question

captaincaveman avatar image
captaincaveman asked

Orion Smart TR DC DC Charger draining the target battery overnight

There are two battery banks on my boat - House and Starter with isolator switches.

The solar input and aux alternator connect to the House bank, so i wanted to take the benefit of the solar and trickle charge the Starter battery.

I have the Orion TR Smart 12/12-18a Isolated dc-dc charger in between the two battery banks

Inputs - Positive from House bank / Negative from House bank

Outputs -Positive to Starter battery / Negaitve to Stater battery.

(fuses between batteries and Orion)

The jumper cable is left in as there is no remote, or on off scenario. The settings compensate for this by setting the minimum voltage that i want to start charging (so if the solar input pushes the House bank voltage past 13v the Orion starts charging the Starter battery)

The Orion is charging the Starter battery only when the the volts are high enough, so working perfectly.

However the problem is overnight, when there is no solar, and we are drawing loads from the house bank, the volts drop on the house bank (naturally), but the Starter battery is also being depleted.

I don't understand why the Starter battrry gets depleted -surely there would be a diode in the Orion to prevent draw from the target battery? Is there a setting I am missing or does the wiring need to change?


chargerorion-tr smartorion dc-dc
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

3 Answers
kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

Yes, Orion is one way, input into output.

Most likely a wiring fault to trace. Not enough information here.

As an aside, you might want to increase the start and cut out voltages on the Orion.

2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

captaincaveman avatar image
captaincaveman answered ·

thanks for reply - I guess i can remove cables from the starter to see where the impact is. But for now i have started a wiring diagram (bit basic at the moment, and i need to trace the negatives). Is it possible that the engine alternator or the AC charger could be the cuplrit? Neither are running over night, but could they be allowing the draw to the house bank? All Day wiring v0.02.png


all-day-wiring-v002.png (373.4 KiB)
3 comments
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
You should be able to trace it using a DC clamp meter on the positive cables.


The multi will draw some current in the on and inverter positions, even with no load.
0 Likes 0 ·
Frank Hoer avatar image Frank Hoer commented ·

looking at your wiring diagram; remove the direct positive between the Starter Bat 1 and House Bat 2 (or add a switch and turn it off at night. I guess it was originally intended for your Std Alternator to charge your House Bat).

0 Likes 0 ·
captaincaveman avatar image captaincaveman Frank Hoer commented ·

sorry, my bad -that was in place with a switch inbetween (almost like a permanent jumper cable capability) but i removed this as i keep forgetting to turn that switch off.All Day wiring v0.03.png

1 Like 1 ·
all-day-wiring-v003.png (373.0 KiB)
captaincaveman avatar image
captaincaveman answered ·

just an update. using clamp meter i was able to determine that there was infact a draw, almost equal to the draw coming from the house bank that was going to the Xantrex AC Truecharger 2 (even though it wasn't plugged in to the mains) Not sure why this would be and have reached out to their support team to clarify the wiring and how this could be happening. In the short term, the easiest solution is to disconnect the Truecharger from the starter battery, and leave it connected to the house bank only.

1 comment
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Thanks for the update.

If the Orion is a recent addition, it may give you a clue on how to check the wiring, but obviously the other charger needs to be sorted out.


0 Likes 0 ·