Ignition live to remote on/off terminal of a Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 DC-DC Charger (Non-Isolated). I am doing it right?

[Leadfold]

The engine shutdown detection on my Victron DC-DC charger isn't doing a great job, so (after a massive amount of time researching on this forum) I have decided to run an ignition live to the h-pin on the remote on/off terminal on the charger.

I plan to use a fuse tap plugged into one of the vacant slots in the central column of fuse slots in the fuse box under the dash in my 2018 T6.

Please could someone (who, unlike me) knows what they are doing confirm this is all OK? Also, what size fuse should the fuse tap have?

Cheers.

 

[Dellmassive]

Yes, 5A fuse on a 1.5mm2 cable.

Also make sure the fuse tap is installed correctly way round.... Test by removing fuse and making sure the circuit switches off.

But it doesn't work like a hard on/off switch on the Orion line your think, it's more of a charge enable signal..

You need to make sure you're supply cables are good enough to deliver the 30A.

And if it's a T6 with stop/start You may need to turn on your lights and fan to raise the alternator voltage.

Post some pics of your setup, and list the cable gauge run to the starter battery and fuse..... Pics will help.

 

[Frigo110]

I used the SC49 12V Socket middle dash to "control" my DC/DC.
My plan was to use SC36 Washers but I bought the wrong piggy back adapter.

 

[doncarlyon]

Yes, 5A fuse on a 1.5mm2 cable.

Also make sure the fuse tap is installed correctly way round.... Test by removing fuse and making sure the circuit switches off.

But it doesn't work like a hard on/off switch on the Orion line your think, it's more of a charge enable signal..

You need to make sure you're supply cables are good enough to deliver the 30A.

And if it's a T6 with stop/start You may need to turn on your lights and fan to raise the alternator voltage.

Post some pics of your setup, and list the cable gauge run to the starter battery and fuse..... Pics will help.

What about with a Renogy DC DC MPPT charger? Is it an on/off switch or as you describe above?

 

[Matt-T68]

Same as above with the Renogy. Fused ignition live

 

[Dellmassive]

What about with a Renogy DC DC MPPT charger? Is it an on/off switch or as you describe above?

No, still a charge enable,.... Because the smart Alternator voltage varies so much with the start stop setup.

If the voltage is too low from the engine bay you only a small amount of charge in the back..

The power out the charger is dependent on the voltage coming in.

The IGN in signal will basically just tell it to stop charging when the IGN is off..... But charge rate is dependent on the above.

 

[doncarlyon]

So basically, drive around with the headlights and heater on to charge the leisure battery

 

[Dellmassive]

So basically, drive around with the headlights and heater on to charge the leisure battery

If your starter battery is fully charged then the smart alternator will only put out 12.6 volts or so.

So basically yes you need to turn on a high load which will make the alternator push up the voltage to say 13.8 volts or 14 or more votes. That's will then enable the dc dc charger to put out a full charge power.

I like using the victron chargers as you can tweak the charge settings and the auto engine detection settings..... So you can set up the voltage levels that the charger will start / stop also match them with the engine auto run detection algorithm.

I've got both my Orion xs50 amp DC chargers set up perfectly now for both vans... And both charger settings are slightly different.

 

[doncarlyon]

I'd (wrongly) assumed that the charger would pull enough from the starter battery that the alternator would automatically kick in.

 

[Leadfold]

Just to clarify, the system has been in place for a couple of years. I have mainly used a Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 Battery Charger 12V/30A to charge the Roamer Seatbase battery and have lived with the vagaries of the 'engine shutdown detection' of the DC-DC charger. In 6 weeks I'm off to Europe for a month and thought I would sort things before I go.

Lots here to digest, let's see if I have understood it all.

I was planning to override (turn off) the engine shutdown detection and rely on the ignition live feed to the DC-DC charger, to allow charging when the ignition was on. Is this OK?

Even if I do the above, the DC-DC charger drawing current from the starter battery is not enough to fire up the alternator (presumably the DC-DC charger won't draw current until it detects a sufficient threshold voltage)?

I didn't have the confidence to adjust the engine shutdown detection voltages. As I wasn't sure what the safe range of values is for each. Is there any info on the forum on this?

Thanks as ever for all the help.

 

[Badjamin]

I'd imagine you'll have the AC on or the blower on cold throughout your EU trip so plenty of voltage to keep your DC/DC charging. Have a fantastic time by the way. What a treat!

 

[Leadfold]

What are the lowest safe/recommended settings for the Input voltage lock-out values (Lock-out and Restart) on Victron DC-DC charger?

The input voltage reading that the Victron App gives for the charger when cruising along in my van is 12.3v (occasionally lower).

(Although I have taken an ignition live to the h-pin on my DC-DC charger and no longer depend on the Engine Shutdown Detection. The charger cuts out as the input voltage is usually below the default setting in the app (Lock-out 12.5v, Restart 12.8v)

Any help with this final bit of the puzzle would be much appreciated.

 

[Dellmassive]

This is that in using....

 

[Leadfold]

Yes, I saw your settings on another thread, but they don't work for me (sadly). Do you reckon I can lower the Lock-out and Restart values a bit? My van cruises at 12.3v (input voltage at the charger).

Would a Restart value of 12.3v (or even 12.2v) be safe/recommended?

 

[Dellmassive]

Yes you need to keep on tweaking the settings until you get it right for your particular van.

Don't forget with the stop start and the auto alternator you can turn on the fan to blower speed 2 or turn the lights on that will help increase the voltage coming from the engine bay.

 

[Leadfold]

Thanks

 

[Dellmassive]

Prime example, see here we are on a four hour drive heading back to London.

The starter batteries now fully charged and the small alternator is basically doing nothing comma and we are driving along with a 12.0v reading coming from the engine bay.

 

[Dellmassive]

And this is what happens when I turn on the fan blow out to set in two.

The alternator voltage jumps up to 13.0v

.