Victron Orion XS update - Charge your starter battery from your leisure battery

A flat starter battery can put your travel plans on hold. Victron’s latest Orion XS update gives you another way to get going, using power from your leisure battery to recharge your starter battery.

Firmware v1.15 adds emergency reverse charging to the Orion XS range:

• Orion XS 12/12-50A
• Orion XS 12/12-70A
• Orion XS 1400

Normally, your battery-to-battery charger uses power from the alternator to charge your leisure battery whilst you drive. This new feature temporarily reverses that flow, allowing your leisure battery to charge your starter battery when it’s too flat to start the engine.

It’s a useful backup when you’re parked up off-grid. However, it won’t repair a faulty starter battery or guarantee that your engine will start.

How emergency reverse charging works

The feature is available in charger mode, once forward charging has stopped because the Orion XS has detected that the engine is off or input voltage lock-out is active. Switching the unit off through its remote on/off connection does not block the feature.

1. Start the charge in VictronConnect

Connect to your Orion XS using the VictronConnect app, then tap the engine starter charge icon on the Status screen.

Review the information shown, tick the confirmation box and tap START.

If you have an Orion XS 1400 and haven’t already configured the starter battery voltage, you’ll need to select 12V or 24V before continuing.

2. Let the charger run its 15-minute cycle

The Orion XS draws power from your leisure battery to charge your starter battery for 15 minutes.

The charge has the following limits:

• Voltage: up to 14.4V for a 12V starter battery, or 28.8V for a 24V starter battery on the Orion XS 1400.
• Current: half the device’s rated current, or the lowest configured input or output current limit if that is lower.
• Leisure battery protection: reverse charge current reduces as the leisure battery voltage falls towards its protection threshold.

After charging the starter battery for 15 minutes, the charger pauses for a 5-minute settling period. During this time, it’s disabled and cannot draw energy from the starter battery or alternator. This allows the starter battery to settle and the engine to be started. The app displays “Battery ready” along with the time remaining.

Make sure to keep power use from other leisure battery appliances to a minimum during the charge.

Technical Feature	Victron Orion XS 12/12-50A	Victron Orion XS 12/12-70A	Victron Orion XS 1400
Maximum reverse charging current	Capped at 25A	Capped at 35A	Capped at 25A
Current limit	Lowest of 25A, configured input limit or configured output limit	Lowest of 35A, configured input limit or configured output limit	Lowest of 25A, configured input limit or configured output limit
Maximum starter battery charging voltage	14.4V	14.4V	14.4V for a 12V starter battery 28.8V for a 24V starter battery

Orion XS 1400: check your starter battery voltage

The Orion XS 1400 supports mixed voltage systems, so it needs to know whether your starter battery is 12V or 24V.

You can configure this in advance in Product Settings, or select it when prompted before your first emergency reverse charge. Make sure you select the starter battery voltage, which may differ from your leisure battery voltage.

How to install the update

You’ll need VictronConnect v6.43 or later and Orion XS firmware v1.15 to use the feature.

There are three ways to install the firmware:

• VictronConnect: connect to your Orion XS via Bluetooth and follow the firmware update prompts.
• VRM: compatible connected systems can be updated remotely through the VRM Portal. See Victron’s remote firmware update guide for instructions.
• Victron Professional: download the firmware from Victron Professional or its linked Dropbox folder.

Huey, our Technical Support Engineer, has tested the new feature and confirmed it’s working as expected. It’s worth installing the update before your next trip, so it’s ready if you need it.