I'm wondering if it's possible to have a dashcam or other 12v power using device that accesses the large battery. Also and if not, does the car notice if the 12v battery is getting low and charge the 12v battery with the traction battery? I do notice and perhaps obvious- one can while sitting in the car tap the power button twice on a hot day (no need hit the break) and turn on AC. The air conditioner can run for a very long time without a significant impact on the estimated EV range. It decrements the range but only slowly. Totally dig that when compared to a gas-mobile where one has to turn on the engine to run AC while waiting in a parking lot in the sun. -Dan
Yes, it uses a dc-dc converter to step down from the high voltage system to the 12 volt system. There is no old-school alternator and belt on the engine besides how could that charge the 12v when the ICE sometimes doesn't run for days and weeks of driving. I haven't tried the double-tap w/o brake power button method myself; I just leave the car on so I don't have to worry about the small 12v getting too discharged. If I want to be more inconspicuous, I move the headlight switch from Auto to OFF which turns off all exterior lights including the DRL's. I recently did this when I spent the night in the car due to a power outage after a strong storm. I used HV+ charge to get the battery to 57% SOC and it nearly made it all night running the a/c so I'm confident that a full battery would. The beauty of dual fuels!
