I’m suffering what I think is a common issue with this unit. I’m only getting about 5-10 amps charging from my car with the engine shutdown detection set to 12.8v. If I lower it to 11v etc, I can manage to get 15-20a but I’ve found no way to get 30a out of it. In the past I’ve had no issues pulling 30a with a redarc charger.
Is there a solution to this?
I have a similar problem - but not such low output as yours. My Orion TR-Smart 12/12-30 puts out 25A at start up, but then derates the current as it runs, ending up around 12-15A. I just tested it yesterday, while checking the temp of the Orion. Output dropped from 25A to 20A over 15 minutes, with the charger never getting about 70F (it was 30F outside). This derating of the output by the charger is clearly inappropriate. Is there any solution for this?
Settings? Input voltage?
Absorption voltage is 14.4, float 13.6. Voltage at the battery, via Victron BMV is 13.16 - or 57%.
BTW - this behavior was persistent on a long trip in October. While driving in cool weather I could watch the current from the Orion steadily drop even when the Orion is not overly hot.
I am charging a 300Ah LiFePO4. So if I was charging at 30A it would be 0.1c, well below the recommended 0.5c.
Please make screenshots of the settings.
What is the input voltage while you drive?
The Orion will reduce the output current if the input voltage drops.
I had an input voltage of 14.0 when I was getting 14A from the charger, so don’t think voltage dropping is the issue.
I was able to get in contact with Victron support and am sending the Orion in for testing. Will be very interested to see what they find.
I’ve noticed the same thing with mine (isolated version) when I first used it connected to the alternator this week; I had to reduce the voltage in settings to 11 volts to allow it to continue charging. I measured with voltmeter and it corresponded with the volts reported in the app (drops from >14v to just over 11v, presumably when the current spikes when starting), suggesting there might be a loose connection (the anderson plug next to the trailer plug was quite warm so I used contact cleaner spray on the anderson plug contacts, which did help reduce the heat). The cable is OK as I had a similar setup (with C-tek Dual 250s) but this cable run is much shorter. 00AWG from vehicle start battery to distribution block approx 5m, then 8AWG to trailer plug <2m, then <4m to the Orion.
When the 200Ah lithium approached 100%SOC, the current gradually dropped and voltage increased (as expected).
I had previously used the orion tr smart connected to a 40A benchtop power supply (set at fixed voltage of 13.6v) and it happily ran for about an hour at around 18A (manually stopped before 100%SOC). I did notice the orion got very hot during the charging with the benchtop power supply, so I have fitted a 80mm fan beneath it, controlled by a thermistor attached to the heatsink.
Reading other posts it seems there might be an issue with the Orion device. I haven’t connected it to the victron wifi so it can sync with the shunt and 30A solar mppt charger. I did the firnware update and made sure its got all the correct/relevant settings (except for the reduction to 11v).
I’ll do some more testing once the battery SOC has decreased enough to use the Orion…
What was the outcome of sending yours to Victron?