Dellmassive`s Camper Van Adventure

[TallPaul_S]

49kg!




They're actually not even that big, 63cm long - if you had a side kitchen/units you could quite easily fit one of these in!

 

[Dellmassive]

49kg!

View attachment 244472


They're actually not even that big, 63cm long - if you had a side kitchen/units you could quite easily fit one of these in!

thinking this may be my next battery? - or even now as a support battery.?

i can just bung in a fused SB120 or SB175 lead and hot plug in into the system.?

or even just bung a portable 50A DC-DC inline to stop any massive current on different SOC battery's.

hmm. . . . . loads of options.

 

[BoroBoy]

Coming up Next :

we have some BadBoy WIFI,

USB 3 / PD charge Ports,

THQ rear reading lights,

THQ rear roof lights . . .


its all ordered and on its way. . . .









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sneeky peeky. . .


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@Dellmassive- Lee, Do you have a link for the WiFi stuff?

 

[roadtripper]

@Dellmassive- Lee, Do you have a link for the WiFi stuff?

Solwise are usually my go to for that sort of device - not sure if that's where that one came from.

 

[Dellmassive]

@Dellmassive- Lee, Do you have a link for the WiFi stuff?

Sure it's all coming shortly.....

 

[roadtripper]

So I can think of a few ways the van could be doing power management to cause that behaviour you see.

The first and obvious way is that it always monitoring the current flow (and therefore charge state) from the starter via the shunt. But I wouldn't think this would kick in immediately as the whole point of the system is to let the battery discharge, charge it in bursts and hopefully take advantage of regeneration.

The second way is all the standard equipment will have known loads and being canbus other things will be aware of the state, so the load of all those can be calculated at any time. On my 6.1 with the digital dash I have a display of "convenience consumers" that while it is shown in fuel consumption I'm sure is essentially from the same calculation.

A third way is that the power control modules could have shunts in to actively measure the current. Some clearly do as we've seen door motor issues where overloads get shut down, but adding them everywhere adds complexity.

I think the most likely thing is that the electronics actively respond to heavy loads they know are on because that's simple to implement and would work well for all the different types of VW they are fitted to, most of which will never have additional high load devices added like the Transporter/Crafter might.

I suspect that if the load stays on long enough the battery starts to significantly loose charge that the alternator will kick in.

I wonder how you could test that though...

 

[n10n]

one thing i did note, and was expected, was that the Orion XS charger shut down after 5mins of engine running.

this was due to the basic setting of the "engine running auto detection" . . .

basically the T6 smart alternator ramps down and the 14,2v charging voltage drops down to 13.2v or whatever. and the Vic` XS switches OFF.

so,

you need to go into the Victron settings and reduce the start stop voltage setting for the charger to kick back in.

but thats not the full story.

with the Alternator giving the 13.2v and the XS adjusted to running . . . . and set at 50A, you just cant get it.

it was hovering around 20A. . . . why?

the only way to get the full 50A again was to make the alternator output a higher voltage. . .

now this is a catch 22 moment.


you would think - that the Vic XS would pull 50A from the system, causing a volt drop and curent draw that the van will see by refencing the Starter battery shunt data and the Alternator output. . . but it doesnt !! - it just wont incease the Alt output voltage.

so what happens is the Vic XS tries to pull more power, but detects the voltage drop, so throttles back - net result is it throttles back to around 20A, where it will happily sit.

Interesting!

T6 smart alternator afair tries to maintain 80% SOC on starter battery so it would only start the alternator when the internal BMS indicates SOC has dropped enough, not based on current or voltage drop. I wonder if the XS "engine running auto detection" really works with the smart alternator that well? Maybe try to force the Orion on through remote H-pin wiring to ignition live (or engine run signal from BMC)?




Still, hovering on 20A sounds weird. Perhaps try disabling engine shutdown detection as well?

 

[paddy26]

Would enabling the 2nd battery in the BCM have any affect?

 

[roadtripper]

Would enabling the 2nd battery in the BCM have any affect?

Unlikely unless you had the second shunt that the Cali's have would be my guess.

I think you likely just have a stand off between the van trying to minimise the running of the alternator and the Victron trying to be a good citizen and not put a heavy load on unless it's sure it's safe to do so - a bit like when two people meet in a corridor.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Would enabling the 2nd battery in the BCM have any affect?

I do wonder if there's anything different in the programming when there's a factory fitted aux battery. @Dellmassive it's your other van which had the OEM aux battery isn't it?

 

[n10n]

I do wonder if there's anything different in the programming when there's a factory fitted aux battery. @Dellmassive it's your other van which had the OEM aux battery isn't it?

09 Central Electrics has an option for 2nd battery relay in long coding. This enables the engine run signal to relay 100 under left hand seat. Hypothetically it could change charging profile also in some way but I’ve never heard anyone mentioning anything like that.

 

[Dellmassive]

Interesting!

T6 smart alternator afair tries to maintain 80% SOC on starter battery so it would only start the alternator when the internal BMS indicates SOC has dropped enough, not based on current or voltage drop. I wonder if the XS "engine running auto detection" really works with the smart alternator that well? Maybe try to force the Orion on through remote H-pin wiring to ignition live (or engine run signal from BMC)?

View attachment 244626


Still, hovering on 20A sounds weird. Perhaps try disabling engine shutdown detection as well?

View attachment 244633

Iv got the H pin connected on my other van, on the other Orion XS.

That van has the OEM second battery feed. So it's a dedicated engine run signal.


But I had to disconnect it and put the loop back in as without the signal the unit wouldn't power up when the starter battery was on EHU or Solar... (Ie charging both batteries with one charger)


Van XS now .....

Which is running fine, with the tweeked engine detection settings.... Ie 12.8v or so for on.

Then 12.5v and below for off etc.

(Will need to double check when near the unit)

 

[TallPaul_S]

Iv got the H pin connected on my other van, on the other Orion XS.

That van has the OEM second battery feed. So it's a dedicated engine run signal.


But I had to disconnect it and put the loop back in as without the signal the unit wouldn't power up when the starter battery was on EHU or Solar... (Ie charging both batteries with one charger)

Would you recommend using the engine run signal wire on the Orion XS if you have the OEM aux battery set up? Or leaving it on the auto/smart detection. Bear in mind I'll have a trickle charge from Aux to SB from an Ablemail AMT12-2 so won't need to worry about the Orion XS kicking in on EHU. Engine signal wire into the H remote port.

I've literally just been looking at the options on the Orion XS

 

[Dellmassive]

Would you recommend using the engine run signal wire on the Orion XS if you have the OEM aux battery set up? Or leaving it on the auto/smart detection. Bear in mind I'll have a trickle charge from Aux to SB from an Ablemail AMT12-2 so won't need to worry about the Orion XS kicking in on EHU. Engine signal wire into the H remote port.

I've literally just been looking at the options on the Orion XS
View attachment 244652

Well it's been working fine without.

And all the new chargers are now coming out without ign feeds.

All now using engine run detection..... The brand new Renogy IP67 as an example.


...

And the low power throughput I've seen is only when parked idling... As when you drive the alternator power jumps up.

Do the DC-DC stays good


I've noticed..


Acceleration - high power
Deceleration and breaking - high power.
Over run Coasting - low.power (removed on the T6.1 apparently)
Idle - low power.

So to change from any of the low power instances above you can just turn on blower speed #2.

So, with the XS there is no need to add the engine run or ign feeds as you can tweak the setting......that's the great thing about the victron gear - full abilities to tweak everything.

Not so for the Renogy, so quick hack for those guys.... Just drive, or if parked turn on the lights.

.

 

[roadtripper]

I think if I had the factory wiring so had the BCM controlled feed right there under the seat I'd wire it and see how it worked, there's some slight advantages with potential load shedding behaviour.

I don't think I'd be bothered putting a new feed in from the fuse box and certainly not messing around with adding the pin to the BCM.

Personally I'd still wire a switch in to the loop as a manual disable. Yes there is an app but on a dark night when the starter is dead and you're trying to jump the van from your NoCo boost pack in the rain I think it's just simpler to flick the charger off...

 

[TallPaul_S]

I think if I had the factory wiring so had the BCM controlled feed right there under the seat I'd wire it and see how it worked, there's some slight advantages with potential load shedding behaviour.

I don't think I'd be bothered putting a new feed in from the fuse box and certainly not messing around with adding the pin to the BCM.

Personally I'd still wire a switch in to the loop as a manual disable. Yes there is an app but on a dark night when the starter is dead and you're trying to jump the van from your NoCo boost pack in the rain I think it's just simpler to flick the charger off...

Yeah that's my thoughts, I've got the signal wire already there thanks to the OEM aux battery so may as well use it (and it might stop any potential errors from the van expecting something connected to the signal wire).

 

[n10n]

Maybe they can be both used? H-pin forcing charger on when engine running but "engine run detection" kicking in by voltage when on EHU / starter charging?

 

[TallPaul_S]

Maybe they can be both used? H-pin forcing charger on when engine running but "engine run detection" kicking in by voltage when on EHU / starter charging?

Yeah you can. I think. I'm currently trying to get my head around it all in the Victron manual...

3. Installation

www.victronenergy.com

I think in normal remote mode you turn off the engine shutdown detection so it's just activated via the remote aka ignition.

But you can have both (with slightly different wiring) so that when you turn off the ignition, the engine shutdown detection takes over, so if that's still a voltage above v-shutdown the charger will still be on.



I do love the customisation and options you get with Victron gear but it can give me a headache at times

 

[Dellmassive]

I think if I had the factory wiring so had the BCM controlled feed right there under the seat I'd wire it and see how it worked, there's some slight advantages with potential load shedding behaviour.

I don't think I'd be bothered putting a new feed in from the fuse box and certainly not messing around with adding the pin to the BCM.

Personally I'd still wire a switch in to the loop as a manual disable. Yes there is an app but on a dark night when the starter is dead and you're trying to jump the van from your NoCo boost pack in the rain I think it's just simpler to flick the charger off...

I data logged the BCM engine run feed here... Take a look.

Stop/start...regen...smart Alternator... Dc-dc Charger For Leisure Battery Or Not?

So With all the talk regarding the Bluemotion thing and regen breaking and leisure batteries our T6 has finally arrived. The first thing we done was to checkout the factory fitted setup,...... Stop/start=check, Regen Braking=check, AGM starter battery=check leisure battery under passenger...

www.t6forum.com

...


...

 

[Dellmassive]

@Dellmassive- Lee, Do you have a link for the WiFi stuff?

ok @BoroBoy

this is the plan. . .

Fag Packet schematic to start with :

its all based around the 6way USB box, powered from the LB 24/7 - https://amzn.to/3VvagmT

well have:
2x USB C cables hardwired for the phones - https://amzn.to/4bOKU9d
1x USB 3 extension port in the glovebox - https://amzn.to/4e8oMbr
1x USB 3 extension to the A-Pillar ( for the mini WIFI stick) - https://amzn.to/3VvG0rT
1x WIFI USB Huawei - https://amzn.to/3z4oxyh

then well have the new 4mm2/39A feed to the rear D-pillar area, to run: - Single Core Thin Wall Cable - 4.0mm² 39A
2x 12v reading lamps - 12v Switched 140mm Flexible LED Reading Light - Warm White (Multiple Colour Options)
4x 12v roof lights - 12v 69mm Flush LED Spotlight - Multiple Colour Options + Dimmable
2x USB C/PD panel charge point with ON/OFF button. - https://amzn.to/3Vb16dX

and separate will have the Super Mega Wifi Box. (that will be used for being OUT-OUT ie camping & festivals)







++++++++++++++++


so this 6way USB box, will power it all..





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well use these quality cables to get to where we need them. . .




doing the same as we did on the other van. . . but ill hardwire in the power this time to the LB.

• 12v Feeds:
• Ignition Live Under Passenger Seat -- How It's Done --
• Installing 12v Sockets -- How It's Done --
• 12v Ignition Feed + 5xusb Charging From Ign Feed -- How I Done It --
• 12v Aux Feed + 5xusb Charging From Aux Battery -- How I Done It --

++

then well swap out the existing roof lights for these dimmable ones.






++


well run a new fused feed to the rear, and use the chassis as the NEG.

with this cable,





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and fit these new 12v lamps at the rear D-pillar. .






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and also add these USB panel chargers. . .








as for the WIFI . .

ill be fitting this USB Huawei mini router for the main normal 24/7 van wifi ( same as the other van)

prob behind or on the A-pillar post cover.

but it will be plug N play, - so that i can swap it out for the super mega wifi.




+++


then when its camping or festival time. .

ill swap the SIM card from above to the Big Boy WIFI box . - Teltonika RUT951 150 Mbps, 4-Port Dual-SIM 4G LTE Router - Unlocked | eBay







we also went so this bad boy antenna . . - Poynting PUCK-5 Antenna | NetXL








+++

as for the SIM for the Above, im using these SMARTY SIMs, £8 a month 50Gb on a 30day rolling contract.


here's my referral link to get yourself one with £10 credit for us both !!! - Happy days.

https://i.smarty.co.uk/2dTTA6x

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