ARCO Zeus + Orion XS + Cerbo GX (DVCC) – Zeus charging current not included in battery balance

DIY
, ,
1

I have an installation consisting of:

  • Victron Cerbo GX (DVCC enabled)
  • Victron SmartShunt as the main battery shunt
  • ARCO Zeus with ARCO alternator shunt
  • Victron Orion XS connected to the original alternator

Both charging sources are detected correctly by the Cerbo GX:

  • Orion XS charging current is displayed correctly.
  • ARCO Zeus charging current is also displayed correctly.

However, only the Orion XS charging current is included in the overall battery current calculation. The charging current reported by the Zeus is visible on the Cerbo GX but is not added to the battery current balance, so the displayed battery current and power are incorrect.

I have already verified the following:

  • The electrical wiring has been double-checked.
  • The battery current does not bypass the Victron SmartShunt.
  • DVCC is enabled.
  • The SmartShunt is configured as the battery monitor.
  • The ARCO alternator shunt is connected to the Zeus and the Zeus communicates with the Cerbo GX via VE.Can.

Has anyone seen this behavior before or knows whether there is an additional configuration required so that the Cerbo GX includes the Zeus charging current in the battery current calculation?

The Cerbo GX correctly displays the Zeus output current, so CAN communication is working. The issue is that the Zeus charging current is not reflected in the battery current or power balance, while the Orion XS charging current is.

I’ve attached the wiring schematics of the installation.

IMG_0766
IMG_07661518×1179 201 KB

IMG_0767
IMG_07671429×1179 303 KB

2

The Zeus alternator case negative is connected to ground. Do you have a negative ground connection to the battery negative terminals. If you do this is how the Zeus alternator current bypasses the shunt. This is a common mistake. The mrgative ground has to go to the negative busbar or the system side of the shunt.

3

Thank you for the advice. I was able to track down the issue after a great support call. It turned out to be software-related rather than a hardware fault.

The root cause was that the Zeus wasn’t actually activating in Victron Follower mode, but it was still reporting a false charging current to the Cerbo. The Cerbo showed a 50 A charge rate, even though the system voltage wasn’t increasing and the batteries weren’t receiving any charge.

Disabling Victron Follower mode resolved the problem immediately. The charging system is now operating as expected.

Hopefully this helps anyone else who runs into the same issue.