Aerospace Electronic Systems

Grimes Aerospace Company

A Subsidiary of Honeywell
550 State Route 55
Urbana, Ohio 43078
937.484.2000
937.484.2101 Fax

28 November 2005

TECHNICAL INFORMATION LETTER NO. 384B

TO:

All Boeing 737, DC 9, Airbus A 300, and de Havilland DHC-8 Operators

SUBJECT:

Capacitance Test for the 61-0478-9, 61-0478-11, and 61-3800-1 Battery Assemblies

APPLICABILITY:

60-1321 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-42

60-1411 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-29
60-4068 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-52
60-4222 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-61
60-4889 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-59
60-3844 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-67
60-5025 Power Supply, CMM 33-50-72

BACKGROUND
It was brought to the attention of the Technical Publications Group that the revisions of the above
CMMs were released to the airlines without the Capacitance Test and Deep Cycle Procedure in
the Repair section. The following Capacitance Procedure will be added to each manual's Repair
Section at the next revision to the manual.
WARNING:

DO NOT SHORT-CIRCUIT BATTERIES. ALWAYS TAPE WIRE LEADS UNTIL

READY TO CONNECT.

The Battery Assembly is to be outside the Power Supply before starting the procedure. Refer to
the CMM for instructions on removing the battery assembly.
1.

General Repair
General repair consists of replacing parts determined to be defective during CHECK,
TESTING, and FAULT ISOLATION.

2.

Battery Restoration Procedure

A.

Discharge (See Figure 1)

Discharge each cell in the battery pack separately until the voltage across each cell is
below 0.2 Vdc. Immediately remove the load.

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B.

Charge (See Figure 2)

Charge the battery pack by supplying 250 mA for at least 16 hours. More than one
battery pack can be charged by one power supply at the same time by connecting the
battery packs in series. Battery packs should not be charged in parallel unless
individual charging resistors are provided; e.g., 75 ohms/5 W to charge a battery (six
series-connected cells) using a 28-Vdc supply.

BATTERY DISCHARGE SETUP

FIGURE 1.

250 mA

Battery Pack

Power Supply
(6 Cells)

BATTERY PACK CHARGE SETUP

FIGURE 2.

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C.
CAUTION:

Capacitance Test (See Figure 3)

DISCHARGE OF THE PACK DURING THIS TEST FOR MORE THAN 20
MINUTES CAN LEAD TO DAMAGE OF ONE OR MORE CELLS DUE TO CELL
REVERSAL.
Connect the battery pack to a 2-ohm, 40-watt load through an ammeter. The battery
pack should deliver 3.3 Amps, minimum, for 20 minutes. During discharge, the
minimum cell voltage must be 1.1 Vdc. If below 1.1 Vdc, replace the cell.

BATTERY CELL CAPACITANCE TEST SETUP

FIGURE 3.
D.

Charge
Recharge the Battery Pack after the capacitance test.

RECOMMENDED OPERATOR ACTION

Should you need additional information, contact a Honeywell / Grimes representative at the
following address and phone number:
Grimes Aerospace Company
550 State Route 55
Urbana, Ohio 43078
Phone: (937) 484-2000
Telefax: (937) 484-2101
SITA: DAYFLCR

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