question

I recently purchased the IP22 on Amazon and mine is doing the same thing. I am sending it back for a replacement. I hope the new one isn't defective. How do I know it's defective and not related to how I have it connected or a problem with my batteries? While troubleshooting the issue, I had a feeling the charger was somehow thinking it was connected to 14.2 volts and moving to ABS due to some fault within the charger. To test this theory, I disconnected my battery as well as the cables connected to the charger. I plugged it back in and logged into the App. With nothing connected, it was showing it was in ABS at 14.2 volts. This appeared to validate my theory, but I wanted to be sure so I went into the settings and switched to power supply mode then back to charger mode. I quickly clicked on the status tab and watched as the voltage quickly climbed up to 14.2 volts and into ABS. Something inside the device is faulty or there is something wrong with the latest firmware. Either way, the problem was isolated down to the device itself. I suggest others having this problem do the same test I did. If others doing this test have the same results, it will provide further proof of an issue with the device and hopefully provide Victron with what it needs to diagnose and correct the problem going forward.

I just received the replacement IP22 and it's doing the exact same thing as the one I had. With nothing plugged in, it is moving over to ABS mode @14.2v within about 4 seconds. Maybe this is the typical behavior of this device. I'm not sure because I'm new to using it, but my cheap Chinese lithium charger recognizes when a battery is not connected and doesn't send voltage. Not sure why Victron doesn't recognize when a battery is not connected if this is in fact the typical behavior. Maybe someone from Victron or an expert with this device can confirm?!?!? At any rate, I did find a way to get it to stay in Bulk. I was using 10AWG wires @ 1 meter length and decided to try connecting 6AWG wires to see what would happen. The 6AWG connection worked and it's bulk charging now. I measured my wires to confirm the gauge. I am also using copper-stranded wire. It should work with 10AWG, but it doesn't. I am not sure yet how I am going to splice 3 6AWG wires into the negative terminal given that I'm using the 3 port model, but at least it works with one battery connected. What's even stranger is that it moved immediately to ABS when I switched dropped the output to 15A instead of 30A using 10AWG. It can't even tolerate 15A through 10AWG wire even though there are claims on this forum where people are using 10AWG wire. Hopefully, Victron can update the firmware to fix the problem with it not recognizing when a battery is not connected. It also seems like an easy thing to have the device ramp up to the set amperage quickly and be able to detect when the resistance is too high to hold the current, then simply self adjust to the correct amperage to hold it in bulk mode until it reaches the target voltage. I understand I am not an expert with this device, so again, maybe an expert can tell us if this is possible and why it doesn't do these things to begin with?!?!

I'm pretty sure that like most manufacturers Victron state in their terms that they continually try to improve their products.

Clearly they have good reason for making these changes, and I'd guess that their technical reasons are good and valid. Instead of complaining about fit for purpose on a volunteer forum, suggest you try to understand things properly.

The charger will remain in 'bulk' stage with maximum current output until the 'absorption' voltage has been reached, then it will move into 'absorption' stage.

The length of time in 'bulk' stage depends on how discharged your batteries are, the battery bank capacity and the charge current - it could be many hours for a deeply discharged battery or only a few minutes if the battery is close to full (or immediately post a short delay if the battery is 100% full or if no battery is connected).

Once in 'absorption' stage the charger output current will gradually reduce to whatever current is required to maintain the absorption voltage. The reduction in charge current is necessary or else the battery voltage will keep rising and be damaged, once the battery capacity is getting close to full it cannot absorb any more energy.

There had been no change to this behaviour and it is the normal charge process. In lithium mode the absorption time is fixed and set to 2h by default, if you want less then you can change it.

If your charger is moving from 'bulk' to 'absorption' stage when the battery voltage reaches the absorption voltage it is operating correctly.

If the charger energy output (Ah) is far greater during 'absorption' stage then 'bulk' stage, this is likely because a) the 'bulk' stage duration was very short (because the battery was already close to full) and b) you have loads active at the same time and that energy is going directly to power your loads, rather than recharging the batteries.

I have experienced the exact same issue that the unit is going to absorbtion at the 13.5V mark.

Furthermore the unit is getting really hot and the fan doesn't seem to work properly anymore, only spinning for a couple of seconds until it turns off again.

Is there any way to try everything with an older firmware? Since that seems to be the time when it all started going sideways.

Hi all, I'll ask internally at Victron if/how this is changed to 13.5 volt.

In the mean time: you can change the charge voltage under 'advanced settings' in VictronConnect to toe charge voltage you need.

ps I'll mark this answer as 'accepted' to get it to the top of the list.

Hello,

as many other I am experiences exactly the same thing with my IP22 charger which is rated to 20A. Mine is hooked up to 2x80Ah LifePo4 batteries in my boat without BMS system and worked fine initially, i.e bulk charging the majority of the time up to almost 95% and then going into absorbtion for the last few percent. Haven't really made the connection to a firmware update previously, but now as I read about it here, my problems most probably started after the update too. Experiencing the same phenomena as most here, bulk charge for about 4s then straight into absorption with decreasing current and longer charge time as a result. My fuse is fine and I expect the wiring to also be fine since the charger worked absolutely fine at first. Using the boats OE wires where the old charger that was of a higher rate also was connected.

So, any news in this matter and a way to resolve it? As a temporary solution I made a custom profile changing the absorption time to like 6h so that I dont have to reset the charge cycle every 2h. But it will charge the batteries at a slower rate as the current is decreasing slowly during the charge cycle and not delivering a steady 20 amps as the bulk charge would. One of the benefits with Lifepo4 batteries is that they can recieve a high charge rate up to almost full, so not being able to take advantage of that is a big issue.

Mine is doing the exact same thing...Going straight to absorbsion on a DEAD Battleborn as shown. Wired directly with 6 awg wires straight to battery on hydraulic crimped ring terminals. 12 volts at the charger and battery, no voltage drop. Definitely something wrong with the charger, this has been called out since last year and still no fix. Going to send mine back...bummer was gonna go Victron for my off grid system but this is making me change my mind.

So hopefully someone at Victron will respond to this but I am certain I found a trend in this problem and it should be fixable.

I did some testing and it goes straight to absorbsion every time I use my Go Wise PSW inverter. When I use grid power, my Ecoflow Pro or My Giandel PSW inverter it starts in Bulk as desired. So what did the last firmware update do to cause this? Maybe there was a change in it's startup parameters? In any case seems it can be easily remedied by an update.

Do any of you with this issue recall if you are using an inverter to power the unit?

I have the IP65 12/5 and have the same issue. The Vstart reading is 13.5+ when I plug it in to the charger. The multimeter will read below 13. If I try to charge at 5ah it raises the voltage so quickly it goes to absorption mode quickly. It flat out doesn't operate as advertised. I see multiple threads on this board with the same issue but haven't found many that were able to solve the issue that shouldn't be an issue in the first place.

I have the same annoying issuse. Cables, fuse and connections are 100% fine. I have to discharge my battery very deeply to get bulk charging. Will it be ever resolved? So many people are complaining and no real answer from Victron.

Hi, I am having the same problem. 2x Victron IP22 30amp charging 2x Renogy lithium 100ah.

Batteries read 13.2v - I stick the charger on (lithium setting) - it climbs to 13.7v putting on about 30amps then goes into absorbtion at 13.7v. It never reaches 14.2v.

Did anyone find a solution?

I am having similar issues. 2x bluesmart 30amp IP22 in parallel charging 2x renogy Lithium self heating in parallel. The chargers flip straight to absorbtion and the amps start to drop without it ever reaching 14.2. It reaches 13.8/13.9 and then the amps start to drop.

I've never let the batteries drop lower than 13.1 but as far as I know a new charge cycle should still take them to 14.2 before dropping amps.

At on stage I thought it might be my generator which is only putting out 192v at the moment (think I need to change the capacitors), but this still falls within the 185-265v range the chargers require. I checked this with the supplier and they confirmed the low supply voltage is within range and shouldn't be a problem (although would love second opinions on this).

I'm a bit stumped now - any one know if this is in fact a firmware problem or something else?

I think I'm having the same issue. Just got a new IP22 30A Blue Smart and have been testing it. With a fully discharged 100A LiFePO4 battery it stays in bulk mode for a very short time (maybe 10A of charge) then goes into absorption. This is with the default Li-ion profile. I don't think the default Li-ion profile works too well with third-party batteries so I'm now attempting to tweak settings with a custom profile.

Hi @Grimmster, Can you share a few VictronConnect screen images showing exactly what the charger is doing during this period?

The charger output voltage and current are the key parameters of interest. If the absorption setpoint voltage of 14.2v (for Lithium charge mode) is reached then the charger needs to reduce output current and will move into absorption stage after a few seconds.

Does the battery have an integrated BMS and what are the resting cell voltages?

Also show a photo of the wiring and fusing between the charger and battery, and confirm the wiring gauge and length. If there is excessive voltage drop in the wiring/connections that can also cause the charger to reach absorption voltage and move into absorption stage prematurely.

For charging lithium cells, you can apply full current until the first cell gets to the maximum permitted voltage. At this point you need to regulate the current to that which the Battery management system can handle. If there is no communication between the BMS and the charger, then in order to prevent possible overcharge, the Absorption voltage may need to be reduced initially, and then allowed to rise over time as the current drops. This is probably the reasoning behind the change in functionality - it is to protect the life of the battery. Over voltage on a lithium cell will increase the corrosion rate, and reduce the cell's capacity. Serious overcharge can lead to outgassing of flammable material, and possible fire. Likewise, if a cell is deeply discharged (this can cause more damage faster than overcharge), the initial charge current does need to be limited too. Whilst this may not help directly, it may at least explain the behaviour behind the quick move to absorption.

Another data point here.

With the charger not plugged into AC, battery around 13.5 volts, absorption set to 14.1 volts.

If I change the mode from charger to power supply, then flip back to charger, I get about 4 seconds of bulk charge (0 output current, because no AC supply), and then it switches to absorption mode, and only charges around 14 amps.