Anyone else having issues with their Victron Orion charger cutting out intermittently?

Yeah, mine's been doing the same dance lately—cuts out for a few seconds then comes back like nothing happened. Proper annoying when you're trying to keep the leisure batteries topped up on the move.

I reckon it's usually one of three culprits: dodgy alternator voltage regulation (my old van was shocking for this), a loose connection somewhere in the supply cables, or the charger's temperature compensation going haywire. Have you checked your cable gauges? Most people underspec them and the resistance causes voltage drop, which confuses the Orion into thinking something's wrong.

Mine settled down once I rewired the input side with proper 25mm² cable and made sure all the earth connections were solid. Victron kit's usually bulletproof, so it's rarely the unit itself failing—usually something upstream being a bit dodgy.

What voltage are you seeing at the charger input when it cuts out? And is it temperature-related? Mine was worse in winter for some reason, which pointed to that thermal sensor being a bit sensitive.

Worth checking the firmware version too—there were a few updates that sorted intermittent issues on earlier models. Victron's support email is usually pretty responsive if you're really stuck.

Curious to hear what others have found—seems like half the van community's got one of these crammed into a cupboard somewhere!

Had similar gremlins with mine last summer. Worth checking your input voltage stability first — dodgy alternator output or loose battery terminals can trip the Orion into protection mode constantly. Mine turned out to be a corroded earth point under the van.

Also check your remote on/off wiring if you've got one connected. A intermittent connection there causes exactly this behaviour.

If it's actually the unit itself, Victron's firmware updates occasionally sort odd cutout patterns. What input voltage range are you seeing when it drops out? That'll narrow it down quick.

Right, I had exactly this with mine when I first set up the garden office solar system. Turned out to be a dodgy connection on the input side—not visibly corroded, but the crimp terminal was slightly loose. Once I re-terminated it properly, rock solid.

Also worth checking the charger's firmware. Victron released an update a couple of years back that addressed some intermittent dropout issues on certain Orion models. You can check via the VictronConnect app if you haven't already.

One other thing—if you're running other high-draw gear at the same time (thinking EV charger or similar), the input voltage dip might be triggering the charger's low voltage cutout. What's your input source? That'll help narrow it down.

Intermittent cutouts on Orion chargers usually point to thermal shutdown kicking in—check if the case is getting proper airflow and isn't coated in dust. Also verify your input and output cables aren't undersized; dodgy connections generate heat and voltage drop, triggering the protection circuit.

@LochChild's spot on about alternator ripple—if you've got a cheap aftermarket alt, it'll confuse the charger's input sensing. Worth monitoring with a multimeter across the input terminals while the van's running.

Last thing: what firmware version are you running? Victron released updates specifically for intermittent shutdown issues on older units. Check the VRM portal if you're connected, or grab the app and inspect the device details.

Least favourite part about Orions—they're brilliant when working, temperamental when they're not.

Mine does this when the DC cables get even slightly warm to the touch—turns out my crimped connections were about as reliable as a chocolate teapot. Victron's thermal cutout is very conservative, which is annoying but probably saved my setup from becoming a mobile barbecue. Worth checking cable gauge matches your current draw and that the crimps are actually making contact properly. Also, if you're running it hard in summer heat with poor ventilation around the charger itself, even ambient temp matters. A bit of airflow around the unit can make a surprisingly big difference before it starts throwing a strop.

Ah, the classic intermittent cutout dance. Before you go down the thermal route that @Rob1963 mentioned, I'd check the input voltage stability first—Orions can be surprisingly fussy about voltage ripple, especially if your alternator's regulator is getting on a bit or your main battery terminals are corroded.

I had this exact issue in my motorhome. Turned out my leisure battery negative was bolted to the chassis via a dodgy connection point. Voltage would sag under load, Orion would cut out thinking the input had dropped below minimum threshold.

Worth grabbing a multimeter and monitoring the input voltage whilst the charger's doing its thing. If it's dipping even slightly when the charger kicks in hard, you've found your culprit. Clean those battery terminals and check every connection between alternator and charger—resistance is the enemy here.

The thermal shutdown usually gives you a clear pattern though; yours sounds more like a voltage thing.

Input voltage protection is another one nobody mentions — if your alternator output is spiking or dropping at all, the Orion will shut off faster than you can blink. Had this exact issue on my cabin setup, turned out the engine battery was borderline knackered and causing voltage dips under load.

Stick a multimeter on the input terminals while it's running. You want stable 13.8V+ on the feed side. Anything wobbling around or dropping below ~11V momentarily and the Orion's just doing its job protecting itself.

Also check your VE.Direct connection if you've got it monitored — sometimes the software logs will actually tell you why it shut off rather than you guessing. Should show an error code. People ignore that feature constantly and then complain the unit's faulty.

Had this exact issue on the narrowboat last spring. Turned out to be the remote on/off wire picking up interference from the engine bay — was floating rather than properly tied to a reference. Orion was seeing phantom signals and shutting itself down.

Worth checking your remote L/H pin wiring before assuming it's thermal or voltage related. If you're not using the remote function at all, make sure it's configured correctly in VictronConnect — there's a specific setting for that. Caught me out for about two weeks before I spotted it.

Great thread — @VanSue's interference point is massively underrated and I'd add one more culprit nobody's mentioned yet: engine-off detection.

The Orion-Tr Smart has a configurable input voltage threshold that decides whether the engine is running. If your alternator voltage is hovering right around that threshold (typically 13.2V on a 12V system), the unit will oscillate in and out of "engine running" state like it can't make its mind up.

Worth jumping into VictronConnect and checking/adjusting that threshold under the "Engine shutdown detection" settings. I bumped mine up slightly when charging from a variable alternator and the phantom cutouts vanished completely.