800W RMS Amplifier install on 2022 model Y with new 15.5V Li-ion battery/AMD system

[cleverscreenam]

Mine is listed with voltage for normal ice cars (14.4v operation). No issues so far though. I’d agree with @cleverscreenam though. If you really want a workaround, calculate your voltage drop length and use that.

I installed a smaller but similar system as you into my Model S: Kicker 400w RMS and L5 Solobaric. I'm worried about the maximum output of the DC-DC converter or I would go higher, and I installed two 1-farad capacitors next to the amp to reduce the wear on the DC-DC, instead of an additional battery. A bulletproof option is powering an amp from an additional battery disconnected from the Tesla, and recharging it when you're not bumping (I'm currently experimenting with that).

Your install looks fun and clean, nice job!

 

[TwoK4drSi]

I installed a Kicker CX 800.1 amplifier and an AudioControl LC2i Pro LOC pushing to 2 older model 10" Kicker Comp VR subs in a custom box I built for the sub-trunk. I know there are better amps and subs out there—I’m from Oklahoma, so trying to support ‘the local guys’. Also just looking for some additional bass—not trying to draw extra attention or win a competition or anything.

After reading some of the posts here on the forum regarding the NVX boost system, battery issues, etc., I thought I had all of the equipment I needed for the install to avoid issues.

Amp and subwoofer install on the new Li-ion 12/15.5v AMD systems?

Hello, Has anyone installed an amp and subwoofer on the new Li-ion 12/15.5v? Just curious if there are any issues with this type of install on the new Li-ion systems?

teslamotorsclub.com

Model Y Subwoofer Bass Mod

One issue I‘ve had with my Model Y compared to my old Model 3 is that there’s hardly any bass at all from the audio system, it wasn’t amazing in the M3, but it was noticeably better than the MY. If I turn the bass and sub sliders all the way up then there is some bass, but it’s very muddy...

teslamotorsclub.com

NVX Boost Subwoofer upgrade - installed

If you are looking for a nicely integrated bass / subwoofer upgrade for your 5-seater Y but don’t want to take up too much space, this is a great option. The only loss to space is the “milk” pockets on either side of the rear storage area. Or one pocket if you install a single side. You can add...

teslamotorsclub.com

Subwoofer install on new AMD systems

Hey just got my system installed and it took more work than normal on the new 12v li ion battery but everything is working correctly and not throwing error codes. The AMD vehicles require an extra battery for larger amps. This is not my complete and finished setup. My hd750\1 JL amp is in the...

teslamotorsclub.com

However, I had originally connected the amp’s power supply from the penthouse, but much like the last thread above mentions, there were issues doing that, and Tesla's electronics did NOT like it (I'm assuming the issue was the MOFSETS in the penthouse not liking the power draw when first waking up the car, but that’s just a guess). I ended up purchasing a 14V accessory battery from XS Batteries to help keep the amp happy and reduce the instantaneous draw on the system upon initial wakeup of the car. I also moved the connection point from the penthouse to the jump post at the front of the vehicle, above the low voltage battery, to distance the connection from the MOFSETS. This combo seemed to work.

Here's the connection.
View attachment 854079

I installed circuit breakers instead of the usual audio fuses, in case I needed/wanted to disconnect the accessory system from the car’s low voltage system. Here’s the circuit breaker I installed at the front (30A).
View attachment 854080

Here is the battery location and the circuit breakers on both the line back to the front (again for safety/isolation purposes) as well as the breaker to the amp, as a typical install would require (80A to the amp, per its' spec, and 60A to the front, just to have a different color option to keep them easily identifiable).
View attachment 854083

Here’s a link to where I purchased the battery: XS Power RSV-S6
Yes, stupidly expensive. The ‘stupidity tax’ for wanting an aftermarket audio system in a finicky car I suppose.

I also added a Bluetooth lithium ion battery tracker from antigravity batteries. Without a battery isolator installed to keep the two low voltage systems separated, it just gives me the total voltage of the system (accessory and car battery together). So, not entirely useful, unless the car’s low voltage battery also started failing. However, I could open one of the circuit breakers between the two to get a better indication of the accessory battery voltage status.

Here’s the custom box I made to maximize the space of the sub-trunk.
View attachment 854085

View attachment 854086

The wings are weird, admittedly, but I needed every bit of space in the sub trunk that I could get, so that I had enough internal volume required for the subs’ operation. Box has just over 1.65 ft3 internal volume. Box is also filled 50% with polyfil as well.

It’s an 800W RMS amplifier, pushing power to the 2 10” 2-ohm DVC subs. Also have an AudioControl LC2i Pro LOC, receiving the audio and converting the signal for the Kicker amp. Here’s the whole system:
View attachment 854087

I used a piggyback harness another forum member made to tap into the audio system at the factory sub for the LOC signal; $70ish. Pricy, for what I was getting. But, easier than trying to splice into the system. And since all of it is plug-and-play, I can remove the system entirely as if it was never there. That piece of mind made the purchase worth it for me.

Trailer/tow harness, ordered from Tesla; less than $5. This was my 12V source near the driver’s seat footwell so I could install an on/off switch. I wanted to ensure the system would be fully off when I leave the car, to avoid battery issues with the amp continuing to stay awake or put a draw on the system. In a discussion with the CTO of WavTech, there seem to be reports after one of the 2022-based software updates where the previous low voltage wire that was being used to tap a power supply continued to supply power and the audio equipment continued to stay ‘on’ when the car was put into sentry mode, thus keeping the whole aftermarket system on. I use sentry mode everywhere but at the house, so I was concerned with this. However, I only have that story, and no personal experience with confirming that scenario. Just trying to avoid it, hence the on/off switch.

I put an inline fuse between this harness and the button, which I installed on the driver’s side console side-wall. This is one of the two spots where there would be physical/visible evidence of the system, should I ever remove it, since I did drill a hole through the plastic/carpet there.
View attachment 854088

View attachment 854090

For the negative/ground for the accessory battery and for the LOC, I used the bolt holes where the 3rd row seatbelts would attach.
View attachment 854092

Lastly, here’s the location for the LOC bass knob.
View attachment 854094

Only other thing to note was that when I purchased the battery, it arrived with a low voltage, so I needed to use a 16 V lithium ion battery charger to get it up to snuff. I installed it with just a hair over the car’s resting low voltage, to ensure that there were no issues from the temperamental software. Worked great, and once it was installed, it’s been charging/hovering at 15.4 V, which is 85-90ish percent max SOC for this battery, which should minimize battery degradation.

The system is definitely not breaking any records with watts, but is sounds amazeballs, and definitely does the job that I wanted it to do! Super happy with the finished product. Final verdict is that an aftermarket install on the new higher low-voltage system is possible (if you can manage to swallow the battery cost).

Nice write up but not the craziest. There’s this guy on IG. I believe he used the entire middle row and trunk and did like 8 down firing 12s and some other custom door and dash setup. You have to catch it in his stories bc he’s bad at post clouting

 

[Bradford_G]

Thanks so much for this awesome write-up! I have spent weeks researching this type of install online and talking with a few local car audio shops after I installed a JL Audio XD600/1v2 pushing two 10” JL W3v3s in a ported box in my 2023 Model 3 RWD. I tapped the penthouse for power and used the signal sense on the amp to cut the amp on and off. I spliced into one of the front door woofers for the signal that I ran to the amp because my car does not have premium sound that includes the amp/OEM sub in the back of the car. The sound was great and I experienced no issues while driving the car for a day. But after parking it at home overnight with sentry turned off, the battery was dead.

I then read about the LC2i maybe having superior signal sense, so I installed it and turned and all was good for a day. The next morning the battery was not dead, but a few minutes after the car turned on I started receiving the dreaded notifications that the electrical system is unable to support all features, electrical system power reduced, and vehicle shutting down. I pulled everything out of the car and am contemplating next steps.

I only tried the options above before exploring the XS RSV-S6 option because there is a Reddit thread where someone said they installed two 12” subwoofers and a 500 watts RMS amp in their 2022 Model 3 SR+ using an LC2i and tapping the penthouse for power. They claimed to have no issues after five months of running the amp and speakers. Although my JL XD600/1v2 is 600 watts RMS, I read other threads saying anything under 1,000 watts RMS should work without an axillary battery.

Before laying down the dough for the XS RSV-S6, which Shawn from XS Power Batteries says should be good for the system I am running in my car, I want to exhaust all other options first.

I am going to try removing the LC2i from the setup and simply insert a 12v switch for the amp. I plan to tap the 12v power point in the center console, install the switch, and run the positive lead to the amp’s remote turn on instead of using signal sense. Does your switch act similarly? I thought you mentioned signal sense but also running the switch. Can you please describe how the switch is being used and interacting with the LC2i and amp?

Out of the car audio stores I’ve talked to, some have said no way they are touching a Tesla and a couple have said they could make the system work with a 14v lithium ion battery auxiliary battery but didn’t instill confidence in how they were describing how the work would be done. I reached out to Rick with Reus Audio to get some quotes. He was a super nice guy and provided a ton of information about their systems but the prices for the packages he offered were out of my budget. Not including the cost of my existing equipment, which I’ve had for a couple years now, adding an RSV-S6, cables, circuit breakers, fuses, etc., is still considerably cheaper than the cheapest system offered by Reus.

One last thing, I know a number of people have described tapping the jump post in the frunk instead of the penthouse, but my jump post looks totally different and appears that I would have to actually cut/splice into the wire leading into the jump post to get power from the front (see attached pics). If I can use the penthouse, it would be much easier for me to pull everything out before servicing the car than it would to splice into the power in the frunk and pull a 4 gauge wire through the firewall.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!

Since I have a Y, I used the 'tow package' low voltage power supply from a harness connection in the driver footwell. I had read about similar setups of using the 12V power source from the center console in various 3s and Ys both, but don't have any firsthand experience with accessing it.

So my power for the LC2i runs from that access point, over to the switch, and then from the switch to the LC2i. If the switch is on, the LOC will 'turn on' because i have it set to signal sense. If at any point I turn off the switch, the LOC immediately shuts off. The amp gets power (at least wakeup power) from the LOC, so if the LOC isn't awake, the amp isn't either.

Re: your question about the accessory battery, I had read similarly about 'anything under 1K watts and the car should be happy'. I think I should have tried the front end frunk connection point described in my post without the accessory battery first, to see if my amp still caused issues. There may have been enough delay because of the wiring distance between when the MOFSETs wake up at the penthouse, and when the amp would have tried pulling power to fill the capacitors inside of it, that it would have been fine. I just didn't try it, so can't speak to that capability. And when I had it connected on a much shorter run directly from the penthouse, the car was immediately cranky every time I tried engaging the car to startup.

I would recommend reading into the M3 forums regarding the front connection point. I know it's "different", but I don't recall reading that people were having to splice into the wiring for a successful install. I mostly focused on the Y side of things, and at the time I was doing the install, there wasn't a whole lot of people who'd posted about the new higher voltage battery format yet.

Good luck with the resolution to your install!

 

[Bradford_G]

Thanks so much for this awesome write-up! I have spent weeks researching this type of install online and talking with a few local car audio shops after I installed a JL Audio XD600/1v2 pushing two 10” JL W3v3s in a ported box in my 2023 Model 3 RWD. I tapped the penthouse for power and used the signal sense on the amp to cut the amp on and off. I spliced into one of the front door woofers for the signal that I ran to the amp because my car does not have premium sound that includes the amp/OEM sub in the back of the car. The sound was great and I experienced no issues while driving the car for a day. But after parking it at home overnight with sentry turned off, the battery was dead.

I then read about the LC2i maybe having superior signal sense, so I installed it and turned and all was good for a day. The next morning the battery was not dead, but a few minutes after the car turned on I started receiving the dreaded notifications that the electrical system is unable to support all features, electrical system power reduced, and vehicle shutting down. I pulled everything out of the car and am contemplating next steps.

I only tried the options above before exploring the XS RSV-S6 option because there is a Reddit thread where someone said they installed two 12” subwoofers and a 500 watts RMS amp in their 2022 Model 3 SR+ using an LC2i and tapping the penthouse for power. They claimed to have no issues after five months of running the amp and speakers. Although my JL XD600/1v2 is 600 watts RMS, I read other threads saying anything under 1,000 watts RMS should work without an axillary battery.

Before laying down the dough for the XS RSV-S6, which Shawn from XS Power Batteries says should be good for the system I am running in my car, I want to exhaust all other options first.

I am going to try removing the LC2i from the setup and simply insert a 12v switch for the amp. I plan to tap the 12v power point in the center console, install the switch, and run the positive lead to the amp’s remote turn on instead of using signal sense. Does your switch act similarly? I thought you mentioned signal sense but also running the switch. Can you please describe how the switch is being used and interacting with the LC2i and amp?

Out of the car audio stores I’ve talked to, some have said no way they are touching a Tesla and a couple have said they could make the system work with a 14v lithium ion battery auxiliary battery but didn’t instill confidence in how they were describing how the work would be done. I reached out to Rick with Reus Audio to get some quotes. He was a super nice guy and provided a ton of information about their systems but the prices for the packages he offered were out of my budget. Not including the cost of my existing equipment, which I’ve had for a couple years now, adding an RSV-S6, cables, circuit breakers, fuses, etc., is still considerably cheaper than the cheapest system offered by Reus.

One last thing, I know a number of people have described tapping the jump post in the frunk instead of the penthouse, but my jump post looks totally different and appears that I would have to actually cut/splice into the wire leading into the jump post to get power from the front (see attached pics). If I can use the penthouse, it would be much easier for me to pull everything out before servicing the car than it would to splice into the power in the frunk and pull a 4 gauge wire through the firewall.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!

I just noticed your pics!
It looks like your jumper post is probably under that large red + cover on the 'left side' of your first pic (right/center side of car), and towards the 'top' of your second pic.
I didn't look at the model 3 user manual, but you might read into that...it's wear I had learned more about the connection point for my Y.
this would prevent you from having to splice into that main lead that trails away from your battery connect.
Just a thought.

 

[Dog_Dad-2]

Since I have a Y, I used the 'tow package' low voltage power supply from a harness connection in the driver footwell. I had read about similar setups of using the 12V power source from the center console in various 3s and Ys both, but don't have any firsthand experience with accessing it.

So my power for the LC2i runs from that access point, over to the switch, and then from the switch to the LC2i. If the switch is on, the LOC will 'turn on' because i have it set to signal sense. If at any point I turn off the switch, the LOC immediately shuts off. The amp gets power (at least wakeup power) from the LOC, so if the LOC isn't awake, the amp isn't either.

Re: your question about the accessory battery, I had read similarly about 'anything under 1K watts and the car should be happy'. I think I should have tried the front end frunk connection point described in my post without the accessory battery first, to see if my amp still caused issues. There may have been enough delay because of the wiring distance between when the MOFSETs wake up at the penthouse, and when the amp would have tried pulling power to fill the capacitors inside of it, that it would have been fine. I just didn't try it, so can't speak to that capability. And when I had it connected on a much shorter run directly from the penthouse, the car was immediately cranky every time I tried engaging the car to startup.

I would recommend reading into the M3 forums regarding the front connection point. I know it's "different", but I don't recall reading that people were having to splice into the wiring for a successful install. I mostly focused on the Y side of things, and at the time I was doing the install, there wasn't a whole lot of people who'd posted about the new higher voltage battery format yet.

Good luck with the resolution to your install!

Thanks so much for the response. Your description of the switch providing power to the LC2i makes sense. I am going to do something similar but instead of powering the LC2i, I'm going to power a Wavtech IRAD, which in turn will provide power to the amp. I will switch the amp back to signal sense.

I tried the scenario I mentioned in my earlier post, removing the LC2i from the equation and running a remote wire to the amp, but the end result was the same. It worked for a few startups but inevitably resulted in the car throwing the same codes.

I am going to look for a trailer hitch connection in the kick panel to see if a simple harness like the one you got for your Y will work in my 3. If not, I'll tap the center console.

I like your thought about the longer run maybe making a difference in the MOSFETS being drawn more slowly. I wonder if I could test the theory by simply connecting the penthouse to the amp with 16 ft. of 4 gauge power wire. Instead of running the length of the car, it would just be bundled in the rear trunk.

I ordered the same battery you did and a charger, which should both be delivered Friday. Already purchased and sitting in the garage are Blue Sea Systems circuit breakers and all of the wire, fuses, and connectors I will need. I also purchased a switch that looks like the one you posted. Not sure if it is actually the same. It is a Marine Sport Lighting 19mm Two Position Switch. I looked at a similar one from Blue Sea Systems but didn't like that the ring around the push button was silver. The one I am getting is black.

Thanks again for the response. I greatly appreciate you sharing your experience and insight.

 

[Dog_Dad-2]

I just noticed your pics!
It looks like your jumper post is probably under that large red + cover on the 'left side' of your first pic (right/center side of car), and towards the 'top' of your second pic.
I didn't look at the model 3 user manual, but you might read into that...it's wear I had learned more about the connection point for my Y.
this would prevent you from having to splice into that main lead that trails away from your battery connect.
Just a thought.

The jump post is actually to the right of the large red cover. It is plated or polished, so pretty shiny. Maybe try zooming in to see it. I removed the cap and set it to the left of the actual jumper post. I really don't want to pull the power wire through the firewall if I don't have to. I've done it on a number of other vehicles with relative ease, but I haven't located an area in the 3 firewall that looks promising and would prefer to be able to easily remove everything before having the car serviced.

I realize the switch will be in place, but I can always say that went to radar detector or LED lights or something. I don't know if that will make a difference or not...

Thanks for the suggestion about the manual. I will definitely take a look at it.

Thanks again!

 

[Redman122905]

Not sure how helpful this is but my Y has a NVX 1000.1 with no error messages for about 1.5 years now on 2 L7 10’s. I tried running power to the penthouse and that amp failed for some reason so I ran power to the frunk and never had an issue. Also I have had the LC2I powering my amp. I will post pics in on a second. I have the older style battery but there should be a battery post under there I remember seeing on my wife’s model 3.

 

[El0nMu$k]

Not sure how helpful this is but my Y has a NVX 1000.1 with no error messages for about 1.5 years now on 2 L7 10’s. I tried running power to the penthouse and that amp failed for some reason so I ran power to the frunk and never had an issue. Also I have had the LC2I powering my amp. I will post pics in on a second. I have the older style battery but there should be a battery post under there I remember seeing on my wife’s model 3.

I just wired my amp to the post under the back seat. That is the best spot in my opinion.

 

[Dog_Dad-2]

The jump post is actually to the right of the large red cover. It is plated or polished, so pretty shiny. Maybe try zooming in to see it. I removed the cap and set it to the left of the actual jumper post. I really don't want to pull the power wire through the firewall if I don't have to. I've done it on a number of other vehicles with relative ease, but I haven't located an area in the 3 firewall that looks promising and would prefer to be able to easily remove everything before having the car serviced.

I realize the switch will be in place, but I can always say that went to radar detector or LED lights or something. I don't know if that will make a difference or not...

Thanks for the suggestion about the manual. I will definitely take a look at it.

Thanks again!

I'm just posting an update in case it helps anyone else. After trying a number of different things that others have already tried, hoping I might experience different results, I finally installed the same 14 volt lithium battery Bradford_G and some others indicated they installed and resolved their system error issues. I installed a switch (tapped into the 12v, actually 15.5v, cigarette lighter/power point in the center console for power), ran the switch to an LC2i Pro, used signal sense on the LC2i Pro to turn on and send power to a Wavtech IRAD with 5 second delay, and the Wavtech IRAD turns on my JL Audio XD600/1v2 amp, which powers two JL Audio 10w3v3-4s in a ported box.

I didn't want to run power to the frunk due to not seeing any clear way to breach the firewall and due to the jump post on my 2023 Model 3 being totally different than the jump posts of prior Y and 3 models (posted two pictures of the jump post earlier in this thread). Bradford_G had suggested that maybe running power from the frunk to the amp worked for him due to the relatively long run of wire from frunk to the rear of the vehicle and enough voltage drop to prevent the car from sensing the influx of MOSFETs occurring when the amp turns on. I tested this theory in a very basic non-scientific way by connecting a 4 gauge power wire to the penthouse and simply bundling up 14 feet of the wire in the rear of the vehicle before connecting it to the 14 volt lithium battery I installed in the trunk. From the 14v battery to the amp I ran about 6 feet of 4 gauge wire. I have no idea if any of it makes sense, if I should have run equal lengths from the penthouse to the battery and from the battery to the amp, or if the long run from the penthouse to the battery was even necessary due to not trying a shorter run of wire first. All I know is that as it currently is, it all works. After countless hours trying other things that didn't work and constantly getting error codes on the car and killing the factory battery a number of times, I have decided to leave things as they are for the time being. I am sure I will eventually tinker with it some more and see if I can narrow down what the winning combination is. I'm just happy it all works and I didn't have to run a 4 gauge wire to the frunk.

The only issue I experienced after running the setup was after Level 1 charging at home for a few days and having no issues pulling a paltry 12 amps from my house, I drove the car to work and plugged into a Level 1 20 amp circuit. I then experienced an error code that said, "Power grid or vehicle issue limiting AC charging." While part of me wanted to believe it had nothing to do with the stereo system, I determined that it had to be the issue. After trying some basic troubleshooting to rule out the stereo system (e.g., disconnecting and reconnecting the charging adapter and charger, trying different charging outlets in the parking garage, and doing a basic system reboot), none of which worked, I simply disconnected the battery from under the hood and under the rear seat, flipped the circuit breakers I had running from the penthouse to the 14v battery and from the 14v battery to the amp, waited five minutes, reconnected the power under the rear seat and hood, and reset both circuit breakers. It worked and I haven't had any issues in over a week now.

I think the issue may have been due to the installation of the 14v battery. I charged the battery and observed the resting voltage to be 15.7 volts, which is .2-.3 volts above what the car's peak operating voltage typically is (15.4-15.5) when I installed the battery for the first time and connected it to the car. I think maybe the car sensed the higher voltage and thought there might be an issue. After installing the battery and running it for a while, the battery voltage normalized and was reduced to the same voltage as the OEM battery in the frunk (15.4-15.5). I would imagine that the car is incapable of sensing two separate 15.5 v sources at this point and simply sees a single source. This is pure speculation on my part, but it makes sense in my aging mind.

If I was going to do it all over again, I would first try running 14 feet or so of 4 gauge wire from the penthouse to the Wavetech IRAD with a 3-5 second delay, and the IRAD send the remote signal to turn on the amp. Maybe the relatively small amount of voltage drop and the delay (allowing the car to fully wake up and power all of its other systems) would work without installing the expensive 14v lithium battery. If that didn't work, I would go the 14v battery route but instead of running the long run I did from the penthouse to the 14v battery, I would only run as much wire as needed to connect the two points and would remove the IRAD from the equation but add in the LC2i Pro. If that didn't work, I would add the IRAD back in.

I hope this information helps others. I haven't ever posted anything in forums over the decades I have been using them to research issues, but after all of the time I spent on this project, and my wife constantly complaining about the time it consumed and being upset about the one time we took the car to get frozen yogurt and it throwing codes that we both thought meant we would have to Uber home, I thought it was worth sharing all of my bonehead mistakes with others to save them the time I wasted.

 

[delarockyy]

I just noticed your pics!
It looks like your jumper post is probably under that large red + cover on the 'left side' of your first pic (right/center side of car), and towards the 'top' of your second pic.
I didn't look at the model 3 user manual, but you might read into that...it's wear I had learned more about the connection point for my Y.
this would prevent you from having to splice into that main lead that trails away from your battery connect.
Just a thought.

add me on instagram @delarockyy
i'm gonna attempt this in a few days lmk

 

[C-Bus Y]

Great discovery work. This worked much easier with the old lead acid battery. My system with a 1K amp is still bumping along.

I just turn off the manual switch when getting out of the car and all is well. This switch is installed between the 12V-out from the LOC and the remote turn on for the amp.

Not sure what I’ll do for the next vehicle that has a 15V lithium battery and threads like this are solving it for everyone.

 

[Redman122905]

Agreed. Great write up, my 1K is still bumping as well with no issues since I completed the original install well over a year ago. But I had the regular battery before the newer style. Keep up the good work.

 

[delarockyy]

Can someone explain to me why putting a 15.5v and a 14v battery in parallel isn’t a bad idea.. because google says not to put any batteries of different volts in parallel.

 

[delarockyy]

Also which other alternative batteries would suffice.. I don’t need 3000w… maybe 1000 though

 

[Bradford_G]

Can someone explain to me why putting a 15.5v and a 14v battery in parallel isn’t a bad idea.. because google says not to put any batteries of different volts in parallel.

The car's battery is at 15.5V. The secondary "14V" battery of the S6 that I installed is really at 16.4V when at 100% charged. See the state of charge chart here https://www.4xspower.com/TITAN8_Instructions.pdf regarding the S6, and notice that at 15.5V (not listed between 15.2 and 15.60V), the voltage of the battery's state of charge is roughly 85-90%. Also see the last bullet point on that page in the list, which reads:
"Lithium batteries do not have a "memory effect" therefore they do not have to be empty to benefit from re-charging. Simply recharge them when convenient and avoid overcharging. In general, float charging or battery maintaining should be avoided. However, since the chemistry is LTO, they can be used in a system that does constantly charge the battery to maintain a ~90% SOC without damaging the battery."

The car's DC-DC converter is always recharging the low voltage 15.5V battery to 15.5V, and the other battery is hooked up too, it also gets 15.5V, maintaining a roughly 90% charge all the time.

Re: "alternate batteries", I took looked around the internet for a bit looking for just a 'small battery' that would help keep the capacitors inside the amp happy. I'm a novice on the internet, but that unicorn doesn't exist. If you get into this type of odd voltage, you get bigger power because most 14V batteries are made for race cars, which often need a fairly large standalone wattage for starting the engine and maintaining power supply to the various pumps/accessories. I did not have success in finding anything that fit the "small but odd voltage" size. Hopefully with continued interest in this type of aftermarket application, a manufacturer will step forward to fill that void.

 

[Bradford_G]

Agreed. Great write up, my 1K is still bumping as well with no issues since I completed the original install well over a year ago. But I had the regular battery before the newer style. Keep up the good work.

@Redman122905 and @C-Bus Y thanks all! I'm glad yours are still hitting well too!

Mine continues to impress me as well. No issues at all, and am really enjoying the flexibility of turning the system on and off at the push of a button. I listen to a lot of audio books on my short commute (where the bass is obviously not needed) and while one of my sons is into the bass 'hitting his back', the other one is not. So, it's nice to be able to easily listen to music while appeasing everyone in the car. And when I'm in a mood for bass, it's right there when I want it.

@delarockyy I don't insta, but I wish you luck with your project!

 

[delarockyy]

The car's battery is at 15.5V. The secondary "14V" battery of the S6 that I installed is really at 16.4V when at 100% charged. See the state of charge chart here https://www.4xspower.com/TITAN8_Instructions.pdf regarding the S6, and notice that at 15.5V (not listed between 15.2 and 15.60V), the voltage of the battery's state of charge is roughly 85-90%. Also see the last bullet point on that page in the list, which reads:
"Lithium batteries do not have a "memory effect" therefore they do not have to be empty to benefit from re-charging. Simply recharge them when convenient and avoid overcharging. In general, float charging or battery maintaining should be avoided. However, since the chemistry is LTO, they can be used in a system that does constantly charge the battery to maintain a ~90% SOC without damaging the battery."

The car's DC-DC converter is always recharging the low voltage 15.5V battery to 15.5V, and the other battery is hooked up too, it also gets 15.5V, maintaining a roughly 90% charge all the time.

Re: "alternate batteries", I took looked around the internet for a bit looking for just a 'small battery' that would help keep the capacitors inside the amp happy. I'm a novice on the internet, but that unicorn doesn't exist. If you get into this type of odd voltage, you get bigger power because most 14V batteries are made for race cars, which often need a fairly large standalone wattage for starting the engine and maintaining power supply to the various pumps/accessories. I did not have success in finding anything that fit the "small but odd voltage" size. Hopefully with continued interest in this type of aftermarket application, a manufacturer will step forward to fill that void.

That makes way more sense now! I appreciate the in depth response. Also; you used a 14v amp right? Or a variable one? I couldn't find anything on your specific amp on which input volts it takes. thanks!

 

[Bradford_G]

That makes way more sense now! I appreciate the in depth response. Also; you used a 14v amp right? Or a variable one? I couldn't find anything on your specific amp on which input volts it takes. thanks!

I had spoken with Kicker about if the higher voltage would be alright, since the paperwork is all phrased for “12v” batteries expecting to receive 14.4 v, not the higher 15.5. They said it shouldn’t be an issue. I’m also not trying to push max watts all the time, but the increased voltage hasn’t caused any issues.

 

[St3phen]

I’m curious if the OPs issue wasn’t so much the 15.5 volt system but using an amp that pulled too much in the first place? In other words, would the same issue have happened in the older 12v Tesla system with that amp?

The only amp that I’m aware of that doesn’t cause Tesla battery alerts (on the 12v system) when tapping the penthouse is the NVX VADM1 mono amp. I guess the question is if the NVX amp or something similar (which pulls very little) can hook up directly to the 15.6 penthouse. (I’m assuming the penthouse puts out 15.6v now instead of 12v)

 

[Delarocky]

I had spoken with Kicker about if the higher voltage would be alright, since the paperwork is all phrased for “12v” batteries expecting to receive 14.4 v, not the higher 15.5. They said it shouldn’t be an issue. I’m also not trying to push max watts all the time, but the increased voltage hasn’t caused any issues.

Looks like my older amp from 2019 accepts 14.4v so 1 volts can’t hurt… right? Also, if you want you can go into service mode and look at LV battery section to see accurate voltage!