Orion XS - Current to low

DIY
, , ,
1

Hello @allall,

I recently installed an Orion XS in my mobil home. My config: Orion XS, MPPT and Smart Shunt installed as requested (16mm² all cable for Orion; length <2m). All components coupled in a VE.smart Network. Now please find this screenshot:

Screenshot_20260424_100850
Screenshot_20260424_1008501080×2340 225 KB

The voltage on car side was 13V. With the voltage drop on the way quite well.

The 16,5V is understandable, since correct battery voltage comes from smart shunt. The additional voltage bases on the resistance on positive side of 0.1-0.2Ohm due to the fuse, which is of cause installed in this path. I did not find a fuse with less resistance. So 0.15Ohm x 20A = 3V - plausible. The 100% SOC is not true as you can see at the voltage of 13.5V. Absorbtion voltage is 14.2V

Negative path shows 0Ohm with smart shunt included.

So my questions:

  1. Why is the Orion in Absorbtion mode, when it should be in bulk as the MPPT is (same settings - standard LiPo)? Battery voltage should be same and be transmitted by the shunt.
  2. Why do I only see 20A as Orion output. This covers just the fridge and the consumers, not the charging at all?
  3. Output Voltage is already close to the 17V maximum. With 50A the voltage drop would be larger than the Orion can cover. What fuses do you use (car environment) to lower the total resistance?

Thanks and best regards,

Robinson

2

Your fuse has a very very high resistance. An 80A Mega fuse should have a resistance of 0.001 Ohm and a voltage drop at 50A of 0.05V.

What type of fuse are you using, do you have one of the cheap no name resettable breakers shown below

breaker2
breaker21000×932 60 KB

breaker1
breaker11000×976 56.3 KB

, these are very low quality unless you spend money on high quality items like Blue Sea. Swap to a Mega fuse if your have this type.

As the Orion has to boost the voltage up to 16.5V instead of 13.5V means the output current is around 22% lower than it should be.

If your engine shutdown detection is set to 13.0V then the Orion will reduce the input current to maintain the input at 13.0V. Therefore you may have unacceptable voltage drop on the input. What was your alternator output at the time.

3

Hi pwfarnell

an thanks for the quick answer!

I cannot completely check yet, if it is already a Mega or a Midi-fuse but definetely not the one you mentioned. I also tested e.g. the type shown below (ok, 20A but tested also with 60A) and found always 0.1Ohm as well with my multimeter. Tomorrow I will definetely check the type currently installed.

image
image1499×1500 75.4 KB

The shutdown detection is set to 12.1V with a re-start of 12.7V, which fits quite well to the values I observed today while driving. So this should not be the reason.

But ok, 0.1Ohm is definetly to high, so this is the point to start at.

What about the other question regarding absorbtion mode while it should be bulk. Any hint?

Thanks and best regards

Robinson

4

Bulk is when the device is below the Absorption voltage and the current is at the maximum. Until you have the voltage drop sorted I would ignore this issue.