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Tyler avatar image
Tyler asked

Orion TR Smart Non Isolated - No Consistent Output Voltage - Can't charge battery

I've recently installed the Orion-Tr Smart 12/12V-30A Non-Isolated DC-DC Charger between my starter battery and house Lithium. This is on a sailboat with shore power connected to the Blue Smart IP22 Charger 12V /30A connected to the starter battery as well. For testing purposes I've removed the starter battery from the circuit and set the Blue Smart to output 14.7v to the DC/DC charger.

The issue I am currently having is that the Blue Smart charges the battery without issue when connected directly to the house (not a long term solution) but the DC/DC charger will not charge at all. When connected to shore power the Blue Smart outputs without issue and I can see the input reading on the DC/DC is correct. However the DC/DC output reading briefly shows the house battery reading of 11.1v (its drained) and then cycles through the following
"Off - Charger is Disabled" - 5-10 seconds
"Off - Remote input inactive" 1-2 seconds
"Bulk Charge" - inconsistent and max 0.5 seconds

I've rewired the setup twice now and double checked the connections between the DC/DC and the main battery post (2 feet) as well as the shared negative and both are seated correctly. I've also removed the remote input jumper, unscrewed and reseated the wires, and double checked the volt reading at the output level wasn't fluctuating with a multimeter.

I've disabled engine start detection as i won't be starting the engine for some time.
Firmware version - DC/DC 1.0.6


It's probably worth noting that I have this setup because my starter is AGM and my house is Lifepo. Different charging profiles required this.

Unforutnately my distributor had no idea what to do in this case. Here is a short video of what i can see. Any help is much appreciated.

battery chargingorion-tr smartNew Products
21-06-17-10-19-34.mp4 (5.4 MiB)
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3 Answers
randy-putnam avatar image
randy-putnam answered ·

I’m thinking your problem lies with disabling the engine start detection. I have the same setup in my boat, but the engine battery is FLA. With no engine detection the Orion Smart won‘t transfer power to the LFP bank because you “told“ it not to detect any voltage coming off the AGM starter. I’m assuming your wired the pos AGM to the pos Orion pos input and all other connections are correct and fused properly. Try enabling the engine start detection at >13V and shut off at just a few tenths voltage above the engine start detection. I have 2 170W solar panels dedicated to my house bank (200AH Battle Born LFP) through a Victron Smart 100/30 MPPT. You might consider solar panels also if you’re spending time off of shore power.

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Tyler avatar image
Tyler answered ·

Thanks. I've turned engine detection back on and tweaked the engine start settings as you suggested. I've dropped the delay down significantly to speed up troubleshooting and managed to get things working. Really appreciate the help and advice. Also, definitely plan on getting solar once were back in the water and all the other fiddly bits are working without issue.

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randy-putnam answered ·

Glad I could help.

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