Compressor/Air tank

[blacksheep37]

This seems like a stupid question, but if I have an air tank for a set of air horns, do I leave the air compressor on all the time to refill the tank when necessary?

 

[vincentw56]

You can, but you will want a relay to make sure it only does when the vehicle was in "run" mode.

 

[blacksheep37]

You can, but you will want a relay to make sure it only does when the vehicle was in "run" mode.

Makes sense. So tie it to a fuse with that function - instead of directly to the battery with an in-line fuse.

 

[vincentw56]

Makes sense. So tie it to a fuse with that function - instead of directly to the battery with an in-line fuse.

You would hook up the compressor directly to the battery using a relay. The relay would also hook up to a location with the run function.

 

[Richard320]

Makes sense. So tie it to a fuse with that function - instead of directly to the battery with an in-line fuse.

I would put a relay that is triggered by a pressure switch. Battery feed to the load, run feed to the trigger.

 

[DeanM2]

The compressor needs to be wired so that there are two (2) things that must be active to run the compressor.

The first is a 12V feed that is only active when the vehicle is on/running. This would typically be the "trigger" for the 12V relay you will need to power the compressor. You generally cannot run the compressor directly off of the 12V vehicle trigger wire as the compressor needs too much power.

The second is the Pressure Switch so that the compressor is only active when the compressor/tank is low on air. If you don't have the pressure switch wired into the system, then the compressor will run the entire time the vehicle is on.