[Bricklin] Air Pump wire recommendataions

[John T. Blair]

At 09:39 PM 11/10/2009, Greg Schroeder wrote:

 >Thanks for the information.  After digging back through my emails I found I
 >purchased a 400C instead of a 325C.  I ended up getting it cheaper than the
 >325C at the time. Which may have been overkill and part of the cause for this
 >issue due to more draw. I have a 125 PSI switch.  Looks like I am still OK
 >with the amperage since the 400c is at 26 amp draw.

Greg,

With a 26 A draw you are going to want use about 12 gauge wire which 
I belieive
Rick (HTC) said.

 >I will also look at the use of a relay that Rick suggested.  I am using a
 >toggle switch, but I am not really to keen on tying it to the 
ignition switch.

We've done several article about this in the magazine over the last 10 yrs.
Since you bought a Viair compressor, I suggest that you also purchase their
pressure switch with relay.  It's a little plastic box, with a relay 
inside and the
pressure switch:

http://www.viaircorp.com/OffRoad/Parts/pswitchrelay.html

You simply connect the wires appropriately, and put a T in
the air line and connect it to the box and your good to go.  No hassle with
trying to wire up the relay, etc.

The idea of the relay is to remove all high current from the pressure 
switch, and
any on off switch etc.  Run the power wire (12 gauge) from the hot side of the
starter solenoid to the power in of their relay.  You'll want to put 
a 30 to 40 amp
fuse in the power line close to the starter solenoid just in case there is a
problem.

The higher your cutoff switch is, the more current the compressor will require.
Viair has an 85/105 psi pressure switch and that should work with out 
any problems.  And it reduces the current draw.

 >Mine in the past would loose air overnight, before I took care of all the
 >leaks.  If a leak happened again I would have to get the ignition 
turned on to
 >run the pump.

What I have done, and recommend is that you DO connect the control for the
relay to a switched 12V source.  That way, your compressor is only able to turn
on when the ignition is turned on.

I also use an emergency toggle switch to toggle the control side of the relay,
in the case of no air in the system.  When I turn on the toggle 
swtich, it energizes
the relay, then since the system is low on air, the pressure switch closes and
allows the relay to fire and turns on the compressor.  This will 
require that you install a diode to keep from back feeding the 
electrical system when you turn on
the toggle switch.

 >In reading up on the pump installation from Viair they recommend the pump to
 >not get wet.  Not a big concern since I never drive the car if 
there is a hint
 >of rain, but has anyone mounted their air pump inside the car?  I 
was thinking
 >about behind the rear wheel on the drivers side behind the side trim panel.

Yes some people have done that and many other places.  Some have put it in
the well behind the driver, some up on the front fender well.

I don't think you really want it in the car as it will make a lot of 
noise.  Also it
won't get a lot of air to help cool it.  Mounting it on the front 
cross brace is
about the best place to mount it.  Terry has been doing this for years with no
problems.  Even if you are driving your car in the rain, I don't think the
compressor get too wet there.

John

John T. Blair  WA4OHZ     email:  jblair1948 at cox.net
Va. Beach, Va
Phone:  (757) 495-8229

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