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tdrothrock asked

Orion 12-12-30 DC to DC Charger Cycling On and Off Every Few Seconds

I have a Orion 12 12 30 dc to dc charger. Just installed and it cycles on and off every few seconds. I have adjusted the input voltage lock out settings but cant figure it out. Anyone else have experience with this? I used 10awg copper wire for a short 3' run. Wired input to starter battery and output to Lithium House bank. It the voltage drops to about 11.4V on the input. Should I drop my input voltage lockout to 11V? Will this harm my AGM starter battery?

orion dc-dc
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Sarah avatar image
Sarah answered ·

I would compare the voltage at the input of the Orion to the battery voltage (with and without any load) and check cable terminations in between are probably terminated and sufficiently torqued.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

@tdrothrock

Also use a cable size calculator. Although it's a short run, it's a very high current and on your cable size there will be a significant drop in voltage.

What also needs checking is your starter battery/alternator. This load shouldn't cause too much voltage drop without the alternator kicking in to compensate.

Please post screen shots of your battery settings and engine detection settings. Also input voltage lockout.

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tdrothrock answered ·

I increased cable to 6 gauge and it seems to be working better now. The dc dc charger and lithium batteries are new. I’m getting a pretty strong odor but nothing is hot or even warm. Is the Oder normal when installing new items?

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
There will be an odour when it gets hot the first few times. Part of the bedding in.
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tdrothrock avatar image tdrothrock kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
I am back to having the voltage drop issue. I installed 6 gauge wire for short 3’ run. I also installed the blue smart IP22 30 amp charger. When on shore power, my starter battery, AGM, is a r least 13.8V but input voltage on Orion dc charger slowly drops to below 12V. I set the voltage lockout settings to 11.9 and 12.5. Sort of works. I reduced my shore power amp setting to 15. Last night I started getting a high voltage alarm on AGM starter battery at 16V while charging the lithium house bank. The house bank was on the dc charger float. And the shore power was in 30 amp setting. All these settings are frustrating. I can’t seem to get this system balanced. I have all new equipment and all is wired with over gauged wire. Any thoughts why the voltage is dropping on DC input and the AC shore power is pumping in too many volts to AGM starter?
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