What is the right power setting when using a fridge in a Tesla car? Can fridges run on 16v from Model Y and Model 3?

Tesla vehicles with lead-acid batteries (Model 3 pre-Highland, Model S and X) supply around 12v to the fridge. You can use the H or M battery protection setting. 

Model Y and Highland Model 3 use 16v Lithium batteries - our fridges will be fine to use in these cars when set to H. 

How to change the fridge 12v battery protection setting:

1. Hold the Gear (settings) button on the LCD until the battery cut-off indicator (H by default) blinks.
2. Release the Gear button 
3. Tap the Gear again to change it to “H” from “M” or “L”. 
4. Wait for the blinking to stop. 

See this video on how to do this: https://bmc.worldmanager.com/go/AC1ruh

Note that due to Tesla software updates in October 2024, the Tesla cigarette power sockets will be disabled by default when the car is parked, so your fridge will not continue to receive power from the car when parked.

How to keep powering your fridge when your Tesla is parked:

1. Tap the temperature on the display to open the Climate settings
2. Touch the Camp button on the top row menu in the Climate screen
3. Deselect Auto and disable A/C.

You will need to lock the car and enable Sentry manually from the Tesla phone App. Camp Mode will turn off when the car traction battery capacity remaining falls to 20%.