question

notmyrealname avatar image
notmyrealname asked

Orion Smart "Engine Shutdown Detection Override" Not Working?

Due to the alternator dropping to very low voltages when the vehicle battery is fully charged I have wired my Orion DC-DC for "Engine Shutdown Detection Override" as shown as option a in the Orion install manual section 4.5

The unit I have is an Orion TR Smart 12/12-18 isolated.

However, the override does not seem to work, regardless of what I set the shutdown voltage to or the voltage applied to the H/L pins the Orion cuts the charging current when the altrnator hits about 12.3v.

Is there an absolute minimum voltage the Orion will allow i.e. it will cut-off regardless of what it sees on the H/L pins? Or have I misunderstood how this is supposed to work?

orion-tr smart
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6 Answers
notmyrealname avatar image
notmyrealname answered ·

Bump. Has anyone got any clues?

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

What are the settings in the Orion?.

Apart from engine detection, there are other settings that can turn off charging. But your low voltage across a fully charged battery is suspicious

Could be a wiring issue. But let's work on settings first.

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notmyrealname avatar image
notmyrealname answered ·

Not sure what you mean by "low voltage across a fully charged battery is suspicious" as this is normal if the alternator backs-off when the battery is fully charged.

Here are the settings;

screenshot-20240618-113412.png

screenshot-20240618-113357.png


And it's wired like this for the override option when the engine is running;

screenshot-2024-06-24-084037.png


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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

12.3V is low for a fully charged battery with no load. Should be around 12.7V. I could be caused by high resistance in the connections, thin cable, poor connections. Poor fuse connection.

Looks like shutdown detection is overriding the LH inputs. That's on 12.5V, you're dropping below that.


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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

Please post a screen shot of that setting.

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notmyrealname avatar image
notmyrealname answered ·

That is understood, but I've wired the remote connection as in section 4.5 of the manual which states; "The “engine shutdown detection override” forces the charger to allow charging independently of the engine shutdown detection."

But that isn't happening, charging is being shutdown even though the setting should have been overriden by the presence of 12v on the L/H inputs and only stop when that goes low, hence my question as this is not waht is happening.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Ah. Now the problem becomes clearer.

Looks like one for Victron. I'll refer it for you.


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Thiemo van Engelen (Victron Energy staff) avatar image
Thiemo van Engelen (Victron Energy staff) answered ·

Hi @NotMyRealName

What is the input voltage lockout setting that you are using? could it be that that is set to a "high" voltage?

The override only disables the engine shutdown detection, but not the input voltage lock-out.

Kind regards,

Thiemo van Engelen

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notmyrealname avatar image notmyrealname commented ·
Thank you Thiemo, that expalins what is happening as the lockout setting is 12.5v. Knowing this I can make some adjustments and hopefully get the system working effectively.

In the meantime a workaround is to disable the engine stop/start function as this also disables the smart alternator settings and the output is steady at 14.2v.


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