Victron Orion starting too quickly?

[MarkJ]

I for one would be very interested to see your results, possibly a few others too.

Here are two I prepared earlier. A benefit of having VRM enabled..... one is of a few short journeys in a day. The other includes some longer journeys. My van does in theory have start-stop technology fitted, but like many owners report, it hardly ever seems to do it. Voltage while running hardly ever drops below 14.4V.

 

[MarkJ]

So if you left the Shutdown voltage as it was, you could raise the normal Start Voltage up sufficiently and then you would invoke the delay timer.

Right, so if I did what I suggested - set Vstart to, say 16V and raise Vstart(delay) to, say, 14V, that should work nicely: a 120s delay before the charger starts and, given those graphs above show in practice it hardly every drops below 14.4V, then I should be charging pretty much all the time I drive, apart from the first 120s.

Thanks...

 

[MarkJ]

Trends option on the BMV/Smartshunt,

Ooh, that looks fun. Didn't know about that....

 

[wildebus]

Stop-start is a great idea in theory. I had it on a couple of Citroen DS's but like you, it very rarely kicked in. any kind of load and it seems to get cancelled ... Air/Con, headlights, Heated Seats, etc and bang! no stop-start.

 

[MarkJ]

Oh so true.
Victron give a great app that makes changes so easy, unlike some other brands that require a Windows PC plus a lead and little to no instructions how to adjust it.

Yes, that was a reason I liked Victron. Just a shame that it's not 100% consistent and integrated, but I think the VRM stuff is great.

 

[wildebus]

Ooh, that looks fun. Didn't know about that....

Well, don't take my word for it, I'm just an 'installer', not a 'technician'


I am going to assume you know you can use VE.Connect via a Windows PC as long as you have a lead from the VE.Direct device to the Venus OS unit? saves going out with your phone if you are away from your motorhome. Trends for my Voltages (turned the Multiplus off and on remotely to instigate a voltage drop and increase)

 

[MarkJ]

VE.Connect via a Windows PC

I'm a Mac shop, sadly, and I don't think VE.Connect runs on Mac. Maybe I should resurrect my 20 year old laptop - though goodness knows what version of Windows it runs!

 

[wildebus]

What is your base vehicle? the Starter/Alternator voltage seems very high when running, at around 14.9V. Usually they peak around 14.4V. Maybe that is a feature of the Smart Alternator fitted?

Off-topic, but some people like to fit a relay-type setup like a Victron Cyrix-lt rather than the expense of a B2B if they have Lithium. If they had an alternator similar to yours with that output, the Lithium would likely shutdown with an overvoltage error in that case. (just an observation - you have the B2B of course so not an issue for you).

 

[wildebus]

I'm a Mac shop, sadly, and I don't think VE.Connect runs on Mac. Maybe I should resurrect my 20 year old laptop - though goodness knows what version of Windows it runs!

I believe that VE.Connect will run on a Windows emulator within the Apple OS. Because you are connecting via VRM and not a USB lead to the VE.Direct device, there is no complication of needing to use USB ports or the like on the computer.

(not used or proved the above...I am NOT a Mac shop (hate them!!! ))

 

[MarkJ]

What is your base vehicle? the Starter/Alternator voltage seems very high when running, at around 14.9V.

It's a 2020 Relay. Yes, I was a bit surprised to see nearly 15V but just assumed that was the way it was....

 

[xsilvergs]

Here are two I prepared earlier. A benefit of having VRM enabled..... one is of a few short journeys in a day. The other includes some longer journeys. My van does in theory have start-stop technology fitted, but like many owners report, it hardly ever seems to do it. Voltage while running hardly ever drops below 14.4V.
View attachment 4938View attachment 4939

Sample rate, how often does your VRM sample? not quick enough. The average DMM is quite slow to sample but if that's all you have it's probably faster than VRM and your eye may see something too.

Edit: Does your BMV take its earth from the Starter or Leisure battery earth? If it takes it from the LB the voltage it measures at the SB could be slightly different.

 

[MarkJ]

Sample rate, how often does your VRM sample? not quick enough. The average DMM is quite slow to sample but if that's all you have it's probably faster than VRM and your eye may see something too.

Edit: Does your BMV take its earth from the Starter or Leisure battery earth? If it takes it from the LB the voltage it measures at the SB could be slightly different.

I've set the sample rate to once per minute, which is the maximum you can have. It will miss transients, but I don't think that's likely to be a problem in this case: if there were short-term variations they would show now and again.

IIRC the BMV is earthed via a busbar connected by a short (30cm) cable to the chassis. It's probably closer physically to the LB, but the VB connection to the same point will be via the whole chassis. There might be a tad of volt drop inaccuracy, but probably not massive.

 

[wildebus]

I've set the sample rate to once per minute, which is the maximum you can have. It will miss transients, but I don't think that's likely to be a problem in this case: if there were short-term variations they would show now and again.

IIRC the BMV is earthed via a busbar connected by a short (30cm) cable to the chassis. It's probably closer physically to the LB, but the VB connection to the same point will be via the whole chassis. There might be a tad of volt drop inaccuracy, but probably not massive.

The BMV Shunt must be on the Leisure Battery -ve (via a short cable of course). If it is not, then the readings will not be correct for your system generally, let alone voltages.
The BMV does not have a -ve per se - it is the Shunt itself that is the -ve for it.
The +ve for both Leisure Battery and Starter Battery that are connected to the Shunt should be from their +ve posts respectively for the most accurate reading.

 

[PeteS]

Victron Connect runs on a Mac

 

[MarkJ]

The BMV Shunt must be on the Leisure Battery

Yup... LB -> shunt -> earth bus bar -> chassis earth

(At least, that's what my wiring diagram says. I'll double check next time I'm with the van!)

Victron Connect runs on a Mac

Ah ha. I'll get onto it. Thanks

 

[SquirrellCook]

At some point l’m going to have to apply to join this geek club, once I can figure out how to keep up.

 

[Nabsim]

At some point l’m going to have to apply to join this geek club, once I can figure out how to keep up.

Why?

 

[wildebus]

Why?

I think you meant

 

[MarkJ]

Why?

Christmas and New Year visits from the kids/grandkids cancelled cos of Covid.....
Dark all day as well as all night....
Too wet to work in the garden....
No new toys to play with....
Even the dog is fed up....

So what else is there to do apart from read interesting manuals

 

[SquirrellCook]

Even though I find some of what many go on about, I know something must be sinking in. Past experience proved this to me. I thought when I entered the defence industry I’d have a simple job that paid okay and didn’t require any skill. Telephone support engineer (as useless as tits on a bull). Being bored out of my tiny mind I started fixing things. Office electricals not working at women‘s desks, well we all know why. Some “want to be Stud“ spends too long at the desk trampling the cables. Before I knew it I was at manufacturing sites to learn their procedures, eventually showing them new ways to do it. Not wanting to look a Pratt, I did my best to understand the new languages. The best part was as these were secure sites, information was not freely shared with other manufacturers. This gave me the means to help many companies speed up development of our products.