12V Access: Model S 2021 Refresh

[Sullivansteve]

Ok, I re-wired my Valentine 1 as I have found a better 12v source which turns off when the car powers off.. I cannot edit my previous posts, but If your reading this, I suggest you ignore my past advice on where to splice (the wires were too small and did not always give signal).. There is no need to run extensive wiring around the car.. simply tap into the green and black wire as shown in the picture under the mirror cover and your all set.. I stuffed the excess wiring in the headliner, and I mount my radar to the side as can be seen.. It picks up all signals front and back.. No issues at all with this setup..

Cheers

Positive is the green, Negative is the Black.. Straight forward!

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Hey Rambino, I tested this last night and was getting 15.6ish volts, so tapped into these to power my radar. Seemed to work great. Went to update the firmware on the radar and when I came back it wasn't powering it up anymore. Radar is fine from the 12v accessory power in the console. I now measure 3.6v across the green and black and can't seem to get it powering up to 15 again. Is yours still working? Car is a 2022 plaid.

 

[Sullivansteve]

This one is not as pretty, but does the job, and had the benefit of also being a splitter. It is what I am using now.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071L8W7Q7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got this one today and it works great. Pin 4 is ground, 11 is constant, and 16 is switched. It’s nice because you can pop out the original obd2 connector from its mount, wire one side of this to your device, pop the other side of this in the factory connectors place, connect the two male/female and tuck everything up and away.

Plus it was only a day for me to receive.

Thanks for the lead. All done now.

 

[Sullivansteve]

I got it today. There are 8 wires, pin 16 doesn’t connect to any of them. Pin 4 was ground, and pin 11 only gave me 2.4 volts. So I went with the green and black up by the mirror as a previous person posted (thanks for that info btw, sorry I don’t recall the name and don’t want to look back at the moment) I had 15+V up there and it worked for a bit, but I came back later and there’s no power. Gonna check it out in the am, I was kinda rushing and may not have had a good solder connection. Hoping that’s it anyway as I verified it shut off and turned on with the door close/open.

Just to update, not sure why I was only getting 2.4 Volts, there’s 15+ coming out of pins 11 and 16 on the factory connector. I was testing using the obd2 adapter so maybe there was a bad termination in it or something. Gave up on the mirror area for power.

 

[deadwynter]

I got this one today and it works great. Pin 4 is ground, 11 is constant, and 16 is switched. It’s nice because you can pop out the original obd2 connector from its mount, wire one side of this to your device, pop the other side of this in the factory connectors place, connect the two male/female and tuck everything up and away.

Plus it was only a day for me to receive.

Thanks for the lead. All done now.

I forgot to ask this, so you can basically put this inline BEHIND the panel? Any chance you took a picture of what you did? Thanks!

 

[THX723]

Can someone point me to or share how to remove the footwell panel where the OBD port is on?

Does it simply pull down, or do I need to first detach other/adjacent panels?

 

[Rambino]

Hey Rambino, I tested this last night and was getting 15.6ish volts, so tapped into these to power my radar. Seemed to work great. Went to update the firmware on the radar and when I came back it wasn't powering it up anymore. Radar is fine from the 12v accessory power in the console. I now measure 3.6v across the green and black and can't seem to get it powering up to 15 again. Is yours still working? Car is a 2022 plaid.

Strange... Mine is working just fine without any issues. Im not sure if there is an update for my valentine one, but its the newer hardware version, I will check....I have the newest Plaid firmware as well.. Ill update and follow up if mine conks out..

 

[Rambino]

Does the camera housing just pull off ? Any special techniques ? Nice post

It just pops off easily.. No special techniques.. Its a bit of a pain to tuck the excess in the headliner, so be gentle and take your time till it all fits in snugly

 

[Rambino]

That almost looks compatible with the BlendMount MirrorTap (MirrorTap Power Cord; No More Dangling Power Cords). Did you use one of those, or tap the wires directly?

I tapped directly. I use a razor blade to trim off some of the wiring sheath to expose the wire.. Then I use tappers from Autozone.. Done it this way on at least 10 cars without issue

 

[delgrego]

Can someone point me to or share how to remove the footwell panel where the OBD port is on?

Does it simply pull down, or do I need to first detach other/adjacent panels?

That panel pulls easily straight off. I was able to use this OBD splitter and cut off the end to splice the wires. I did not attempt to pop out the factory connector and replace it like Sullivansteve described above but I may attempt it later.

 

[THX723]

That panel pulls easily straight off. I was able to use this OBD splitter and cut off the end to splice the wires. I did not attempt to pop out the factory connector and replace it like Sullivansteve described above but I may attempt it later.

Yup, thanks. I was able to do exactly that -- yanked it straight off without breaking anything.

I have the same 2-way splitter as @Sullivansteve, which was an easy drop-in at the OEM cutout. I also wired in a programmable timer delay to address auto power-on issue I had with one of my V1 gen2 radar detector.

 

[delgrego]

Yup, thanks. I was able to do exactly that -- yanked it straight off without breaking anything.

I have the same 2-way splitter as @Sullivansteve, which was an easy drop-in at the OEM cutout. I also wired in a programmable timer delay to address auto power-on issue I had with one of my V1 gen2 radar detector.

Were you able to pop out the OEM OBD port and if so how did you do it? Are there tabs that you have to press to release it?

 

[THX723]

Were you able to pop out the OEM OBD port and if so how did you do it? Are there tabs that you have to press to release it?

Yup easy as pie. It is indeed held by tabs on either side. A gentle press with a flat head will do the trick.

 

[tekie99]

Well.. I tried the OBD adapter route, wasn't a huge fan of it... so went with a partial of Rambino's method. I used a mirror tap kit with different size taps in the kit and used the green and black wires behind the rearview.. no splicing though, that's the nice part of the mirror tap kit. Seem to be working just fine... my escort 360c is reporting 15.6 volts... and the downside is its always on, but auto turns off after 1 hour of inactivity, and the screen is set to blank out after 30 minutes (because its oled)...

 

[artsci]

I pretty sure the wireless charger isn't constant. I have my laser jammer connected to it and I believe it turns off after a few minutes.

If it helps people understand, the wiring diagram shows that the yellow wire powers the air suspension, purple the MCU, red the HCU, and the furthest to the right the Autopilot Computer. So you’d want to tap the yellow wire at at the source in the frunk not at the wireless charger. I’ll use that yellow wire source to power the electric frunk and COB led lighted front T, all of which I’ll install a week from Sunday.

 

[n2mb_racing]

Has anyone found a high current 12V circuit to tap into? 30A or more?

 

[motorwerks]

I am creating this thread to discuss access to power for those who desire modifications to the 2021 refresh Model S, such as adding a radar detector, dashcams, additional LED lighting, etc. This is being already discussed in multiple different areas, but not consolidated anywhere. I inadvertently hijacked the Diagnostic Port Index thread, where there is a lot of good information in there, but has taken a tangent off the purpose of that thread. I am asking the Mods to move many of those posts over here. There is also good info in this radar detector thread. For full disclosure, I do not have my refresh yet. I am just gathering information. More importantly, I deserve zero credit for this, as I honestly just compiling information from the hard work of others. I love modding my cars and often ride the coattails of others.

Personally, I am interested in both switched and unswitched sources. Switched is great for radar detectors, as one example, which have no major use while not driving. I want unswitched for dashcams, which I would like active while parked. I may want some LED features always on as well, which I can turn off manually through a separate remote switch when I desire.

Important notes:

• There is no fuse box in the refresh. There are electronic circuits managed by the CPU
• Early reports showed that tapping into existing wiring can, but not necessarily, trigger all sorts of alerts.
• There is no standard 12V battery in the refresh for direct access. There is a Li-ion battery that does not have traditional posts. This was my preference initially, where I would have added my own separate fuse box.

These are what 12V / power sources I have accumulated so far:

• There is a cable in the driver’s lateral (outside) footwell behind the carpet that gives switched 12V access (thanks to @Hawkdriver for this discovery). It is also possible that this is in the passenger footwell as well (@Venom may have used this). These extra cables may be similar to the cable used for the tow package brake controller found on the X & Y (@Stewart ), and it is possible this $4.40 part from Tesla will allow an easy connection: BRAKE ECU ADAPTER (1072586-00- A). The part is not available online, so my guess is that you need to order it directly from Tesla. Proper fit has not yet been confirmed. The original intended purpose of this hidden connector is not clear. There is no known tow feature for the Model S, so maybe it is a left over from a similar wiring harness. Or, maybe something to do with ambient lighting upgrades.
• There is indeed an OBD-II connector under the dash in the driver’s footwell, as has been in all prior Model S's, pre-refresh. This provides unswitched 12V access with pin 4 = ground, and pin 16 = 12V. There are all sorts of OBD-II connectors online that will allow you to tap into this, including some with built-in step-down to 5V.
• As per the Diagnostic Port Index thread, there is a proprietary adapter hidden under the center wireless charging pad. In prior iterations of the Model S, this has been used for mods such as the lighted rear applique. This has switched 12V access. It requires a Maxwell adapter to either convert to OBD-II, or just to get access to switched power. I won't talk about this myself, as I have extremely limited knowledge of using this advanced port.
• @rhuber accessed switched power for his radar directly from the front camera. I am waiting to hear back on exactly how he did this. No alerts were reported. Personally, I am a little concerned about access such a vital camera.
• Finally, there is easy 12V access by plugging into the cigarette lighter adapter hidden in the center counsel.

Again, I am not an expert in this, and I apologize for any errors. I would love to hear others contribute to this thread.

Thanks for this extensive informative writeup. I looked in the footwell (driver's side left next to the deadpedal) and I cannot find that white connector for the life of me. Any other photos of the region where it was located?

 

[CJMurphy11]

Thanks for this extensive informative writeup. I looked in the footwell (driver's side left next to the deadpedal) and I cannot find that white connector for the life of me. Any other photos of the region where it was located?

If I recall correctly, there were at least a handful of people who could not find it. It seems possible (if not likely) that this connector is not part of the Model S wiring design, but was included in some builds for unknown reasons (perhaps because they had spare wiring harnesses for the Model X lying around during the MX production delays and ran out of MS harnesses).

 

[Robotpedlr]

If I recall correctly, there were at least a handful of people who could not find it. It seems possible (if not likely) that this connector is not part of the Model S wiring design, but was included in some builds for unknown reasons (perhaps because they had spare wiring harnesses for the Model X lying around during the MX production delays and ran out of MS harnesses).

This is correct. I have a December build and the wire is not present. Several people have confirmed it no longer exists in new builds. The OBDII port or accessory plug in the center console are your best options.

 

[4SUPER9]

I’ll use that yellow wire source to power the electric frunk and COB led lighted front T, all of which I’ll install a week from Sunday.

Is there an electric frunk unit available for the refresh? I haven't seen one yet.

 

[KorbenD]

Is there an electric frunk unit available for the refresh? I haven't seen one yet.

EVOffer has theirs up for preorder now with shipping in March. I ordered one earlier today.