"Today I Learned" that newer 3s and Ys have a 16 volt electrical system

[Rutrow]

I knew that newer Teslas had gone to LiION batteries but didn't know it was 16 volts. Interestingly, some of the battery labels didn't know that either (timestamp 4:35 in the video below) ? Don't believe the label if you have an early LiION low voltage battery, it may SAY it's 12v, but it actually is 16v. I learned about several precautions need to be paid attention to that I wasn't aware of. If the High Voltage battery drops too low, although the car may keep running, the BMS on the DC/DC convertor may quit sending power to the low voltage battery. Low voltage accessories: lights, stereo, seats, navigation, etc. may discharge your low voltage battery to the point that it shuts itself off to prevent running down to fatally low SOC. That may ruin the battery, or it may just trip its breaker that makes it appear totally dead. I once ran my Model 3 an additional dozen or so miles after "0%" and later had my 12v lead acid battery die with only ~17,000 miles on the car. ??

Good info in the video if your LV battery ever dies.

 

[Crissa]

Different battery chemistry wants a different voltage to work optimally.

12v equipment should okay with 16v, as you need to have ceiling for the sag to charge at 14.5v.

But... Well, it's easy to have things just be a bit upset about having too much voltage.

-Crissa