Tow vehicle: 2022 Jeep wrangler with smart alternator.
Trailer: Offroad with Orion TR 12/12-30 and two 100ah LifePo4 batteries in parallel, wired with dedicated 6 gauge cable and Anderson connector.
In either charger or power supply mode, the charge fluctuates from 4 seconds on then 10 seconds off. Batteries are taking too long to charge due to the fluctuations.
All ideas on how to solve this issue are appreciated.
I could be wrong but I think you might have to give more details as to what you have to charge. Like what amp/hr batteries, what is the brand(not all are equal), how many, what is the voltage being charge. I have a similar set up, that being a jeep and using a Orion TR 12/12-18 charging a 50 amp/hr LifePo4. I had to adjust some of the settings in order to not have it do what you are experiencing. I think in my case it is what the limits of the BMS/ MOSFETS can handle. I seem to have got it worked out setting the absorption voltage down to 14v. The charger now goes through the 3 phases as needed. Before I had the absorption set at 14.4 and when the voltage to the battery was hitting above 14v, that is when I would see the cells becoming to far out of balance and BMS would shut down and I experienced what you are describing. I will be watching this thread for more info given.
Thanks for the reply. I have two 100 Ah batteries in parallel. This complete setup has been pulled by a 2015 jeep wrangler jku without issue, but when towed by the 2022 jeep wrangler jl with smart alternator, the cycling is evident.
At this point I have tried multiple configuration settings without success. Because the charge works great with the 2015 Wrangler and not with the 2022 wrangler, I'm pinning the problem on the smart alternator cycling.
It's like the ECM (which controls the alternator output) cycles alternator output via some relay.
The problem is it takes way too long to restore the batteries behind the 2022 wrangler.
I consume 50-60 ah of battery every 24 hours. With the same system behind the 2015 wrangler, it takes about 1.5 hours to recover, behind the 2022 wrangler it takes over 6 hours.
I'm going to continue experimenting with different configurations of the Orion, because I don't know yet what else to do.
I checked my alternator setting and apparently I have not chosen one. Don't know if there is a default setting. I don't know if it will help but here is my settings in the screen shots. Good luck. It would be interesting if you find out what your problem is.photo 1.jpegphoto 2.jpeg
Try going through the suggestions here: https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Engine-on-detection-set-up-Orion-Tr-Smart-DC-DC-Charger-EN.pdf
Bottom line is that yes the ECU controls smart alternators and that unless the Orion is set up correctly it will cycle. You may need to set the cut out voltage lower than you think. Also check the connections between tow and trailer. Something less than perfect can cause your problems.
From the feedback received, I discovered the cutoff settings for both the charger and power supply modes were causing the charge/no charge fluctuations. Once the cutoff was lowered adequately, or disabled, both modes charged without interruption.
I tweaked the battery settings correctly for my batteries based on the manufacturers recommendations and will not change them.
The smart alternator on the 2022 diesel jeep wrangler did not allow the default engine off settings for the alternator type of "smart alternator". The default settings never started the charger at Engine run. These settings required adjustment to sense engine off condition, however, I was unsuccessful with getting any engine off settings that would consistently sense engine off/on condition. I suspect this is due to the particular alternator used in the Jeep and its ECM.
My goal was to get the Orion to charge without fluctuations first, then worry about the engine operation sensing later. As a result of tweaking the cutoff in both modes, I now have continuous charge.
One question that is a little perplexing is the dramatic charge rates between charger and power supply modes. "Power supply" mode with charger enabled, charges at 3-4 times the wattage that "charger" mode allows, therefore completing the charge recovery 3-4 times faster. Not sure why. Perhaps this is another configuration setting I'm overlooking. My batteries can consistently charge at 50 amps, as rated without concern.
Thanks again for the quick responses, they were very helpful.
