Orion 12/12 30 isolated stopped working

DIY
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1

Charger has been working seamlessly in my DIY van build for over three years, but about two months ago I realized it had stopped working. I have solar and shore power charging as well so it hasn’t been top priority, but I’d like to get it back.

I understand the overall system, but I had help designing and installing it so I don’t necessarily know every single detail. To the best of my knowledge, nothing has changed. All the connections are secure as far as I can tell.

Here’s what I do know:

When I start the van, the Orion does not turn on after 120s. On the app, it says
“Charge is disabled due to: Input voltage lock-out, Engine shutdown detected” and “Input voltage” shows 12.1V.

Settings:
Start voltage: 14.00
Delayed start voltage: 13.80
Delayed start voltage: 120s
Shutdown voltage: 13.50

Measured voltages:
14.3V coming out of alternator
14.3V going into front shutoff switch
14.3V coming out of front shutoff switch
14.2V going into charger
13.3V going into rear shutoff switch
13.3V coming out of rear shutoff switch

It seems to me that enough voltage to start is going into the charger, but it’s not recognizing it somehow. Can anybody point me to the next troubleshooting steps?

Thanks so much!

2

You could perform the steps listed in https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Pre-RMA_bench_test_instructions/114199-Pre-RMA_bench_test_instructions-pdf-en.pdf (Orion specifics start on page 43) to figure out if your device is RMA-worthy.

4

Oh, that’s very helpful, thank you! I will definitely work through that process.

5

Thanks! I will check that as well.

6

Did you get things back up and running? I’m having the same issues for the last few months. System is only a year old. It doesn’t detect when the engine is running either.

Wondering if you found a solve. Thanks

7

Use a multimeter to confirm the voltage at the starter battery and at the Orion terminals when the engine is running. If they are different then you have a poor connection, broken wire, blown fuse or breaker etc. Could be on positive or negative wiring.

8

Yes, I went through the steps in the bench test instructions, some of which I’d already done.

One was to save the current settings, reset the unit to default settings, and then restore the saved settings…and it worked.

I THOUGHT I had tried that already, but apparently I hadn’t.

Best of luck!

9

I have two of these!!! with the same issues, which I believe are inherent problems with this unit. I have checked all of the voltages prior to and during the charging cycle of both; and have the only way to them to work properly is to turn off the shutdown voltage function.

it seems to me that the algorithm in the charger has no soft start and pulls so much current on start up….it shuts itself down on low voltage.

One of mine is within a metre of the charge system and has way oversized cables …but still shuts down on under voltage.

To prove my cabling and setup I swapped the Victron out for a Redarc…. no problems!!!

I also note that these are now being sold a heavily discounted prices!!! I suspect retailers are aware of the problems and a dumping them!!!