My Victron Orion XS 12/12-50A starts charging correctly, supplying nearly 50A to my 400 Ah lithium bank when the engine is running.
However, soon after the charging starts, the charging starts to cycle off and on approximately every 1 second.
I can see this happen in the phone app as well as on my shunt monitor on the battery bank.
The turning off seems to be triggered by the Victron Orion XS 12/12-50A thinking the input battery power falls below a certain amount. In fact the app shows the input voltage falling as low as 8.2 volts, which is not possible because the engine is running and the alternator is providing good output as measured by 2 devices: Scanguage3 monitor and a cigarette lighter USB charger with a digital readout of the battery voltage.
Both the Scanguage and the USB charger reports voltages of over 14.1 volts always.
In case it was heat-related, I have a computer case fan pointing at the Victron Orion XS 12/12-50A. It’s not perfect but there is air movement around it.
Is there a problem with my Victron Orion XS 12/12-50A? Perhaps with the input voltage sensor?
This is a classic symptom of a poor or loose connection in either the positive wire from the starter battery to the Orion or the negative cable. There is no current flow to start with so the Orion reads the full voltage, it then takes current and due to the poor connection there is voltage drop. Thus the Orion sees a lower voltage. You are confusing alternator output voltage and Orion input voltage, once current is flowing they are not the same. The fact it works to start with suggests the poor connection is not too bad when cold but is warming up due to resistive heating and becoming poorer when hot. Check for bolts are wires thst have vibrated loose.
Another common cause in DIY installs is the use of cheap no name resettable breakers such as the ones shown below, these have a bad reputation for heating up and creating poor connection inside as the breaker starts to disconnect slightly. Replace with fuses or reputable breakers such as Blue Sea.
@pwfarnell You are right! I’m embarrassed to admit that I have used one of those cheapo cylindrical breakers. I did use my fingers to feel the plastic body and it didn’t feel overly hot. But when I unscrewed one of the clear plastic covers from where the wire was attached and touched the connector, it was way too hot (ouch-hot!).
I will replace this as soon as possible. Thank you for the fast and correct answer!
