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Tire air pump for HYBRID

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#41 ·
dbkelly said:
He was talking about the fact that you can never jump start another "regular" car and while showing where the jump connector is he said that this is for input only and if you do want to jump another hybrid to connect the cables at the battery not up front.
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Sorry, I reread my post and I should have said, are you sure that the Car Nut, like Toyota were just stating "Don't jump a car from a hybrid"? Jumping a car with a 150 or more surge or connecting a 20 or 30 amp constant load are two different things. I don't think there is anything different from connecting an air compressor with a 20 amp load than turning on your head lights.
 
#43 ·
dbkelly said:
He also says any power coming off of the connector up front goes through the inverter, which is a very expensive part to be messing with.
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Yes, the inverter converts high voltage power down to 12 volt power to run things like head lights, the radio, turn signals and the 12 volt aux battery. In fact, I am pretty sure, the charge port in the front is a direct connection to the 12 volt aux battery in the rear with a 140 amp fuse on top of the battery.

Again, I see no difference between any 12 volt load as long as its well under the capacity of the charging system. 20 amps @12 volts of head light load is the same as 20 amps @12 volts of air compressor load.

Obviously, one does not want to have every 12 volt accessory one while using the air compressor.

There is not difference between you connecting a compressor to the "cigarette" lighter 12 volt socket as that is feed from the inverter as well, except for the more likelihood of you blowing a fuse to that circuit, hence, why air compressor manufactures have come out with direct battery connections for these higher load devices.

The Car Nut answers questions on his YouTube channel. Ask him if you like.

As good as the Car Nut is, more technical information can be found on the Weber Auto channel,
 
#44 ·
Just for interest's sake, I attached my multimeter to the jump start positive post in the fuse box and the grounding eyelet with my RAV4 Hybrid in Ready mode (the engine was also running; it was cold). I got a constant reading of 14.7 VDC. Emails to VIAIR repeatedly call for a constant 13.5 VDC to run their battery clamp air compressors, however. I imagine that there is likely an acceptable voltage range for "12 volt" accessories, but what is that, and would 14.7 VDC (or whatever voltage in the range Toyota has set) be a problem for that VIAIR 330 P?

Thanks.
 
#45 ·
sgpap said:
Just for interest's sake, I attached my multimeter to the jump start positive post in the fuse box and the grounding eyelet with my RAV4 Hybrid in Ready mode (the engine was also running; it was cold). I got a constant reading of 14.7 VDC. Emails to VIAIR repeatedly call for a constant 13.5 VDC to run their battery clamp air compressors, however. I imagine that there is likely an acceptable voltage range for "12 volt" accessories, but what is that, and would 14.7 VDC (or whatever voltage in the range Toyota has set) be a problem for that VIAIR 330 P?

Thanks.
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Now turn on you rear defogger, headlights, and see if the voltage drops.
 
#46 ·
True. I’m sure it will, but I don’t plan on running high draw accessories when I run an air compressor. The issue is what maximum voltage should a “12 volt” accessory be able to handle. VIAIR is playing it safe (I understand why) and sticking with “a constant 13.5 volts”, but we all know that a vehicle’s voltage varies, and well-designed “12 volt” accessories take those fluctuations in stride. I guess if another VIAIR battery clamp model stands up to the RAV4, that may be the best answer possible.

Thanks again for your thoughts.
 
#47 ·
So I ordered the Viair 300P, and tried it in the garage today on our 2016 RAV4 Hybrid (vehicle in ready mode). I attached the positive power cable clamp to the positive terminal in the fuse box (the "jump start" terminal) and the negative clamp to the nearby suspension tower bolt (I could have separated the cables to reach the grounding eyelet, but that seemed the clamps were not in danger of touching each other and this seemed to maximize working cable length). The pump came right on with the power switch, and I proceeded to top off the tires. The power cable length was great for the driver's side and just long enough for the passenger's side to rest the compressor on the ground by the front tire, and the air hose easily made it to each rear tire. I used the continuous deflate feature to drop the pressure from 38 to 20 PSI on one tire (took 2-3 minutes) and then aired up again in 1-2 minutes. No vehicle warnings, but compressor run times were short, even for the air down/air up test.

Thanks to all for your input and experience in helping me make this decision.
 
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