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chilepines avatar image
chilepines asked

Orion 12/12-30 non-isolated with low amp output

I have an Orion 12/12-30 non-isolated DC-DC charger connected to a starter battery, supplied by a 90A regular alternator. I'm charging a 300Ah LiFePo4. Alternator is putting out 14.4V. There is a 8AWG wire running 5 ft to the charger, and then a 10AWG run to the LiFeP. With the battery SOC at 76%, the charger goes into bulk charge mode at 13.7V, but my Victron Smart Shunt is showing at most 14 amps.

I tried changing out the connections - 6AWG direct from alternator to charger and 8AWG back to the battery - with no meaningful change in charger output. I've tried multiple setting changes including raising the Absorption voltage to 14.6, turning of engine shutdown and input lock-out - nothing changes the amps I'm getting to the battery.

Looking for advice on what I can do to get closer to 30A from this charger. I've looked through the forums here but have not found anything else to try.

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2 Answers
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chrigu answered ·

The shunt measures that 14A are going into the battery, but that does not necessarely mean that the Orion is outputting only 14A. There might be a 16A draw on the system, totalling 30A supplied by the Orion.


If you chose the premade lifepo battery settings, then theres a 2hr limit on absorbtion.

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chilepines avatar image
chilepines answered ·

Thanks for the input. There are no other devices drawing from the battery. This is happening right from the start of turning on the charger so it is not a time limit. Also, my settings are not default as I’ve been working to solve the issue. Also, the charger is not hot, as it is just starting up.

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