Unanswered Questions in orion-tr smart

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Hi community,

A question in regards to installing an Orion in my van.

Based on the schematics from the van, there are components which rely on starter battery input while the engine is not running. To make this work, I'm planning to make the installation as described in the simple schema below (fuses,... are left out by purpose).

As you can see there is a bypass relay which will connect the orion IN and OUT while the engine isn't running. The relay and Orion will be triggered by the D+ signal when this becomes high and breaking the 'short circuit' and start the Orion when the engine is running.

Will the IN and OUT circuit shortage be of any problem for the Orion when the engine isn't running?

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Another potential solution would be to place a SPDT relay between the Orion OUT and the EBL in the schema below. When the engine isn't running, the starter battery will be directly connected to the EBL. When the engine is running, the Orion and the EBL will be connected.

Can this solution work, due to the fact that while the engine is OFF, the Orion will not 'see' the leisure battery until the relay is switched by the D+ high signal.

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Another question. When I start the Orion based on the H trigger, will it start immediately or is there a delay?

Thanks in advance!

I am setting up a power system in my Sprinter van. I am attempting to install the Orion DC charger in and not having success getting it to initially turn on. I have 6awg wires running to the Orion and they are outputting 12.5v when the van is turned off and mid 13s, low 14s when turned on and idling. Per the user manual i have connected the input and output cables (output is to a Victron Lynx distributor) but I am not seeing the on/off switch light up green and it is not available in the Victron connect app. Any thoughts on what i should try for troubleshooting?

I just installed a new alternator and upgraded it from 51amp to 90 amp. The Alternator chargers my lead acid starter battery and I have the Orion-tr Smart Isolated 12-30 DC-DC charger charging the LIFEPO4 house bank from the Starter Battery/Alternator. This worked fine with the 51amp alternator. However with the new alternator when the DC-DC charger senses the Alternator and turns on, I lose my tachometer within 5 seconds. If I manually shut down the DC-DC charger, the tachometer returns. The Tachometer wire is attached to the AC terminal on the alternator. The new alternator is an internally excited alternator and the older one was externally excited. Any ideas what may be causing this interruption in the Tachometer signal? The alternator appears to be otherwise functioning as expected as does the DC-DC charger.

Background: Disabled vet living in a 03 Fleetwood expedition. My pain meds have shredded my ability to think critically as well as my memory. Very limited monetarily and physically.

I lost a leg of power last fall and have been trying to get it working right but I have very limited knowledge of these systems. I have attempted to contact the dealers I purchased from, however they are Amazon dealers and do not care to reply. Things I wish I knew before buying all these components.

My Components:

1. Victron Multiplus 12/3000/120-50 120V VE.Bus
2. Victron Energy Orion-Tr IP43 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt Isolated DC-DC Converter
3. Victron Energy 200/200 amp Digital Multi Control Panel GX
4. Victron Energy BMV-712 Smart Battery Monitor (Black)
5. (4) CHINs 300ah LiFePO
6. RV Custom Products F73-1044 Battery control center
7. Thrombetta Bear DC Contactor
8. Intellitec 50 Amp Transfer Relay Delay

I have wiring diagrams for the non-victron components. I know something isn't right. After hooking up the Orion to the DC contactor and doing what RV Custom Products told me to do (cutting wires in their battery control center and how to rewire the thrombetta) everything seemed fine.

Woke up and chassis batts are dead (Door nail dead). I rewired the thrombetta DC contactor to the CHINs coach batteries to trigger it on instead and it mostly works. Only continuing issue as far as I currently know is that the fridge turns on for a second then back off.

I have 12v and 120v schematics for the RV. I tried (with the help of a union electrician) to follow the manuals to get this thing working right but it seems I have failed.

Any help getting this lemon working would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully,

Jesse

Hi, I just upgraded my Aliner trailer load center to a lithium compatible WFCO 8735 and I’m happy with how it charges my 24Ah 12v LiFePO4 battery when plugged into shore power but that doesn’t do much for me going down the road.

I have a aliexpress 10a LiFePO4 charger on a relay controlled by a small BMS unit from Thornwave for DC charging from my tow vehicle.

It works OK but I get the feeling an Orion Tr Smart would be better.

Could anyone validate that I’m on the right path with this?

Would it be automatic so my friends could borrow the trailer and not have to fuss with it but still have 100% battery at the end of a drive?

Thanks!

Alan

Hi friends, I would like to know if I can set the Victron MPPT 100/20 either in sleep mode or in minimum power consumption when not using the VAN for a while. I´ve seen in the datasheet that it says 12V: 25 mA, so a sleep mode if exists might help to reduce more the mAs. Same question applies to the Orion Tr Smart 12/12-30. I see < 1 mA for Standby current in the datasheet, but I am not sure if that is the right parameter to look at, looks very low consumption.

Many thanks,

With the output of a 200w solar panel connected to the starter (lead acid) battery through a 12-20 MPPT controller which is connected to an Orion, will the solar keep both batteries topped up over extended periods of inactive use?

The Orion TR Smart manual I can find Victron's website has only one table for Wire/Fuse sizing. It distinguishes between 12v and 24v. I have the 12/12-30 in a different setup but plan to use the 12/12-18 in a new setup. Does anyone know if Victron possibly has a recommendation for downsizing wire Size/Fuse for the 18amp version? If not can anyone explain why the (up to) 16mm2 wire size and 60 amp fuse is required for all 12v versions regardless of output?

Hello Community,

I have posted several questions here lately and the situation is getting weirder and weirder...

My last issue was that my orion stay in 'bulk' phase but input and output both on 13.5v(odd).

today while I was driving and monitoring my app - the charger did move to the other phases but...

absorption mode and float mode both had the same voltage values (input: 13.9 output: 14.2) even though the app settings clearly state the the float voltage should be 13.5v

after coming home I turned off the engine and let the system shut down (the app does say that it shut off due to engine should down), and checked the charge on my battery (my battery has a small screen that will show) - and it was 14.2v while resting.

I am really concern that I am overcharging my batteries and killing them, is my Orion faulty? please can someone shed some light on this weird behavior. thank you

I am attaching some screenshots for better observation

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I have a continuous varying high pitched sound coming from the unit when charging. Have it charging second deep cell battery inside van. I cannot drive with it on as the sound is unbearable Any thoughts? I have been over the wiring etc??

Hello

I recently set up a Orion Tr Smart in my vehicle. It worked for about 3 weeks before (and it worked amazingly) it just stopped putting out voltage. For the time I used it, I only used it on Power Supply Mode. Now it won't work on either mode.

Both LED's on respective Hz show that it is functioning 100%. But it just shows "--" where the Output Voltage should be. I have disconnected all loads and tested at the output terminals.

I disconnected Input then reconnected to restart it and it momentarily jumps to 9V on output then dies again.

I tried the exact same tests in Charger mode and the same story.

I am a big fan of Victron products but lately I have had some disappointing experiences. In the last 4 months I have had to replace 3 x MPPT 75/15's for no apparent reason. Now hoping that it will not be the case with the Orion as well.

Any advice on the above would be highly appreciated!

Hello Community,

My Orion in my Ducato based camper (alternator, Lithium Liontron battery) seems to behave inconsistent. There are days that it runs nicely and there are days that it is simply hopeless.

I seem to have two issues, i.e. 1. the engine-running detection mechanism, and 2. bulk charge.

I think I have solved now issue 1 (still testing). I have done that by connecting the D+ signal to the L-pin. I tested it, and yesterday it worked as chime. (I am not 100% sure).

Regarding issue 2 I have this weird behavior today from the Orion that it goes into Bulk-charge, but, most of the time, does not produce sufficient voltage for the Lithium battery to start loading. -- E.g. it puts 12.1 Volt on the output, while the battery has 12.1 volt as well. At odd times when it kicks up the voltage to 12.2 - 12.3 V the battery starts to load properly, but then you can wait for it; it takes 60-120 seconds before we back at a non-effective "bulk-charge".

Is there anybody that can explain what's going on, and how I can address this issue?

BTW, the camper 12V network has also an Victron MPPT connected; this does work nicely.

Any suggestions on how to solve this mystery are welkom.

Kind Regards,

Barend Jan

HELLO, I have a question about the lifepo4 ultimatron battery and the use of the DC-DC orion charge

I looked at the warning history and there are a lot of overvoltage cells

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and I charge it with orion and sometimes with mppt smartsolar sun according to these settings

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I measured 14.4V directly on the battery with the engine started

it also happens to me that even if I drive for maybe 2-3 hours, the battery shows 100%, but the Orion is still in the Bulk charge phase and is still charging with a current of 30A

can you advise me where I am doing wrong in the settings? I would hate to damage the battery.

Thank you very much. Jiři

Hi everyone !
I am writing to you to know if some people have already connected an isolated Orion tr smart to a vehicle alternator without a starter battery? and if it worked and charged proprely?
I explain the vehicle contains 2 alternators, the second alternator was mounted specifically to take advantage of charging a large auxiliary lithium park (mechanical assembly + belt, no electrical wiring).
The excitation of the alternator is given by the starter battery.
I have a problem concerning the output voltage of the alternator which is 8.7V at no load (belt tightened everything is ok). The wiring is quite classical (+ and - input on + and - alternator). The negatives, alternator housing, are well connected to the truck chassis, R=1 ohm. Then I tried to connect to the input of the Orion and there my multimeter shows me 32 V DC (and the Victron application too)!
I wonder if the alternator has a defect because according to me the alternator is supposed to provide a stable voltage and therefore the Orion should work quite normally. I wanted to know if some people have already done this type of assembly with an isolated Orion on an alternator without starting battery and if it worked.
I would like to specify that this is not the first Orion I have installed.
Thank you all for your help.
Sorry for my english i'm not native.