Airbus Flight Instructor
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E/WD & SD Engine Indications

The preceding articles explained where every engine number comes from; this one explains how to read them. The engine-indications section of the FCOM is the densest interpretive material in the whole chapter — the precise meaning of every colour, symbol and pulse. Treat this article as a dictionary: for any display state, it should return exactly one meaning.

Three global rules first. Green states, amber cautions, red commands a stop. "Dashed" — two amber dashes over the last digit — means degraded precision, not failure. And an exceedance marker — the red highest-value tick — is a historical record: it stays until the next ground start sequence or maintenance action.

1. The E/WD side

1.1 The attention-getting box

"The attention getting box appears: ‐ In white during starting sequence (on ground or in flight) in order to get the attention of the flight crew on the relevant engine ‐ In amber in case of significant failure affecting the engine."

White means busy working (a start in progress); amber means something has happened. Same box, two moods.

1.2 The thrust-rating label and limit

The rating family in full: TOGA / MCT / CLB / FLX / DCLB1(2) (two derated-climb levels) / D04, D08, D12, D16, D20… (derated-takeoff levels) / GA SOFT. Amber XX means: no rating mode, the selected mode unavailable, or at least one engine in degraded N1 on the ground. Selecting reverse removes the rating label and the limit together — reverse has no rating concept (article 13). The limit field shows the EPR value (when at least one engine is in EPR mode), or an N1 value plus the legend N1 MODE (all engines in rated N1), or amber XX — the display face of "degraded loses three indications" from article 07. The FLX temperature appears in cyan when FLX is selected. And the verification scene from article 08 closes here: briefed TOGA but the label reads FLX — the label is the eye that catches the error.

1.3 Three timed legends: IDLE, AVAIL, REV

"IDLE: Both engines are at idle speed, and the aircraft is in flight. Pulses during 10 s, and then remains steady." — "AVAIL: The engine is started, and at or above idle. On ground, appears steady during 10 s after a successful start. In flight, pulses during 1 min after a successful relight. The AVAIL indication disappears when the flight crew moves the thrust lever forward the idle detent." — "REV in green: On ground, the thrust reverser system is fully deployed. REV in amber: The thrust reverser system is unlocked. In flight, the REV indication pulses during 9 s and then remains steady."

Three legends, three clocks. IDLE's ten-second pulse flags "both engines fully retarded" — normal in a long descent, but worth knowing. AVAIL is the start-success receipt: steady ten seconds on the ground; pulsing for a full minute after an in-flight relight — the official confirmation in article 26's procedure. And an amber REV pulsing nine seconds in flight is the on-screen signal that the AUTO RESTOW script of article 13 has just begun.

1.4 The EGT gauge: four elements

Element Meaning
current EGT, green/amber/red normal / above the amber limit line / between 900–920 °C for more than 20 s, or above 920 (the criteria locked down in article 00)
amber limit line 700 °C during a ground start sequence, 900 °C in all other cases — and not displayed at all in TOGA/GA modes, in reverse, or with alpha floor active
exceedance (red tick) the highest EGT reached; remains until the next ground start or maintenance action
red line from 920 to the end of the 0–1200 °C scale

The disappearance clause rewards a pause (synthesis): in TOGA, go-around or alpha floor you are entitled to the full temperature margin below the red region — painting a 900 °C "psychological brake line" would only interfere with a full-thrust decision, so the line is deliberately removed; likewise in reverse. And the exceedance tick is a message to maintenance: even after EGT falls back, the red highest-value marker stays nailed in place — the evidentiary basis of every overtemperature write-up (article 28).

1.5 The EPR and N1 gauges: a family of seven

The EPR gauge carries seven elements: the current EPR (green; amber XX = invalid or that engine in N1 mode, the ring turning amber with pointer and frame removed — the face of EPR MODE FAULT, article 07); the trend arrow (green, with A/THR active, showing direction); the EPR command (the autothrust target); the transient arc (four green arcs spanning command-to-actual); the blue circle for lever position (manual: the stabilised thrust value; automatic: the lever-equivalent value; removed in reverse; the protagonist of automatic TOGA's "divorce" in article 08); and the EPR limit marker (amber, = maximum EPR at the TOGA detent; removed in reverse).

The N1 gauge mirrors the structure, with its own details: red line at 99 %; dashed (two amber dashes over the last digit) = degraded measurement precision; N1 trend/command/transient appear only with all engines in N1 mode and A/THR active; the N1 limit appears in rated N1 at the TOGA detent or at the MAX REV stop (the reverse N1 ceiling — the display face of the N1 reverse schedule, article 13); N1 exceedance works exactly as EGT's. N3 lives permanently on the E/WD (article 01): a grey box around it means a start or crank is in progress — a normal process state, not a fault; red above 100 % with a red cross; dashed as elsewhere. In the MEMO area, a green IGNITION legend means the igniters are working — the on-screen receipt of continuous ignition (article 11).

Dashed versus XX — the essential distinction (synthesis): dashed says the number is still here, but don't trust the last digit (degraded precision — the typical presentation of the channel-B/cross-link issues from article 14); XX says the quantity is absent (invalid, or mode-inappropriate). One is degradation; the other is absence.

2. The ENG SD page

2.1 The parameter block

Parameter Normal Abnormal meaning
N2 green red above 103.3 % plus a red cross (remains until next ground start/maintenance); dashed = degraded precision
FUEL USED green, 10-kg steps auto-resets at the next ground start; dashes over all five digits = FF invalid in flight for more than 1 minute (the display face of the FF single-element risk, article 14)
fuel filter clog — excessive pressure loss across the filter (articles 09/31)
OIL QTY green, scale 0–22 QT pulsing green below the 4-QT advisory (the visible warning line above the 5.4-qt invisible basement of article 10)
OIL PRESS green, scale 0–250 PSI red band 0–25 PSI (the indicated — differential, corrected — value of article 10)
OIL TEMP green amber above 190 °C (article 00's continuous limit)
oil filter clog — excessive pressure loss (articles 10/30)
N1/N2/N3 VIB in range excessive — advisory presented by pulsing (article 29 for the alert thresholds)

2.2 The start block (displayed during a start sequence)

"IGNITION INDICATION: The igniter A(B) is used … / Both igniters A and B are used for the engine start sequence or continuous ignition. START VALVE: fully closed / fully open / failed in the closed position / failed in the open position. STARTER INLET PRESSURE: Green normal / Amber: The starter inlet pressure is either: ‐ Abnormally high, or ‐ Abnormally low (below 15 PSI, when N3 is above 8 % and the starter valve is not closed)."

This block is a live broadcast of the logic in articles 11/12: an "A" means today is plug A's shift (the alternation rule); "AB" means a dual-igniter occasion (second attempt, manual, in-flight, continuous ignition). The START VALVE's four drawings are the graphical form of the malfunction table's two rows — stuck closed = no assisted start; stuck open = starter-damage risk. And 15 PSI is the bottom line for starter supply muscle: in a cross-bleed start with insufficient supplying-engine thrust, this is the first legend to turn amber (article 34). The NACELLE temperature rounds the page off: green normal, pulsing green above the 260 °C advisory — the "roll call" of the Zone-3 long probe from article 14, an early indicator of a bleed-duct leak (article 20).

3. The quick interpretation table (the whole article, condensed)

You see Read it as Article
white attention box that engine is starting 12
amber XX (rating/limit/EPR) quantity absent: mode unavailable / degraded on ground / EPR invalid 07/21
two amber dashes quantity present, precision degraded — distrust the last digit 14/19
red exceedance tick historical maximum; a message to maintenance; report after landing 28
AVAIL pulsing 1 min in flight relight-success receipt 26
REV amber pulsing 9 s in flight reverser unlocked — AUTO RESTOW under way 13/32
EGT limit line missing TOGA/GA/reverse/alpha floor — the brake line deliberately removed §1.4
grey box around N3 start/crank in progress — normal process state 12
OIL QTY pulsing green below the 4-QT advisory 10/30
starter inlet amber below 15 PSI (N3 > 8 %, valve not closed): weak supply 12/34
NACELLE pulsing green above the 260 °C advisory: think bleed leak 20

Self-test

[!note]- Q1. What is the on-screen receipt of a successful in-flight relight? AVAIL pulsing for one minute (a successful ground start shows it steady for ten seconds). It disappears as soon as the thrust lever moves forward of the idle detent.

[!note]- Q2. During the takeoff roll the EGT gauge has no amber limit line. Normal? Normal — the limit line is not displayed in TOGA/GA modes, in reverse, or with alpha floor active: when you are entitled to the full temperature margin, the psychological brake line is deliberately removed.

[!note]- Q3. N2 once peaked at 104 % and is now back at 95 %. Can you still see this on the SD? Yes — the red cross and the exceedance marker remain until the next ground start sequence or a maintenance action. The display preserves the scene of the event for maintenance.

[!note]- Q4. All five digits of FUEL USED are covered by amber dashes. Meaning? Fuel flow has been invalid in flight for more than one minute — the FU integration has lost its input and its precision can no longer be trusted (the display face of the FF single-element freeze risk).

[!note]- Q5. Which is worse — dashed or XX? XX. Dashed means degraded precision, value still present; XX means the quantity is absent (invalid or mode-inappropriate). The cross-check strategy and urgency differ accordingly.

Key takeaways

Topic Essentials
Global rules green states / amber cautions / red stops · dashed = precision degraded · exceedance = history, cleared only by ground start or maintenance
Timed legends IDLE: in-flight both-idle, pulses 10 s · AVAIL: ground steady 10 s, flight pulses 1 min · REV: amber = unlocked, green = fully deployed, in-flight pulses 9 s
EGT limit line 700 (ground start) / 900 (otherwise); removed in TOGA/GA/reverse/alpha floor; red = 900–920 over 20 s or > 920
SD anchors N2 red 103.3 · OIL QTY advisory 4 QT · OIL PRESS red band 0–25 · OIL TEMP amber 190 · starter inlet 15 PSI · NACELLE advisory 260
Start block igniter A(B)/AB per the alternation logic · START VALVE four states · FU in 10-kg steps, resets at next ground start
Blue circle follows the lever — except under automatic TOGA, when its divorce from the lever is the signature

References

Independent study material, not an Airbus publication and not endorsed by the manufacturer. Always defer to the current operator FCOM, FCTM, and QRH for operational use.

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