Can you connect a high voltage amplifier to the hybrid battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by zoeboi954, Aug 28, 2025 at 1:57 PM.

  1. zoeboi954

    zoeboi954 Junior Member

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    What will happen if you connect a high voltage amplifier to the hv hybrid battery? Will it throw error codes. Amplifiers like stetsom high force 40k or taramp high voltage 80k... will it work fine or will it strain the battery too much
     
    #1 zoeboi954, Aug 28, 2025 at 1:57 PM
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    only if you want to see magic smoke...
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
  3. zoeboi954

    zoeboi954 Junior Member

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    From the amplifier or the battery?... ive seen this was successfully done in a fiat that has a high voltage battery. Just curious about the prius
     
    #3 zoeboi954, Aug 28, 2025 at 2:03 PM
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Can you supply us with the input power specs for those amps?

    We could probably all duplicate the work of googling it, but as it's your question, after all....
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Aug 28, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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  5. zoeboi954

    zoeboi954 Junior Member

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    For my subwoofers application I need 16,000 watts so if i went with a taramp hv40.000
    Its voltage range is 140 - 275vdc
    Its idle consumption is 110mA
    Max musical consumption @0.5 Ohm is 91.5A
    Max sinusoidal consumption @0.5 Ohm (100Hz) is 183A
    Input impedance Is 27K Ohms
    My subwoofers will be wire down to 1 Ohm so my demand from the amp will be less
     

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    #5 zoeboi954, Aug 28, 2025 at 5:31 PM
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    If the application is something like: the Prius is a rolling amplifier that you bring to a venue for a gig and park and attach to speakers ...

    The max musical consumption of 91.5 A is within the fuse rating of the battery. It would fully discharge the battery in a few minutes, so the car would have to be in READY mode to keep it charged.

    91.5 A at nominal 201.6 V is about 18 kW.

    The car's powertrain can easily produce 18 kW, but it won't when it's just sitting parked and READY. A gen 3 liftback will generate about 3 kW in that condition (as determined by Randy Bryan, who has offered high-input-voltage inverters for using a Prius to supply home loads).

    By holding the brake and go pedal, you can force a charge mode that may produce more than 3 kW.

    You would want an OBD-II device to monitor the MG and electronics and battery temperatures, at least at first.
     
    #6 ChapmanF, Aug 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
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  7. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Hate to ask a question that was an original question on your post but how many drivers and size of
    subwoofer box can you possibly fit in a turd gen Prius that will take up 40,000 watts? I have a 5 cubic Ft sub box and can only see thru the top half
    Of the hatch back window, good thing mine has a rear back up
    Cam.

    An 18” sub will need the entire hatch area to be boxed for best sound. A pair of 18s will need the backseats removed and the subs boxes will have to be built all the way to the back of the front seats.

    There’s not enough cabin space to build an effective and efficient sub box for 40,000 Watts let alone 10,000 Watts. You want a big suv to reap the best of a 40,000 watt capable amp
     
    #7 Grit, Aug 29, 2025 at 12:26 AM
  8. zoeboi954

    zoeboi954 Junior Member

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    Its 4 fi q 12s. yes the box is on the smaller size I cant remember the dimensions cause the box was built about 10 years. Im not going to be using the full 40,000 Watts i just want at least 16,000 the most. I used to have this setup in a different vehicle on a 15k amplifier. But in the prius there only so much you can pull from the 12v system since the car doesnt have a alternator. At one point I had 4 amps that put out 8,000 watts in total in the prius but trying to sustain them in a prius was hard. And i pick the 40,000 watt amp because I dont want the amp working max power. I prefer to get an over power amp than dial it back so its not working at max load.
     
    #8 zoeboi954, Aug 29, 2025 at 10:59 AM
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2025 at 11:29 AM
  9. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

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    The hybrid battery voltage is quite variable, making it more difficult to use. If this notion comes from the idea that you can produce an earth-shaking audio system from that, good luck. I don't think this is the best approach.
     
    #9 Paul Gregory, Aug 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Post #5 provided the amp's supply voltage range, 140 - 275vdc, which I think exceeds on both ends the voltage excursions of a gen 3 HEV battery.
     
    #10 ChapmanF, Aug 29, 2025 at 3:08 PM
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