VOLTAGE:'Bus_1'_n, Volts)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BUS LOOKUP INDEX | N/A | This is a settable simvar meaning that it can both be read and set. Some of the simvars in this list are using this to lookup a value using two arguments (one argument in addition to the component index). For example to check the state of the connection between a “circuit.45” and the “bus.2” it would be written as follows:2 (>A:BUS LOOKUP INDEX, Number) (A:CIRCUIT CONNECTION ON:45, Bool)It should be notes that when BUS LOOKUP INDEX is not set (ie: it is 0) then TRUE will be returned if any of your bus connections are on. | - | |
BUS BREAKER PULLED | [0] Bus Index[1] Bus Name (or index) | This will be true if the bus breaker is pulled. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and a Bus name (or index). | Bool | |
BUS CONNECTION ON | [0] Bus Index[1] Bus Name (or index) | This will be true if the bus is connected. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and a Bus name (or index). | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL BUS AMPS | Bus Name (or index) | Retrieve the amperage of the named (or indexed) Bus. | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL BUS VOLTAGE | Bus Name (or index) | Retrieve the voltage of the named (or indexed) Bus. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL TOTAL LOAD AMPS | N/A | Total load amps | Amperes | |
NEW ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | N/A | Is the aircraft using the new Electrical System or the legacy FSX one. | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL AVIONICS BUS AMPS | N/A | Avionics bus currentObsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS AMPS. | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL AVIONICS BUS VOLTAGE | N/A | Avionics bus voltageObsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS VOLTAGE. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL BATTERY BUS AMPS | N/A | Battery bus currentObsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS AMPS. | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL BATTERY BUS VOLTAGE | N/A | Battery bus voltageObsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS VOLTAGE. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL GENALT LOAD | N/A | This returns the percentage of the load output that is being consumed. This requires an alternator index when referencing.Obsolete, do not use! | Percent | |
ELECTRICAL GENALT BUS AMPS | N/A | The load handled by the alternator. This requires an alternator index when referencing.Obsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS AMPS. | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL GENALT BUS VOLTAGE | N/A | General alternator voltage. This requires an alternator index when referencing.Obsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS VOLTAGE. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL MAIN BUS AMPS | N/A | Main main named (or indexed) Bus current.Obsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS AMPS. | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL MAIN BUS VOLTAGE | N/A | The main named (or indexed) Bus voltage.Obsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BUS VOLTAGE. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL OLD CHARGING AMPS | N/A | Obsolete, do not use! Use ELECTRICAL BATTERY LOAD. | Amps |
Batteries
This section contains the SimVars related to the electrical system batteries. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:ELECTRICAL BATTERY VOLTAGE:'Battery_1'_n, Volts)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BATTERY BREAKER PULLED | [0] Bus Index[1] Battery Name (or index) | This will be true if the battery breaker is pulled. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and a Battery name (or index). | Bool | |
BATTERY CONNECTION ON | [0] Bus Index[1] Battery Name (or index) | This will be true if the battery is connected. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and a Battery name (or index). | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL BATTERY ESTIMATED CAPACITY PCT | Battery Name (or index) | The given Battery capacity over max capacity, 100 is full. | Percent | |
ELECTRICAL BATTERY LOAD | Battery Name (or index) | The load handled by the named (or indexed) Battery, where negative values mean the battery is receiving current. | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL BATTERY VOLTAGE | Battery Name (or index) | The named (or indexed) Battery voltage. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL HOT BATTERY BUS AMPS | Battery Name (or index) | Current available when the battery switch is turned off | Amperes | |
ELECTRICAL HOT BATTERY BUS VOLTAGE | Battery Name (or index) | Voltage available when the battery switch is turned off | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL MASTER BATTERY | Battery Name (or index) | The named (or indexed) Battery switch position, true if the switch is ON. | Bool |
Breakers
All these SimVars can be used to get or set the breaker state for the electrical system (either true or false). If the breaker is popped (set to false), then the associated circuit will not receive electricity.
NOTE
The variables here do not have any actual effect on the simulation by default and are Convenience SimVars for your own use.
| Simulation Variable | Index | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|
BREAKER ADF | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER ALTFLD | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER AUTOPILOT | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER AVNBUS1 | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER AVNBUS2 | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER AVNFAN | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER FLAP | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER GPS | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER INST | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER INSTLTS | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER LTS PWR | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER NAVCOM1 | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER NAVCOM2 | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER NAVCOM3 | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER NAVCOM4 | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER TURNCOORD | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER WARN | N/A | Bool | |
BREAKER XPNDR | N/A | Bool |
Circuits
This section contains the SimVars related to the electrical circuits. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT VOLTAGE:'Circuit_1'_n, Volts)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT EXISTS | Circuit Name (or index) | This can be used to find out if any circuit of the given type is present in the aircraft electrical system. Unlike other SimVars in this section, the index here is not a specific circuit, but rather the index of the circuit type as listed here: Circuit Types | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT AMPS | Circuit Name (or index) | This indicates the load being consumed (in amps) by the named (or indexed) Circuit. | Amps | |
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT VOLTAGE | Circuit Name (or index) | This indicates the tension intake (in volts) by the named (or indexed) Circuit. | Volts | |
CIRCUIT AUTOPILOT ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to this circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT AUTO BRAKES ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to this circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT AUTO FEATHER ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to this circuit. Please see the Note On AutoFeather for more information. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT AVIONICS ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the avionics circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT BREAKER PULLED | [0] Bus Index[1] Circuit Name (or index) | This will be true if the circuit breaker is pulled. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and a Circuit name (or index). | Bool | |
CIRCUIT CABIN SIGNAL GO | N/A | Is electrical power available the to signal inside the plane to indicate to carry on with the activity (skydive, airdrop…) or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT CABIN SIGNAL STANDBY | N/A | Is electrical power available to the signal inside the plane to indicate to get ready and stand by until we are ready to carry on with the activity (skydive, airdrop…) | Bool | |
CIRCUIT CABIN SIGNAL STOP | N/A | Is electrical power to the signal inside the plane to indicate whether an activity can be performed (skydive, airdrop…) stopped or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT COM ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the COM circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT CONNECTION ON | [0] Bus Index[1] Circuit Name (or index) | This will be true if the circuit is connected. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and a Circuit name (or index). | Bool | |
CIRCUIT ELECTRIC ENGINE ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the electric engine circuit | Bool | |
CIRCUIT FLAP MOTOR ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the flap motor circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT GEAR MOTOR ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the gear motor circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT GEAR WARNING ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to gear warning circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT GENERAL PANEL ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the general panel circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT HOIST ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the hoist circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT HYDRAULIC PUMP ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the hydraulic pump circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT HYDRAULIC VALVE ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the hydraulic valve circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT MARKER BEACON ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the marker beacon circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT NAV ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the NAV circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT NAVCOM1 ON | N/A | Whether or not power is available to the NAVCOM1 circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT NAVCOM2 ON | N/A | Whether or not power is available to the NAVCOM2 circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT NAVCOM3 ON | N/A | Whether or not power is available to the NAVCOM3 circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT NAVCOM4 ON | N/A | Whether or not power is available to the NAVCOM4 circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT ON | Circuit Name (or index) | This will be true if the given circuit is functioning. Use a Circuit name (or index) when referencing. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT PITOT HEAT ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the pitot heat circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT POWER SETTING | Circuit Name (or index) | This returns the percentage of use that the circuit is getting. This requires a Circuit name (or index) when referencing. | Percent | |
CIRCUIT PROP SYNC ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the propeller sync circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT ROTOR BRAKE ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the rotor braking circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT SLING ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the sling circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT STALL WARNING ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to stall warning circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT STANDBY VACUUM ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the vacuum circuit or not. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT SWITCH ON | Circuit Name (or index) | The circuit switch position, true if the switch is ON. Use a Circuit name (or index) when referencing. | Bool | |
CIRCUIT TRANSPONDER ON | N/A | Is electrical power available to the transponder or not. | Bool |
Generators
This section contains the SimVars related to the electrical generators. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:ELECTRICAL GENERATOR VOLTAGE:'Gen_1'_n, Volts)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ELECTRICAL GENERATOR ACTIVE | Generator Name (or index) | This indicates whether or not the named (or indexed) Generator is outputting tension. | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL GENERATOR AMPS | Generator Name (or index) | This indicates the load being drawn (in amps) by the named (or indexed) Generator. | Amps | |
ELECTRICAL GENERATOR VOLTAGE | Generator Name (or index) | This indicates the tension output (in volts) by the named (or indexed) Generator. | Volts | |
ELECTRICAL GENERATOR SWITCH | Generator Name (or index) | This can be used to either retrieve whether the named (or indexed) Generator is currently switched on or not, or it can be used set whether the generator is on or off. | Bool |
Relays
This section contains the SimVars related to the electric relays. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:ELECTRICAL RELAY LINE OPEN:'Relay_1'_n, Bool)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ELECTRICAL RELAY AMPS | Relay Name (or index) | This indicates the load being drawn (in amps) by the named (or indexed) Relay. | Amps | |
ELECTRICAL RELAY BREAKER PULLED | Relay Name (or index) | This indicates whether or not the breaker for the named (or indexed) Relay has been pulled (1, TRUE) or not (0, FALSE). | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL RELAY CONNECTION ON | Relay Name (or index) | This indicates the status of the line connected to the (or indexed) Relay. Either connected (1, TRUE) or disconnected (0, FALSE). | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL RELAY LINE OPEN | Relay Name (or index) | This indicates whether or not the line managed by the named (or indexed) Relay is connected (1, TRUE) or not (0, FALSE). Note that relay line disconnection is different to Line disconnection. | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL RELAY POWERED | Relay Name (or index) | This indicates the named (or indexed) Relay is powered (1, TRUE) or not (0, FALSE). | Bool | |
ELECTRICAL RELAY VOLTAGE | Relay Name (or index) | This indicates the tension output (in volts) by the named (or indexed) Relay. | Volts |
External Power
This section contains the SimVars related to the external power sources. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:ELECTRICAL EXTERNAL POWER VOLTAGE:'Power_1'_n, Volts)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ELECTRICAL EXTERNAL POWER AMPS | External Power Source Name (or index) | This indicates the load being drawn (in amps) by the named (or indexed) ExternalPower source. | Amps | |
ELECTRICAL EXTERNAL POWER VOLTAGE | External Power Source Name (or index) | This indicates the tension output (in volts) by the named (or indexed) ExternalPower source. | Volts | |
EXTERNAL POWER AVAILABLE | External Power Source Name (or index) | This will be true if the the named (or indexed) ExternalPower source is available. | Bool | |
EXTERNAL POWER BREAKER PULLED | External Power Source Name (or index) | The state of the breaker of the named (or indexed) ExternalPower source. | Bool | |
EXTERNAL POWER CONNECTION ON | External Power Source Name (or index) | The state of the connection between a bus and the named (or indexed) ExternalPower source. | Bool | |
EXTERNAL POWER ON | External Power Source Name (or index) | The named (or indexed) ExternalPower source switch position, true if the switch is ON. | Bool |
Lines
This section contains the SimVars related to the power lines in the electrical system. Note that many of them will require the name of the component that they target. This name is given using the following format:
[SimVar]:'[COMPONENT_NAME]'_nFor example:
(A:LINE CONNECTION ON:'Line_1'_n, Volts)| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LINE CONNECTION ON | Line Name (or index) | The current status of the named (or indexed) Line connection, either 1 (TRUE) for on, or 0 (FALSE) for off. | Bool | |
LINE BREAKER PULLED | Line Name (or index) | The current status of the named (or indexed) Line breaker, either 1 (TRUE) for pulled, or 0 (FALSE) for not pulled. | Bool |
Alternators
IMPORTANT!
These SimVars are only useful when working with the v1.00 electrical system. See here for more information: LEGACY: systems.cfg - \[ELECTRICAL\]
| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ALTERNATOR BREAKER PULLED | N/A | This will be true if the alternator breaker is pulled. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and an alternator index. | Bool | |
ALTERNATOR CONNECTION ON | N/A | This will be true if the alternator is connected. Requires a BUS LOOKUP INDEX and an alternator index. | Bool | |
GENERAL ENG MASTER ALTERNATOR | Engine Index | The alternator (generator) switch position, true if the switch is ON. Requires an engine index, and the use of an alternator index when referencing. | Bool |
APU
| Simulation Variable | Index | Description | Units | Settable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
APU BLEED PRESSURE RECEIVED BY ENGINE | Engine Index | Bleed air pressure received by the engine from the APU. | Pounds per square inch (psi) | |
APU GENERATOR ACTIVE | Generator Index | Set or get whether an APU is active (true) or not (false). Takes an index to be able to have multiple generators on a single APU. | Bool | |
APU GENERATOR SWITCH | Generator Index | Enables or disables the APU for an engine. Takes an index to be able to have multiple generators on a single apu. | Bool | |
APU ON FIRE DETECTED | N/A | Will return true if the APU is on fire, or false otherwise. | Bool | |
APU PCT RPM | N/A | Auxiliary power unit RPM, as a percentage | Percent Over 100 | |
APU PCT STARTER | N/A | Auxiliary power unit starter, as a percentage | Percent Over 100 | |
APU SWITCH | N/A | Boolean, whether or not the APU is switched on. | Bool | |
APU VOLTS | N/A | The volts from the APU to the selected engine. Takes an index to be able to have multiple generators on a single APU. | Volts | |
BLEED AIR APU | N/A | Boolean, returns whether or not the APU attempts to provide Bleed Air. | Bool |