question

armand-munoz avatar image
armand-munoz asked

Orion Smart 12v/12v 18A - voltage input dropping to 11,63v.

hey everybody


I have an Orion Smart 12v/12v 18A (HQ22053GE69) that I have been using in my van for 2 years with no problem. It charges my LiFePO4 battery, at 15A-18A most of the time. All cables are 4mm2 and the max length is 1.5m. All connections looks good.


A few days ago, it begun to shut on and off every 15s or so.

I believe that it is due to the input voltage being too low.

- When the charger is off, the input voltage is 14v.

- When the charger turns on, the input voltage drops to 11.63V, activating the input voltage lock-out. Before turning off, I can hear the 2.1l diesel engine (at idle) struggling with the increased amount of power needed (more than usual I thing).


What does it mean?

Does it mean my alternator is dying? (My engine battery is fully charged).


It's an old van with a 70A alternator. Is an Orion Smart 12v/12v 18A too much for my 70A alternator?


Or can it be something else?

I appreciate any input.

orion-tr smartalternatorvoltage drop
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2 Answers
chrigu avatar image
chrigu answered ·

Had a similar issue just lately, but with an mppt charger in my van. Its hooked up to the starting battery, then the secondary battery is charged trough a cyrix coupler and monitored by a bmv. There was a difference between what the mppt and the bmv said about the starting battery voltage, but the mppt was still outputting power when the sun was out. The issue was a loose ground connection from the mppt to the car body, still good enough to let some power flow, but not good enough for it to have no voltage drop.

Id check the cabling between alternator-starting battery-orion, my guess is theres a loose/bad connection or maybe a damaged wire. Contant movement can break the copper while the isolation might still be ok.

You can try the following to narrow down things:

With the orion turned off, engine running, measure the battery voltage. Turn on the head lights. This will add about 150W of load to the system (2x 55W head lights plus some tail lights and other marker lights) so thats about 11A at 14V. Compare the battery voltage to before, there will be a bit of a drop, but it should not drop down to 11.6V. If it does, try again with the engine at some higher RPMs, 1500rpm for example. The alternator might simply not be capable of outputting anything serious at idle speed. If the voltage still drops significantly, id guess the issue is with the alternator, battery or its cabling. If the voltage stays stable-ish, then the charging system of the car itself should be good

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armand-munoz avatar image
armand-munoz answered ·

Thank you for your response. I will try your diagnostic technique and provide feedback soon.

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