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"12 Volt" Power Outlet in my Tesla Model S Plaid Has Burned Out 3 ~$1000 Escort Redline 360c detectors

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I was driving my 2022 Model S Plaid with an Escort Redline 360c radar detector on the windshield and running waze as I always do. I noted a state trooper coming at me on the other side of the median but thought nothing of it given I got no signal on the detector. 30 or so seconds later the state trooper is racing up behind me (still no radar signal) and the lights come on. The officer was quite polite and pointed to my detector as obviously not very effective.

My initial thought was that the detector had gone bad. So I popped in another, same type with an escort camera attached as well. Strangely, after a few outings the camera would boot up when the power was turned on in the Tesla, but then go into an error mode with flashing red light and beeping noise. Shortly after that I stopped receiving any kind of signal in the detector, passing stationary radar guns that get placed on the roads where I live, but no signal. I popped the radar detector into a different car (a 2022 BMW M8) and did the camera did not go into the error mode upon boot up, but the radar detector was not functional.

I took the other Escort Redline 360c and camera I use in the M8 and put it in the Tesla. Everything initially worked, but then the same issue arose, the detector stopped detecting radar signals and the camera would go into error mode. In all cases, when the camera and detector were put into another car, the camera would work normally, but the radar detector was "fried" and would no longer work. These detectors without the camera are $800 each without tax, so highly irritating.

I went to the Tesla shop to have this looked at and of course they were not very helpful. They indicated they are not responsible for making sure third-party equipment works in the Tesla, and they plugged in a voltage/amp meter into the outlet and basically indicated they saw no issue.

Anybody else have this problem? Is this an issue related to what I noted in other threads, that the voltage delivered through that outlet is actually > 12 volts? Any ideas on how I can actually assess whether there is an issue with my particular outlet (the Tesla guys were uninterested in exploring any further than plugging in their meter). I have many, many, many cars and have owned many more and NEVER had this type of issue with power delivery through this type of power outlet. Disappointing.
 
I was driving my 2022 Model S Plaid with an Escort Redline 360c radar detector on the windshield and running waze as I always do. I noted a state trooper coming at me on the other side of the median but thought nothing of it given I got no signal on the detector. 30 or so seconds later the state trooper is racing up behind me (still no radar signal) and the lights come on. The officer was quite polite and pointed to my detector as obviously not very effective.

My initial thought was that the detector had gone bad. So I popped in another, same type with an escort camera attached as well. Strangely, after a few outings the camera would boot up when the power was turned on in the Tesla, but then go into an error mode with flashing red light and beeping noise. Shortly after that I stopped receiving any kind of signal in the detector, passing stationary radar guns that get placed on the roads where I live, but no signal. I popped the radar detector into a different car (a 2022 BMW M8) and did the camera did not go into the error mode upon boot up, but the radar detector was not functional.

I took the other Escort Redline 360c and camera I use in the M8 and put it in the Tesla. Everything initially worked, but then the same issue arose, the detector stopped detecting radar signals and the camera would go into error mode. In all cases, when the camera and detector were put into another car, the camera would work normally, but the radar detector was "fried" and would no longer work. These detectors without the camera are $800 each without tax, so highly irritating.

I went to the Tesla shop to have this looked at and of course they were not very helpful. They indicated they are not responsible for making sure third-party equipment works in the Tesla, and they plugged in a voltage/amp meter into the outlet and basically indicated they saw no issue.

Anybody else have this problem? Is this an issue related to what I noted in other threads, that the voltage delivered through that outlet is actually > 12 volts? Any ideas on how I can actually assess whether there is an issue with my particular outlet (the Tesla guys were uninterested in exploring any further than plugging in their meter). I have many, many, many cars and have owned many more and NEVER had this type of issue with power delivery through this type of power outlet. Disappointing.

Most cars will deliver > 12v. A higher voltage is needed to charge the accessory battery. Typical is in the 13.5v to 14.5v range for lead acid. Newer Teslas with a lithium accessory battery are going to be higher, like in the 15v+ range. Maybe too high for a Redline. I did see on an Escort forum where a company rep said that the Max series has an upper limit of 16v before the high voltage alarm and shut down comes on.
 
From what I gathered on my plaid it's not 12v it's 16v which is clearly stated in the manual

Yeah, obviously I didn't pay enough attention to this given I had a P100D before the Plaid and have literally owned or own around 100 cars in my life and have never thought twice about other than 12 volts flowing through such outlets.

I note the manual indicates the outlet provides 12amps of continuous power and a peak of 16amps, but doesn't talk about the voltage, other than the note on plugging in a power inverter and the inverter needing to operate at 16volts.

In my view, I wouldn't characterize that as "clearly stated". There should be a much bigger call out/caution on this in the manual or even labeled on the port itself (although that would not be easy to read) given it seems a clear outlier with respect to what would be expected.
 
Most cars will deliver > 12v. A higher voltage is needed to charge the accessory battery. Typical is in the 13.5v to 14.5v range for lead acid. Newer Teslas with a lithium accessory battery are going to be higher, like in the 15v+ range. Maybe too high for a Redline. I did see on an Escort forum where a company rep said that the Max series has an upper limit of 16v before the high voltage alarm and shut down comes on.
Waiting on a call from Escort on this. I note that for my 3 detectors there was no high voltage alarm or shut down. For the attached camera that must be what the shutdown and error mode beeping was though!
 
Indeed, it does say 12A continuous, 16A peak. It also says this regarding voltage:

Note​
A power inverter plugged into the low voltage power socket must support 16V DC input to function.​

Seems silly that they couldn't just step the voltage down a bit for an accessory port.

Yeah, sorry I did not read through all the comments before saying the same thing below.

but again to call out, I don't think a somewhat oblique reference to voltage requirements for plugging a power inverter into the port is really a very clear way of describing what voltage/amps are delivered through the port.
 
There was extensive conversation about this on the Plaid FB groups. Some detectors are more tolerant of the higher input, some are not. There is a list somewhere on the group of which ones are ok are which ones aren't. I believe that Uniden and V1 are both fine. I have run my R7 for 3/4ths of a year so far without issue.
 
Yeah, sorry I did not read through all the comments before saying the same thing below.

but again to call out, I don't think a somewhat oblique reference to voltage requirements for plugging a power inverter into the port is really a very clear way of describing what voltage/amps are delivered through the port.
Oh I agree. That's like the utility increasing the voltage of your household outlets to 150/300v and telling everyone "Hope all your stuff still works. Enjoy your bright lights for a few seconds." The cigarette lighter outlet has been a known quantity of voltage since its inception. It's fine that Tesla chose to up the nominal voltage of the car's own systems, but the accessory port is their touch point with the rest of the devices in the world that operate at 12v.
 
I have ran Radenso detectors for a long time, and after seeing this thread I shot them a message to verify. Looks like they have a couple of models that will handle 16v with no problem. Wanted to verify before hooking up my old detector in the new car and frying it.

Screen Shot 2022-09-09 at 1.13.02 PM.png
 
I have ran Radenso detectors for a long time, and after seeing this thread I shot them a message to verify. Looks like they have a couple of models that will handle 16v with no problem. Wanted to verify before hooking up my old detector in the new car and frying it.

View attachment 850752
That's good to know. I've been a big fan of the escort max 360 line and in particular the redline max 360c as it just has such superior range and direction detection capabilities. Still waiting to get the final word from Escort, but people should know that neither their high-end max 360 line of radar detectors nor the accessory camera can tolerate the 15-16v output the Tesla kicks out in the low voltage outlet. It just really sucks. $1000 a pop down the drain, plus a ticket...
 
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That's good to know. I've been a big fan of the escort max 360 line and in particular the redline max 360c as it just has such superior range and direction detection capabilities. Still waiting to get the final word from Escort, but people should know that neither their high-end max 360 line of radar detectors nor the accessory camera can tolerate the 15-16v output the Tesla kicks out in the low voltage outlet. It just really sucks. $1000 a pop down the drain, plus a ticket...

I cannot attest to the range of the radenso's because I live in Vegas so when in the desert, even cheap detectors go a really, really long way. The Radenso is rated as one of, if not the best detector for avoiding false positives. That's why I switched from escort to it.
 
I cannot attest to the range of the radenso's because I live in Vegas so when in the desert, even cheap detectors go a really, really long way. The Radenso is rated as one of, if not the best detector for avoiding false positives. That's why I switched from escort to it.

I am running a Radenso DS1 in my M3P and it works no problem powered from the USB port in the compartment behind the cup holders. I bought a 20ft USB C to A cable and used it like a hardwire kit and it's totally stealth. The suction cup also surprisingly sticks on the black plastic beneath the rearview mirror, so it's almost like a Blendmount without the cost.
 
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I am running a Radenso DS1 in my M3P and it works no problem powered from the USB port in the compartment behind the cup holders. I bought a 20ft USB C to A cable and used it like a hardwire kit and it's totally stealth. The suction cup also surprisingly sticks on the black plastic beneath the rearview mirror, so it's almost like a Blendmount without the cost.
It's easier just to hardwire honestly. Only takes 15 minutes to wire it in and run the cable.
 
My Valentine 1 Gen 2 has been running just fine and reporting 15.1V.

I think most Automotive devices might peak out at around 15V because most ICE cars easily output 14.5V. If your Escorts truly burned out at 15-ish volts they are not very well designed for $1000.00 radar detector. My V1 is $399.00 and works awesome. Especially with V1Driver (iOS) which integrates it into the car audio system.

Runs off 12” mirror tap. And behind PPF to keep it cool and out of site. Nice and tidy. Easy to hide from service too.

52046996049_05fd69c54e_b_d.jpg
 
My Valentine 1 Gen 2 has been running just fine and reporting 15.1V.

I think most Automotive devices might peak out at around 15V because most ICE cars easily output 14.5V. If your Escorts truly burned out at 15-ish volts they are not very well designed for $1000.00 radar detector. My V1 is $399.00 and works awesome. Especially with V1Driver (iOS) which integrates it into the car audio system.

Runs off 12” mirror tap. And behind PPF to keep it cool and out of site. Nice and tidy. Easy to hide from service too.

52046996049_05fd69c54e_b_d.jpg
Do you just have the suction cup mount on that?