Hello. I have an Orion XS 50 installed in a 2007 Fiat Ducato. I’ve already replaced the alternator and fitted a 180 A one. But when I’m driving, if I turn on the lights and the interior fan with the air conditioning, the voltage stays at 13.5 V. Do you think this is normal? And what settings do you use to make it start charging?
It’s charging a 300 A LiFePO4 battery. I’m using 16 mm cables.
Thanks
That can be normal if it’s very warm. The alternator regulator has a negative temperature coefficient. What type of battery is being charged? Post the Orion settings.
What emissions standard does the car meet?
With Euro 5, or Euro 6 at the latest, it definitely has an “intelligent” alternator fitted that no longer supplies a constant 14.4 V as it did in the past.
What type of batteries have you installed?
13.5 V at the output is too low for BULK
Given that it was built in 2007, I’d check the earth cable between the engine and the body. With the engine running and electrical loads switched on, measure the voltage drop between the engine block and the body, and between the body and the negative terminal of the starter battery. It shouldn’t be more than 100 to 300 mA. What cable cross-section are you using for the Orion, and how long is it? Voltage can be lost there too. What charging settings do you have on the Orion? It looks as though it isn’t trying to raise the voltage to 14.4 V. You can see that only 6.5 A is being drawn to produce 13.5 V. This means that the battery you’re charging has almost reached the voltage that is probably set as the absorption voltage. If 14.4 V were set, a higher current would flow—probably 50 A at 13.5 V at the input and around 45 A at 14.4 V at the output. Since the device limits both the input and output to 50 A (this is also an adjustable setting, which of course must also be set to 50 A), 50 A at 14.4 V cannot flow with 13.5 V and 50 A at the input. The device cannot increase the electrical power; it can only regulate the current and voltage.
