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robertclark avatar image
robertclark asked

Orion TR Smart DC/DC charger has flattened my engine battery

Hi

I installed an Orion TR Smart 12/12 30 Non Isolated DC/DC charger in March in my Motorhome, at the time it seemed to work ok


Moved the motorome 1 week ago (end of June) and the engine started fine, the engine battery was OK

Went to move the motorhome today and the engine battery was flat, despite having a tricke charger between my leisure battery and the engine battery (to keep the engine battery topped up from my solar panels)

Noticed by change that the Orion was turning itself on and off, therefore draining the battery even though the ignition signal was off.

Wondering if I have correctly installed it or if there is a fault?

Looking at the handbook it seems to show the D+ or ignition wire going to both terminals of the Remote / on/off circuit as shown below


I therefore left the link in place between L + H is this correct?

Or should the D+ ignition feed go to terminal H wihtout a link?

What I'm looking to achieve is a set up with only activates the charger when the D+ signal is live (ignition is switched on)

Would appreciate any suggestions.


Regards

Robert


orion-tr smart
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dockaman avatar image dockaman commented ·

Hi guys

1st post here, go easy on me!

Seems its the trickle charger and the orion not being 'friends'

So when the trickle charger is on the orion sees the extra voltage and thibks the engine/alternator is running and charges at 30a as its meant to, but draining ur battery in the process.

I feel you have to remove the trickle charger and/or use the remote on off function of the orion connected with ur ignition or something like that.

Cheers

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3 Answers
Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

@RobertClark, if I'm not mistaken (though I could be), by leaving the link in place you actually were overriding the Orion's engine detection program so that it basically always stayed on, at least until your start battery wore down, then it shut off... until your trickle charger brought your start battery voltage back up, and then the Orion restarted.

The manual is definitely a bit... dense... in this area, partially because I believe that in the photos the jumper of the remote bridge was left in when in fact this should not be the case; when wiring in a remote on/off, the jumper must be removed - NOT the green remote bridge, because you need that for your wiring, but just the black jumper.

Now, I don't have one of these units on my test bench right at this moment, so I can't independently verify operation here, but try this: Remove the remote bridge, remove the black jumper wire between the L and H pins entirely and instead connect your ignition-switched wire to the H-pin only (this will be the right-side of the remote bridge as you look at it), then reinsert the remote bridge and see if that gets you the functionality you're looking for.

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robertclark avatar image robertclark commented ·

Thanks Justin that makes perfect sense

Will give that a try !

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Bob K avatar image Bob K robertclark commented ·
Did that work? Is the correct configuration to remove the black jumper wire and to insert the switched wire into just the H terminal?
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pagaille avatar image pagaille commented ·
I tried to wire the D+ to the L side : it doesn’t work. The booster stays off.

I didn’t test in the H side though. I ended up following the manual and put the jumper back in place. There is something that should be clarified there.




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vanlifer007 avatar image
vanlifer007 answered ·

Hi. Sorry to jump on your question. I am trying to buy an orion 12/12 30a. What is the difference between the isolated and the non isolated?

I couldn't find a straight forward explanation online.

Good luck with fixing your issue

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Justin Cook avatar image Justin Cook ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Vanlifer007, and welcome to the Community! Please read and follow the Community Guidelines, as they're here to help all of us find answers (and provide answers) as efficiently as possible.

In this case, the "One Question per Post" rule is the relevant one; please ask your question to the main forum rather than on another user's question; this will allow everyone to see and answer your question and will also enable other users to find the question and subsequent answers in the future. Cheers!

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shadrack avatar image
shadrack answered ·

Hi,

I have exactly the same question as the OP. The manual has managed to fry my brains.

I have replaced the split charge with the Smart Orion Dc - Dc charger. As my camper has a smart charger as soon as starter battery is charged the Orion shuts down and fails to charge Leisure’.

At the moment the jumper link is made.

if I used the original split relay activation wire and connected to the ‘L’ terminal on the jumper.

Do I have to remove the original black jumper wire between the ‘L’ and ‘H’ terminal?

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shadrack avatar image shadrack commented ·
Sorry, think my brains still frying.


I have just re read above and see that an answer advises to try without jumper wire.

I will try with ‘L’ terminal alone. Thanks,

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ shadrack commented ·
The jumper should be left in between the L and H.

Easiest way to help you is if you post screen shots of the Orion settings. Smart alternators can be tricky and the Orions have many options.


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shadrack avatar image shadrack kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Thank you for the reply, you say the black wire jumper should be left in?.

If I use the activation wire which goes +12v when smart alternator is running. Which pin does this wire go into, ‘L’ or ’H’.
If I use the activation wire in one of the pins, my question is do I remove the black link wire.

The settings used are for agm spiral default.

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