Victron Orion DC-DC Charger Question

[bajaphile]

Sorry for yet another thread. Been trying to figure this one out, searching high and low...

Just purchased the Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt DC-DC Charger, Non-Isolated (Bluetooth). Followed the instructions for setup... Install input +/-, first, turn on, apply settings, then install output +, connect jumper, etc.

Adjusted battery settings for my Trojan T-105's, Alternator, etc.

When engine is running (and drove it 25 minutes) I just get the following screen:



Not sure why it is just saying "disabled".

My other settings are as follows:







EDIT 11/24/2021: I think it is very important to note for others, the Bluetooth range on this unit is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot connect to the Victron unit while sitting in the cab of my truck and the DC-DC charger being in the very front of my camper, roughly 6 ft away. The only way to connect is open the camper door, and LEAN into the camper. I cannot connect outside of the camper. I would not buy this product again just based off the Bluetooth range. Read other reviews on this, it is common and not just my experience.

Another note: The 3 screw terminals for the output/input+ and ground are cheap feeling. The unit otherwise feels of high build quality.

 

[Vic Harder]

Your engine shutdown settings are the issue. You are seeing 13.5v at the Orion, and the setting for engine running is 13.5v. Logic in the Orion says that the engine is therefore not running and to stay off. Drop the engine running setting to a few 10ths above what your starting batteries rest at.

 

[bajaphile]

Thank you!! I was confused on that part.

Oddly now, I am only seeing 13V at the Victron Input... I suspect my wiring from starter battery to camper is the issue. I measure 14.1V at the starter battery and only 13.0V at the camper plug and 13.0V at the Victron. I suspect this may have been my underlying issue in my previous thread... I am running a 10 gage wire, it appears I need to bump that up to 4 or 6 gage.

 

[pvstoy]

Unplug the trolling connector and measure from the truck side. That will tell you if connection is bad.

 

[Vic Harder]

Thicker wire is good. You could also use the switch function on the Orion, even just for testing purposes. Start the truck and Force the Orion to stay on, sand see what happens to the voltages.

 

[kmcintyre]

Or you can just turn off the engine shutdown enable... just remember to turn it back on.

 

[bajaphile]

Well, this is peculiar guys...

Whatever I set the Shutdown Voltage to, the Victron Input voltage will then match!! (Notice in my screenshots they are both at 13.5V?)

I did what Vic said, set it to 12.8V for fun, and sure enough it dropped to that voltage. My multimeter agreed. Went to 12.5V, same thing. Then tried 13.0V and then 13.5V ... the Victron "input voltage" would then take a few seconds and equalize at whatever voltage I set for the Shutdown Voltage...So the charger never enables itself. :/

Thing is, it is doing something as the output voltage increases to 13.9V. Unfortunately I do not have a shunt installed, so I am uncertain on amps, or if it is actually charging the camper batteries.

When I disconnect my plug at the camper, and measure the truck side, it matches the output voltage of the alternator. When I plug it back in, it measures what I set the Victron Shutdown Voltage to. I'm truly stumped now!

 

[Jon R]

The Orion tells you how much current it is delivering via the app. How much current is flowing? Always zero?

 

[bajaphile]

Can't find anything with regards to current flow, but made some "progress" today...
As @kmcintyre suggested, I just disabled the engine shutdown detection feature to see what happened.

Sure enough, the Victron started "Bulk Charging"! Great! Oh wait.... As soon as that started happening the input voltage dropped from 14.3V down to 10.6V, then would go into voltage lockout mode. Once in lockout mode, the input voltage would once again increase up to 14.3V, start Bulk charging for a few seconds then drop down to 10.6V. I watched it fluctuate back and forth every 10 seconds for about 5 minutes with no real change to the values.

Checked voltage at starter battery during this time and it was steady at 14.1 to 14.3V.

Appears once again, voltage drop is between the starter battery and Orion input +. I have some duplex 6ga tinned wire in the mail...hopefully that helps here. I can feel the original 10ga wire and it is warm to the touch.

Would you guys agree that is my problem here? Anything else I can check?

 

[Vic Harder]

That’s good troubleshooting. And good data. Yes, it certainly looks like voltage drop is causing the Orion to cycle.

How long do you think the wire run will be?

 

[pvstoy]

check voltage in and out of the connection to the truck / camper and for loose wires or weathered to eliminate losses at that connection.

 

[bajaphile]

Hi Vic, I believe the last time I ran the wire back to the camper, it was roughly 15ft. Based off 30A maximum, the chart I used said 8 gage for 3% voltage drop, so I just went ahead and used 6 ga. Hope it works...

pvstoy, the connectors were redone by me last year using Anderson powerpole connectors. (SB50). A few months back I checked and sure enough there was some corrosion as I live near the ocean. I had cleaned it up, but have not checked again since. Plan is to rewire from starter battery to camper batteries using the 6 gage wire.

I am still a bit baffled that the voltage drop using 10ga wire is so great using this charger. I guess it is the same issue I was having last week with my Blue Seas ACR clicking on/off... The voltage drop it sensed from the charge source was great enough that it would stop charging the camper batteries.

 

[Jon R]

6 awg Ancor marine type 3 is what I used with an SB50 connector, and it works fine with the Orion 12/12-30. No engine running test cycling. I have a 3500hd CCLB with the camper battery at the rear wall, so my wire run is long compared to most.

 

[Jon R]

Can't find anything with regards to current flow, ...

Sorry, you are correct. I was confusing the display with that of the MPPT. The Orion does not display current, at least in bulk mode. I didn’t check the other modes because I want to leave my battery partially charged for storage right now.

 

[bajaphile]

6 awg Ancor marine type 3 is what I used with an SB50 connector, and it works fine with the Orion 12/12-30. No engine running test cycling. I have a 3500hd CCLB with the camper battery at the rear wall, so my wire run is long compared to most.

Well that makes me feel better! That is what I purchased. Got some new SB50 crimp on conductors for the 6ga wire whenever it shows up. Will follow up if my old wiring was the issue or not. Probably is...

 

[pvstoy]

...

pvstoy, the connectors were redone by me last year using Anderson powerpole connectors. (SB50). A few months back I checked and sure enough there was some corrosion as I live near the ocean. I had cleaned it up, but have not checked again since. Plan is to rewire from starter battery to camper batteries using the 6 gage wire.

I am still a bit baffled that the voltage drop using 10ga wire is so great using this charger. I guess it is the same issue I was having last week with my Blue Seas ACR clicking on/off... The voltage drop it sensed from the charge source was great enough that it would stop charging the camper batteries.

Yea corrosion will show ok volts but your amps and volts are going to suffer under load if there is surface corrosion between contacts.

When you get all wired back up try using some die-electric grease on the Anderson connections.

 

[ntsqd]

Merely connecting-disconnecting-connecting the Anderson connector(s) should help quite a bit with the corrosion where it matters the most. Their contact's geometry is designed with a heavy wiping action intended to remove surface corrosion. This is a normal design element in any properly designed connector's contacts.

 

[Jon R]

If you use an in-line SB50 rather than a mounted connector, Anderson makes environmental boots that cost under $10 and work very well to protect the connectors from dirt and water whether they are connected or apart. They are made of a rubber that seems like it will last a long time.

 

[bajaphile]

Yes, I just installed those after I cleaned up the connectors! They are really nice.

 

[bajaphile]

Well it's finally working. It was the 10ga wire apparently!

As I'm sitting here in my camper as the engine is running , I'm unfortunately smelling some off gassing from my batteries...seems weird. I think I added the correct data for the Trojan T 105 batteries.