Hi all,
Am having a engine charging issue on my victron system, the system charges intermittently from the engine, it seems more stable when vehicle is stationary and stops charging when moving, this maybe a coincidence but not sure, sytems says not charging due to engine shut down, i have check all the obvious things, battery connections etc, i am thinking maybe the alternater but no battery warning light on the dash
Any help would be appreciated
Engine shutdown detection stops the DC to DC charger on low voltage but the alternator could still be working. Do you have a smart alternator that can reduce its charge voltage independently. Could the alternator have a partial failure so it is working enough to kerp the warning light off, but not enough to run the DC to DC. Show us a screenshot of the dngine shutdown settings and the status screen when thus happens.
Hi Pwfarnell, i have done as you said and have uoloaded the screenshots, i went for a drive but it didnt shut off once, however as soon as i drove into my drive and stoppped it shut down so i took a scteen shot, whilst driving it was saying it was bulk charge which is strange as the batteries are fully charge what with all the sun.
I drove with the fans on full and i could hete there speed changing up and down quite a bit!
The last screen shot is when i first stsrted the engine
The second is whilst i was driving
And the first is when it shot off
This one is the engine settings
Bulk charge means that the battery is being charged with as much power as the Orion can deliver. For example your house battery may be full and only needs 2A to reach 14.4V, but if the Orion is being limited by a low alternator voltage and can only provide 1A then it is in bulk. Bulk relates to the condition of the charger NOT the condition of the battery.
Is this a new vehicle or charging system which had this trouble from new, or an old system that has worked trouble free and is now having problems.
Anyway, the issue is clearly one of low alternator voltage.
If it has worked well and is now in trouble it is probably a failing alternator.
If you have a Smart Alternator then these can reduce charging voltage on the fly to save energy. DC to DC charging is tricky from these, there is info in the manual, the easiest solution is to activate the Orion from the vehicle ignition key so it always works when turned on regardless of the alternator voltage.
Agreed.
Or a dying start battery.
Or that. Which seems to be the profile chosen.
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Hi, thanks for your help with this.
This morning i check the battery
Before start up the 12.7 volts
After start up 14 volts
After ten minutes of idle 13.7
Fluctuated a bit just after start up
I think its a smart alternator, although not odvoius, its a 2016 sprinter 316 cdi
All has worked fine till recently, have owned the van a couple of years
I’ve notice the dc output is lower than usual, i was getting 300 watts plus but now fluctuates from lows of 150 and 220
If i change the charging profile to regular it goes right down to about 50 watts
Are you also somewhere that is currently much hotter than normal, alternators can derate if they get hot as can the Orion DC to DC.
As said, with Smart alternators it is best to use ignition overrise for the engine shutdown detection so it does not matter if the alternator goes to low voltage.
Hi
Am in the uk, it is a bit warm but never hsd this issue before so dont think its that.
I have ordered a new alternator so will fit that tomorrow, will let you if it solves my issue.
Am now getting an issue with the solar smart lost connection with the bms and very low solar energy being produced, i guess i will be posting a question about this very soon
Thank you very much for your advice on the charging matter its been very very helpful