question

Please post screen shots of the settings and the first page when in low charge mode.

What batteries is it charging and what are the manufacturer charge settings?

Screenshot_2023-03-27-08-24-53-01_30b6efbd53acd6f273baafa7ca03da38.jpg

The batteries are Volta VT12100 100ah batteries x 3 in parallel.

https://www.marketdirect.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1-100-Ah-AGM-Battery.jpg

Cycle use 14.6-15.0v

Very hard to monitor what's going on in real time due to poor bluetooth transmission from the camper to our vehicle cab. Looking at the trends, it seems to settle around 10a.

Is it possible to get any info from the orion around WHY it is putting out so little current, like is it too hot? It would be fantastic if it included this information on the screen.

If you click on the cog, top right, you'll get to the settings I requested. Need to see the first page, battery settings and possibly engine shutdown detection.

Orions don't display current, you need a battery monitor for that, sorry. If you have access to a current clamp meter, it would be interesting to see the current.

Is the Orion getting warm or hot?

If the signal is weak, please get someone to run the tow vehicle while you connect from inside the trailer.

Initial guess is that the battery settings are wrong. But input voltage is lower than expected, might not be enough power getting to the Orion. Could be smart alternator or high resistance between the alternator and Orion.

Is the MPPT working at the same time? Should be. It would be good to see the figures from that.

The very first link in my post should show the settings. It would fail every time I tried to embed it. I don't know why.

I know they don't display current. My comment is more about how ridiculous it is that they do not.

It's also ridiculous that it doesn't display temperature if it's so finicky about it. It does get warm but I wouldn't say hot. How hot is too hot? Impossible to tell because it gives you no data.

It's not a smart alternator. All wire from alternator to Orion is 16mm². I'll get the multimeter out and check resistance. What would be acceptable?

The mppt works fine. I generally don't run them together but am installing a new panel that will hopefully charge while we are on the road and or parked. With camper folded up.

Mppt is connected to a folding 160w panel. It regularly hits 160w. Never had a problem with that. I used the same charging settings for the Orion as I did with the mppt as they had worked well.

Thanks for your help

In case anyone happens to read this thread, I'm still having a hard time with this dcdc charger and can only presume it's due to heat.

I know people running orojecta or redarc chargers in similar conditions withing camper trailers with no de-rating.

Overall, the victron dcdc chargers seem to be junk. I am considering pulling it out and replacing it with a redarc.

Just makes me so annoyed that I've always been a victron fanboy and this along with my mppt 75/15 that self destructed, I am starting to wonder if victron is the brand I thought they were.

I did just happen to read this thread, My first comment would be the same as Kev above. The Input Voltage does appear low. Did you ever check back through the system with a multimeter? Presumably your alternator is charging your starter battery as well, if you disconnect the Orion what voltage do you measure at the starter battery with the engine running? With a normal alternator (ie not smart), then I would expect around 14.4V minimum?