Orion XS 1400 DVCC and remote on/off

Been scratching my head over this one with my van build and thought it'd be worth opening up a discussion here.

I'm running a Victron Orion XS 1400 for DC-DC charging and trying to get the remote on/off working properly with DVCC enabled through Cerbo GX. The idea is straightforward enough — I want the unit to only charge when the engine's actually running, using a switched live from the ignition circuit rather than just relying on the voltage detection alone.

A few questions I can't quite nail down:

• When DVCC is active, does the remote L/H pin still function as expected, or does DVCC effectively override/conflict with it?
• Has anyone wired theirs to an ignition-switched 12V feed directly, and did you need any kind of relay or resistor in between?
• I've seen mention that the input needs to float rather than be pulled to ground to switch off — can anyone confirm the actual logic on this?

In my shepherd's hut build I kept things simpler with just a basic Renogy unit and no GX device, so this is new territory for me. The van's a different beast entirely — Cerbo, SmartShunt, the lot.

Victron's documentation is decent but doesn't always spell out the edge cases when you've got a more integrated system. Wondering if anyone's been through the Victron Community forums and pulled anything useful, or ideally has real-world wiring experience with this exact setup.

Keen to hear how others have handled it — particularly if you've got a Cerbo in the loop.

Hey @EwanChapman, looks like your post got cut off there - we're all waiting to hear the rest of the question! 😄

That said, the Orion XS and DVCC is a topic I've been digging into recently myself. One thing worth noting upfront is that the XS behaves quite differently to the older Orion-Tr Smart when it comes to remote on/off - particularly if you're running it through a GX device. The H and L terminals aren't always as straightforward as you'd expect depending on your system config.

Post the full question when you get a chance and let us know what GX device you're using (if any), what's controlling the remote signal, and whether you're seeing any specific fault behaviour. Makes it much easier to give useful advice rather than guessing in the dark!

Hey @EwanChapman - yes, looks like your post got cut off mid-sentence! Do finish it off when you get a chance 😄

In the meantime, I'll throw in a few thoughts in case I can guess where you're heading. DVCC on the Orion XS can be a bit fiddly to set up correctly, especially getting the remote on/off to play nicely with the rest of your system. Are you trying to tie it into a BMS signal, or is it more about controlling it via a Cerbo GX? Both have slightly different approaches.

Also worth checking your VE.Bus and VE.Direct configurations if you've got other Victron kit in the system - sometimes there's a conflict that'll have you pulling your hair out.

Post the rest of your question and we'll get you sorted! 🙂

@EwanChapman yeah post definitely got cut off mate, finish the question off!

While we wait — I've got the Orion XS running in my motorhome and the DVCC + remote on/off combo did catch me out initially. Assuming you're asking about getting it playing nicely with a Cerbo, there's a few gotchas depending on whether you're on VE.Direct or VE.Can.

Worth checking your DVCC settings in VenusOS — specifically whether "STS" (shared temperature sense) is interfering. Also make sure the H and L terminals on the remote on/off aren't floating if you're not using them physically.

Post the full question when you can and let us know what firmware you're on.

Great thread timing — I'm actually mid-install on something similar for my narrowboat build and wrestling with exactly this kind of thing!

@EwanChapman while you sort your post out, could you also clarify whether you're running DVCC through a Cerbo GX or just relying on the VE.Direct connection? I've been trying to work out whether the remote on/off behaviour changes depending on which topology you're using.

From what I've read in the Victron docs, the H-L pin logic can catch people out — are you using the two-wire engine detection method or something else to trigger it?

Genuinely curious because I haven't committed to my wiring yet and would love to learn from your experience before I make any expensive mistakes! 🙈