question

barndoor avatar image
barndoor asked

Orion DCDC remote switch not working - FIXED

This seems to have been covered before, without any clear resolutions, at least for my case. I have a new Orion isolated DCDC charger in my van, installed per the manual in the "normal" way. Software is up to date. It functions perfectly, with one glaring exception. I have a simple toggle switch on the dash wired to the L/H bridge on the orion so I can turn it on and off when I like, wired as in 4.4a below. However it doesn't do anything. It can be switched on or off, or the L/H plug can be plugged in or not, and the unit is on and still charges the battery regardless of the remote switch (or bridge which I went back to for testing). What gives? Per the manual I thought the switch overrides voltage detection, and shouldn't allow the unit to start charging. Isn't that true? Or do I need to disable voltage detection in the app so that the switch will work to turn it on and off? As I've seen this similar issue throughout the forum I'm wondering if there was a solution I missed or a problem Victron needs to address.

orion dc-dc
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4 Answers
barndoor avatar image
barndoor answered ·

solved this problem, for future reference. I simply reversed the two wires from my switch in L and H and magically it works. The likely culprit is that the switch I'm using is a common Contura style marine switch with lights. The lighted nature of the switch may mean there is some residual voltage coming through the wires, which is another way to use the remote switch, so the Orion saw some voltage to the H or L pin and presumed it meant to turn on. By reversing the wires I was sending the "dead leg" of the switch to the L or H and all works as normal.

1 comment
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hikertrash avatar image hikertrash commented ·

I used a three pole lighted switch- load positive to H pin, power positive to positive, and power negative to ground. Works like a charm.

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

Please post screen shots of your settings. Engine, start/stop voltage etc

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barndoor avatar image
barndoor answered ·

I believe for the most part these are the factory default setting, but they seem applicable to my situation, namely a van with 300AH of lithium batteries, Multiplus, MPPT, etc all Victron components.


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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

The common problems are smart alternators and not reading the manual.

However that doesn't appear to be the case here.

If you removed the factory fitted LH bridge when fitting the external switch, then chances are it's a faulty unit. Dealer job.

You may need to tweak these settings once the remote on/off issue is resolved.

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