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Victron Orion Smart 12/12 30 Orion DC Charger – Bulk charge phase fail

<Using Victron Orion 12/12 30 non-isolated DC Charger (purchased in Feb 2021 installed Nov 21)to charge two lifepo4 100Ah batteries (no solar).


After seemingly working well initially, after a two week trip in the summer (July 2022) I found myself with batteries down, no indication on the BMV-712. Later, using the charger I noticed (and paying attention) it was not staying in Bulk charge after initial switch on for more than a couple of minutes when it was obvious that it was required. I drove in absorption charge for many hours on the last two days of the trip so that I had some recovery in capacity and had no immediate problems. I thought it was a problem with the battery/BMS until I discovered on here with the charger that it was a common problem noted a year+ or so ago and apparently was corrected with a prior firmware update. I forget the reference numbers, but I was using #9 at the time, and have updated to #10. I have seen other mentions of people with problems post the apparent fix by the firmware update, for this circumstance and I believe some form of it continues


There was no indication of why that was occurring or the fix. Has the circumstance been evaluated further, because I have the same problem as described now, that has not been fixed. No matter the status of my battery state, the Bulk charge phase lasts no more than say 3 to 4 minutes when there is an obvious need.

Asking to see if there has been subsequent discovery/fix of this situation, or what the prior cause was.

Thanks>


orion dc-dc
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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
It's worth checking/eliminating the Orion settings as a cause. Please post screenshots.
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remibggx answered ·

Hi There,


Have you found a solution to this issue.

I seem to now have the same problem. I initially struggled to charge my battery completely, then drove many hours with mostly absorption mode and manage to charge my battery.


But now, I am at 65% roughly and my Orion Tr Smart 12/12 30a does not seem to want to charge in Bulk for more than a few minutes.


So it is charging, but not as good as it should, and rather slowly.

Below is a screenshot of my current charging situation.

Thanks for anyone's help.
screenshot-20230226-111540.jpg


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Why do you want it to charge in bulk when the battery is nearly fully charged (14.20V)?

Absorption is the right thing here for as long as set in the charger settings (2 hours usually). It's still pushing 24A into the battery. From the battery point of view it doesn't matter whether the charger shows bulk or absorption, it pushes as much amps as possible into the battery .
You need to check your BMV settings so that it synchronises at the right time.

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