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Running audio through leisure batteries

Marc Oldman

Marc Oldman

VIP Member
Messages
70
Location
Norwich
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 204 4Motion
Has anyone successfully rerouted their T6 factory audio to be powered by the leisure batteries AND circumvented the 30 minute shutdown?

I have Dynaudio in my van and would dearly love to use it when parked up without the shutdown / fear of flattening the starter battery.

I strongly suspect it’s not been done but, if anyone has, I’d love to know who did it for them!
 
I think you could safely put a live wire from the leisure batteries to the radio unit without problems.
Just cut the big red/white? wire and connect it to a wire from the leisure batteries (fused!). Of course isolate the open wire from the original wire loom (or plug out the fuse).
You might have to do the same with your Dynaudio amplifier. But then you'll need the schematics of your system to do so.

I had found the adaptation channel (aanpassingskanaal) for my RCD310 to extend the duration of the on-setting.
I could find nowhere to adjust the time setting. While looking around in the adaptations, I found a channel that was set on 30. As in 30 minutes. I set it to 1, and after 1 minute the radio shut off. Then I put in 99999, but got the message it must be between 1 and 199. So I thought, 3 hours and 19 minutes will do for me.

I don't know what channel it was anymore, and I have a T5.1 with an RCD310, so I don't know if it will be the same for your more recent setup?
 
There lots of posts on the subject if you do a search “radio battery”. As you may have gathered it’s not as straightforward as a simple swop of feeds!
 
Thanks for your responses. In no way do I have any of the skills to attempt this work myself. Ideally I’m looking for a referral to an auto electrician who’s successfully tackled it in the past!
 
Or you could just buy a decent charger (approx. 30A or more), connect the starter battery to the charger (or vice versa) and play the radio?
 
What makes this difficult is the radio is connected to the vehicle Canbus system and it is this that will shut the radio off after 30 mins. Powering it from the leisure batteries is fine, but you will need to circumvent the Canbus system somehow.

I don't think anyone has managed that yet. Most go for a separate portable radio when parked up.

Alan
 
What makes this difficult is the radio is connected to the vehicle Canbus system and it is this that will shut the radio off after 30 mins. Powering it from the leisure batteries is fine, but you will need to circumvent the Canbus system somehow.

I don't think anyone has managed that yet. Most go for a separate portable radio when parked up.

Alan
I did it in mine. There is a channel to adjust to 199. Then you will have 199 minutes of music in a row.
Don't remember what channel it was, but you need VCDS or similar to do it.
 
I have my amp running from the leisure batts but not the
radio.
As said above, Bose is the way to go. Ive had 3, started with a massive one
then a sound touch which is in the garden now, and the latest is this small one
which is both ideal and excellent.

IMG_8628.JPG
 
A couple of years ago my original 2008 radio finally packed up, and I took the Cali to Absolut T5/6 in Amesbury, Wiltshire. They installed a nice Kenwood with satnav, but the best thing was that they installed a switch in the glovebox which enabled you to reconnect the radio to the leisure or engine batteries whenever you wished! So when you're out camping with no hookup, you can judge whether you're draining too much from the leisure or engine battery, and switch over.
 
A couple of years ago my original 2008 radio finally packed up, and I took the Cali to Absolut T5/6 in Amesbury, Wiltshire. They installed a nice Kenwood with satnav, but the best thing was that they installed a switch in the glovebox which enabled you to reconnect the radio to the leisure or engine batteries whenever you wished! So when you're out camping with no hookup, you can judge whether you're draining too much from the leisure or engine battery, and switch over.
Yes, that can work with an aftermarket unit but not so with a factory fit unit unfortunately.:thumb
 
Stand by for postings moaning about flat leisure batteries and no fridge/heater.
It’s almost as if VW didn’t install such a system deliberately!!!
 
I did it in mine. There is a channel to adjust to 199. Then you will have 199 minutes of music in a row.
Don't remember what channel it was, but you need VCDS or similar to do it.
In order to adjust the switch-off setting you have been able to access the body control unit via VCDS. Not everyone has access to the full system and although 3 hours is very good, disabling the Canbus system should give you unlimited radio time.

Having said that, the radio is thirsty so having it on for a long time will drain the engine battery and even the trickle charge from hook-up may not be enough to compensate for the discharge. Then, as discussed, the only solution, assuming you have disabled the Canbus on the radio is to power it from the leisure batteries.

So quite a complicated change, which a speaker system or small portable radio can solve easily and very cheaply.

Alan
 
In order to adjust the switch-off setting you have been able to access the body control unit via VCDS. Not everyone has access to the full system and although 3 hours is very good, disabling the Canbus system should give you unlimited radio time.

Having said that, the radio is thirsty so having it on for a long time will drain the engine battery and even the trickle charge from hook-up may not be enough to compensate for the discharge. Then, as discussed, the only solution, assuming you have disabled the Canbus on the radio is to power it from the leisure batteries.

So quite a complicated change, which a speaker system or small portable radio can solve easily and very cheaply.

Alan
It was no setting in the BCM. It was a time setting in the radio itself, using VCDS. You don't disable the canbus, as this is used for temperature, time, A/C, ... navigation in RNS systems, ...
The best thing to do is buying a stand alone radio, or using your phone with speaker.
If you really want to use your car system, then you can try to change the time setting in the unit, but I only know it works on mine. Don't know about the RNS systems. And certainly not about the newer systems.
 
Has anyone successfully rerouted their T6 factory audio to be powered by the leisure batteries AND circumvented the 30 minute shutdown?

I have Dynaudio in my van and would dearly love to use it when parked up without the shutdown / fear of flattening the starter battery.

I strongly suspect it’s not been done but, if anyone has, I’d love to know who did it for them!
Just get yourself a bluetooth speaker
 
I have an aftermarket "infotainment" system installed by a previous owner which will run indefinitely and I initially made the mistake of using it for protracted periods whilst working around the van. This resulted in a starter battery showing 11.6V. As all of this has happened during lock down, the engine has not run for six weeks, but the EHU has been used regularly, bringing the starter battery back to 12.7V.
Sidepod is right in his remark. battery power without EHU is not unlimited.
My solution will be to fit a solar panel to charge all the batteries, which should allow reasonable radio listening with careful use and a bit of off site freedom.
 
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