Victron SmartShunt: Battery Monitoring Explained

This Victron SmartShunt review looks at the battery monitor that shows up in nearly every Victron van and RV build. The SmartShunt measures every amp flowing in and out of your battery and turns it into an accurate state-of-charge reading in the VictronConnect app. It’s the BMV-712 without the display, available in 300A, 500A, 1000A and 2000A, in IP21 or IP65 housings.

Will Prowse on the beginner-friendly 500A SmartShunt.

Victron SmartShunt Review: Specs

Spec	Value
Supply voltage	6.5–70VDC
Current draw	<1mA (datasheet)
Current accuracy	±0.4%
Current resolution	±0.01A
Voltage accuracy	±0.3%
Sizes	300, 500, 1000, 2000A
Second input	Starter battery, midpoint or temperature
Ports	Bluetooth, VE.Direct

Source: Victron SmartShunt datasheet.

What We Like

Accurate state of charge for lithium, where voltage alone is misleading.
Low self-draw and a simple install on the negative cable.
VE.Direct for Cerbo GX and VRM.

What to Watch

No screen or relay (choose the BMV-712 for those).
Needs correct setup: for LiFePO4, Victron’s manual suggests a Peukert exponent of 1.05 and 99% charge efficiency.

Settings Victron Recommends for LiFePO4

The manual says the defaults generally suit LiFePO4, apart from battery capacity (your Ah), Peukert exponent 1.05, charge efficiency factor 99% and a discharge floor of 10–20%. Match charged voltage and tail current to your charger so the shunt synchronizes to 100% at the right moment.

Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (from Victron’s Manual)

Unit seems dead. The blue LED should blink on first connection. Check the fuse and terminals on the Vbatt+ cable. The LED is also off when Bluetooth has been disabled.
Charge and discharge are reversed. Charge current should read positive and discharge negative. If they’re swapped, the negative power cables on the shunt are reversed.
State of charge reads too high. Every load and charger negative must go to the SYSTEM MINUS side. Anything wired straight to the battery negative bypasses the shunt.
Current shows when nothing is on. Turn off all loads and run a zero current calibration, or set the current threshold.
State of charge drifts. Check capacity, Peukert and charge efficiency. Then make sure the shunt actually synchronizes, which requires charged voltage, tail current and charged detection time to be met.
Aux not working. Check the aux fuse. A starter battery’s negative must connect to the load side of the shunt. The temperature sensor must be Victron’s battery monitor sensor: the MultiPlus sensor doesn’t work.
Can’t connect over Bluetooth. Only one phone can connect at a time; a solid blue light means another device is connected. Range is roughly 10–15m in practice, less inside a metal van or a hull. The Windows version of VictronConnect can’t connect over Bluetooth.
Can’t change settings. Update the firmware in VictronConnect first.
PIN lost. Reset it to the default following the manual’s Reset PIN code section.

Choosing the Shunt Size

System	Largest continuous current	SmartShunt size
12V van, 1,000W inverter	about 95A	300A
12V RV, 2,000W inverter	about 185A	300A
12V build, 3,000W inverter	about 280A	500A
24V build, 5,000W inverter	about 230A	300A or 500A
48V home bank with several inverters	several hundred amps	1000A or 2000A

Current estimates assume about 90% inverter efficiency. Pick a size comfortably above the largest continuous current.

Step-by-Step Setup

Disconnect the battery negative and fit the shunt in its place.
Move every load and charger negative to the SYSTEM MINUS side.
Connect the fused Vbatt+ cable to the battery positive.
In VictronConnect, enter the battery capacity, then the LiFePO4 settings above.
Run a zero current calibration with everything switched off.
Charge the battery fully once so the shunt synchronizes to 100%.

Worked Example: Reading a Night in a Van

With a 200Ah LiFePO4 bank, a fridge averaging 4A and lights at 2A overnight, the shunt shows about 6A of discharge and roughly 72Ah consumed over 12 hours. That leaves about 64% state of charge, which the time-to-go figure in the app turns into hours remaining at the current load.

Worked examples are arithmetic estimates from the published ratings above, not test results. Real numbers depend on temperature, cable runs, battery state and load.

What the App Shows

Voltage and current as live values, with charge shown positive and discharge negative.
Consumed Ah since the battery was last full.
State of charge as a percentage of the capacity you entered.
Time to go at the present load.
History such as deepest discharge and number of cycles.

Connect the VE.Direct port to a GX device and the same data appears in the system overview and on VRM.

Choose the IP65 SmartShunt for damp engine rooms, bilge-adjacent lockers or open trailer frames; the IP21 version suits dry interior battery compartments.

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Buy: Victron SmartShunt 500A on Amazon, SmartShunt IP65 500A on Amazon

Want the source figures? The SmartShunt page on Victron’s site has the datasheet.

FAQ

Which SmartShunt size do I need?

Pick a size above your largest continuous current, usually set by your inverter.

Does it work with any battery brand?

Yes, it measures current through the shunt, independent of the battery’s BMS.

Can it monitor a starter battery?

Yes, via its auxiliary input.

Does Bluetooth work through a steel van body?

It may be weak. Victron suggests adding a VE.Direct Bluetooth dongle and switching off the shunt’s own Bluetooth. The dongle doesn’t support stored trends or the Keep SOC option.

Can it show two batteries’ state of charge?

No. The aux input reads a second battery’s voltage, not its state of charge.

Does it need a Cerbo GX?

No. It works on its own with the app.

Does the SmartShunt work on 24V and 48V?

Yes. The 6.5–70VDC supply range covers 12V, 24V and 48V banks.

Sources: Victron SmartShunt datasheet and manual (victronenergy.com); Will Prowse, “Victron Energy 500A Smart Shunt (Beginner Friendly)”.

Sources: Victron SmartShunt manual (troubleshooting and configuration chapters), SmartShunt and SmartShunt IP65 datasheets (victronenergy.com, accessed Oct 2026); DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse, “Victron Energy 500A Smart Shunt (Beginner Friendly)”.