Morning, This suddenly stopped working. An air compressor cant be that complex so I have removed it to have a look. To get at it the drivers head light needs to come out (RHD car). It has 3 screws on the top and two nuts on the bottom and comes apart into half a dozen pieces. The base plate has the electrical connectors and the "brushes" on it. There is the shaft and electrical windings. The top part has the blades, that spin to create the pressure. In the middle are two large magnets that "hold/support" the shaft, without touching it. One of these magnets had become unstuck and rather than be opposite the other one they were touching which I guess stops the shaft from spinning freely. I have glued the magnet back into position, cleaned up the contacts so hopefully will now work. Looking at the bits, I cant see what would actually break, there isn't much to these. Del Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not quite fixed .... Compressor works - connecting it to a car battery operates the horn but putting it back in the car it doesn't. When you press the button you can hear the relay clicking, fuse is good but compressor doesn't appear to be getting any power . Any suggestions as what to check next ? Thanks
Relay clicking is not the same as getting power. Did you test for power at the compressor connections?
Morning, No the horn doesn't seem to have any power. However electrical testing has never been my skill - so unless you feel there is something obvious to check I will take it to he garage. Thanks Del.
Just to finish this. The horn is now fixed. When the magnet came undone and stopped the compressor for spinning, something blew. Now common sense would dictate it was the fuse or relay, but as the fuse is 25 amp it takes a decent current to blow it. Instead it burnt / damaged the fuse board. This was repaired and we are back working again. Whilst I appreciate the compressor will draw a larger current, would their be any value in fitting a small fuse that is more likely to blow in the event of an issue ? Fuses are cheap, Fuse boards are not. Del
After a lifelong career in engineering, I'm forced to confess one of the corollaries to Murphy's law states that the expensive part will always act as the fuse to protect the cheap one. Sorry, just the perversity of the universe (see Second Law of Thermodynamics for confirmation....)
I would reduce that fuse to 15 but look what else is on the path. You will be able to work the horn with 15 without the fuse blowing. From my experience going down in fuse amps might not be good practice but it can not harm.
