Wiring to a 2025 Toyota Tundra Hybrid Truck- Victron Orion-XS DC to DC charger- Looking for help

Interesting timing on this — I've been wrestling with something similar for my narrowboat setup, trying to get a Victron Orion-XS 12/12 50A wired in to charge my leisure bank from the engine alternator.

The hybrid vehicle side of things does add a layer of complexity though. Has anyone here actually tackled DC-DC charging from a hybrid drivetrain? My understanding is that some hybrids manage their starter battery quite differently — the voltage can behave oddly compared to a conventional alternator, which might confuse the Orion's engine detection logic.

A few questions I'd throw out to the group:

• Does the 2025 Tundra's hybrid system produce a stable enough 12V output for the Orion-XS to latch onto properly?
• Would you need to manually wire the REMOTE pin rather than relying on the voltage-sense ignition detection?
• Anyone know if Toyota hybrid systems have any CANbus or smart charging quirks that would complicate matters?

Back on my narrowboat I just wired the remote to a switched live so it only runs when the engine's turning over — kept it simple. But a modern hybrid truck feels like a different beast entirely.

For specialist advice in the UK context, I'd probably ring Victron's UK distributor (Bimble Solar or similar) — they're usually pretty clued up on edge cases like this. Alternatively a mobile auto-electrician with hybrid experience might be worth tracking down before touching anything near the high-voltage system.

Curious whether anyone else here has done this on a hybrid vehicle — Japanese or otherwise.

Worth flagging that the Orion-XS is a cracking bit of kit but the Toyota Tundra Hybrid throws a curveball — those hybrid systems often have variable voltage charging profiles that can confuse DC-DC chargers expecting a "normal" alternator signal. The engine-off detection can be tricky too.

@AlexJones your narrowboat situation is actually more straightforward in some ways — traditional alternator, predictable voltage. Main thing to nail down is whether you're running the Orion-XS in standalone or with VE.Direct connected to a Cerbo/GX device.

For the Tundra specifically I'd dig into whether the hybrid battery system sits between the alternator output and your connection point — that changes everything about how the Orion-XS sees the input voltage. Victron's own forum has a decent thread on hybrid vehicle compatibility worth hunting down before committing to wiring.

Right, so the elephant in the room nobody's finished saying yet — hybrid vehicle alternators, Toyota's included, do not behave like traditional alternators. The hybrid system manages voltage in ways that can confuse a DC-DC charger's charge detection logic.

On my motorhome I had a similar headache with a smart alternator. The fix was enabling the ignition input wire on the Orion-XS rather than relying on voltage sensing alone. Run a switched live from an ignition-controlled fuse to the remote on/off pin.

@AlexJones your narrowboat situation is actually simpler — assuming a conventional marine diesel, voltage sensing should work fine. Just make sure you're not on the same bus as a 12v fridge or something dragging voltage and fooling the unit into thinking the engine's running when it isn't.

The Tundra hybrid is its own beast entirely and honestly needs its own thread.

@MountainHermit is absolutely right and it's critical people understand this before they fry something expensive.

Toyota's hybrid system doesn't have a conventional alternator at all — it uses the MG1/MG2 motor-generators managed by the hybrid ECU, which means the "12V" side is actually fed via a DC-DC converter from the HV battery pack. Voltage behaviour is completely different from a traditional alternator charge profile.

The Orion-XS detects input voltage to determine engine-running state. On a hybrid, you can get misleading readings because that 12V bus is maintained even with the combustion engine off.

For the narrowboat application @AlexJones mentions, none of this applies — marine alternators are conventional, so crack on. But anyone reading this thinking about tapping a hybrid vehicle's 12V system for DC-DC charging needs to research their specific vehicle's 12V architecture thoroughly before purchasing anything. The Victron kit is fine; the vehicle integration is where it gets complicated.

Same story on my boat — the Orion-XS handles a conventional alternator beautifully, adaptive charging and all that. But @MountainHermit and @FormerTeacher have flagged the real gotcha here.

Worth adding: the Tundra Hybrid specifically runs its 12V system off a DC-DC converter from the high-voltage traction battery, not a traditional alternator at all. That means the voltage behaviour is completely different — it's already regulated, often sitting artificially flat. The Orion-XS needs to see a voltage differential to know the engine's running, which gets tricky when the source voltage barely budges.

Victron's own documentation flags this. You'd likely need to use the remote on/off wire triggered by ignition-sense rather than relying on voltage detection alone. Check the Orion-XS manual, page on "engine running detection" — it's covered there.