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Electrical question, Wiring Compressor

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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 06:42 PM
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Electrical question, Wiring Compressor

All right you electrical types. I installed a set of Hadley
"bully" air horns with electrical compressor.
This is the 6th set I've done over the years so I'm not new at this, But I'm stumped.
I wired it to a 20A key-switched line, as suggested by Hadley.
The pressure switch that comes with it Will shut off the compressor at 135 psi, Kick it back on at 100 pis. (with key on)

The Puzzling part to me is, Wired to a 20A line, the compressor bogs down and stops (about to blow the fuse) at 85 psi.
I tried a 30A line, again bogs at 85 psi, about to blow.

Wired directly to the battery and it hums away to 135 psi.
What is the reason for this? Each line (20, 30 and Batt. are well over the 12V)
I can't leave it wired directly to the battery, because I dont want it cycling all night if a line blows, I want to keep it goverend by the key-on.
Reamer
 
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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 07:23 PM
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What is the wire gauge of the circuits you're trying to tap? If the circuit is running a 20 or 30 amp accessory before you tap into it, the compressor might be overloading the wire. It's been a while since I played with the ignition wiring off the switch, but I seem to remember a red/green and red/blue that were keyed 10 gauge wires. Might want to try splicing into something like that.
 
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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 08:17 PM
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You bring up a very good point, but the lines I tried, 20A blower and 30A power door supplies were not being use by either the blower or the door motor at the time of the compressor test. That's what is puzzling me. the Juice was dedicated to the compressor.
 
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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 08:26 PM
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It's possible the compressor is still drawing more than the wire cam move...if you've had luck with these compressors before, there could be something wrong with this one that's causing a huge draw.
 
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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 08:27 PM
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Also, what size is the ground?
 
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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 08:46 PM
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Put an ammeter in series with the compressor and measure the actual current drawn from the battery. I'll bet it's much higher than it should be at the higher psi's. Could be a bad compressor motor or the pressure readings are wrong and it's actually putting out much higher pressure. Check pressure with a good external gauge.
 
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Old Aug 11, 2007 | 11:02 PM
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You are trying to tap a large amount of power from the original fuse box. The factory wiring that feeds the fuse box is barely big enough to run the factory power accessories, much less a large motor load like your compressor. I would get a inline fuse and wire it directly to the battery. Then run a 10 gauge wire from the fuse to your switch, and then to the compressor.
 
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