As stated in my marine configuration my starter battery is getting drawn down under system load lower than the Input Lockout setting on the Orion XS DC/DC charger and throwing low voltage alarms.
The config:
12v agm starter battery (alarm setting of 11.7v) (4 years old but seems to function fine under all tests)
2x300 AH off brand lifeP04 batteries
1x550w rigid solar panel
Victron Smartshunt
Victron 50/100 Mppt charge controller
Victron Orion XS 50a DC/DC charger
No trouble staring YET, but given we are often in far away bays and anchorages I don’t want to have to rely on the backup battery starting booster I have just in case.
The setup had an starter battery isolator, but I was instructed by victron to design that out and rely on the input voltage lockout setting.
I have attached a couple of settings screen shots in case that is helpful.
Check the setting for “Engine Shutdown Detection”
It should be on automatic so that Orion XS sleep when engine is not running and activate only with running engines.
The Orion XS uses only a few millivolts when sleeping so with good batteries it should take a long time to see a voltage drop. There is also more information and explicit warning regarding this matter in the Orion XS Manual.
Yes, Input voltage lock-out should put Orion XS in sleep mode, but maybe your solar panels avoid that as voltage is higher but amps lower than actual power draw from your electronics.
Do you have a App to check what your LiFePo battery is doing and state of charge?
Is your SmartShunt is connected correctly?
Engine shutdown detection works either by sensing higher voltage or by alternator running signal from alternator. I believe that it does not matter if higher voltage comes from alternator, solar or shore power charger.
Can you make a diagram what is installed and how it’s connected?
Correct, the source of the voltage rise on the input side does not matter, can be a running engine/alternator or some other power source.
Do you have engine shutdown detection enabled and setup correctly? What does the Orion say while its draining the starter battery, is it measuring a high enough voltage?
