Tire inflator keep blowing out the cigarette lighter fuse. Why???

schizo

schizo

Had this 12v portable Goodyear tire inflator that you plug into a cig lighter. Had it for well over 10 years and had no problem. It worked like a charm every time (although I rarely used it, so it should be like new). Yesterday it stopped working just after inflating one tire. Found out it blew out the cig lighter fuse. So I went out and replaced it. But as soon as I started the damn thing up again, it blew out the fuse again. Any idea?

goodyear-i8000-bonaire-accessories.jpg
 
schizo said:
Had this 12v portable Goodyear tire inflator that you plug into a cig lighter. Had it for well over 10 years and had no problem. It worked like a charm every time (although I rarely used it, so it should be like new). Yesterday it stopped working just after inflating one tire. Found out it blew out the cig lighter fuse. So I went out and replaced it. But as soon as I started the damn thing up again, it blew out the fuse again. Any idea?

goodyear-i8000-bonaire-accessories.jpg
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Did it cut out and blow the fuse right when you turned it on?

If yes, it may be an inrush current problem causing the fuse to blow. This probably due to a capacitor and or inductor in the tire inflator has degraded over time and no longer is effectively slowing the inrush current -- hence leading to the fuse flowing.
 
If it's like some of the slime or harbor freight ones I've taken apart, the motor has brushes that wipe an armature and if this area gets dusty or dirty, the resistance goes up. Also if the brushes just wear out it will short the whole thing out. Does it get hotter than before?
 
gwb-trading said:
Did it cut out and blow the fuse right when you turned it on?

If yes, it may be an inrush current problem causing the fuse to blow. This probably due to a capacitor and or inductor in the tire inflator has degraded over time and no longer is effectively slowing the inrush current -- hence leading to the fuse flowing.
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Yeah, it blew the fuse as soon as I turned on the unit. Strange it worked fine until yesterday. Had no problem with the first tire. BTW there's a fuse in the tire inflator as well.

Here's what I think could also be the problem. Tell me what you think.

1) I left the inflator in the car during many hot days exceeding 90 degree.
2) I haven't driven the car over a week and the battery is partially drained.
 
Wide Tailz said:
If it's like some of the slime or harbor freight ones I've taken apart, the motor has brushes that wipe an armature and if this area gets dusty or dirty, the resistance goes up. Also if the brushes just wear out it will short the whole thing out. Does it get hotter than before?
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Could be, but like I stated above, I hardly used this thing. Maybe less than 5 times in the past 10+ years. And, no, it's not hot.
 
schizo said:
Yeah, it blew the fuse as soon as I turned on the unit. Strange it worked fine until yesterday. Had no problem with the first tire. BTW there's a fuse in the tire inflator as well.

Here's what I think could also be the problem. Tell me what you think.

1) I left the inflator in the car during many hot days exceeding 90 degree.
2) I haven't driven the car over a week and the battery is partially drained.
More...

Leaving the tire inflator in a hot car or garage may lead to component failure. The capacitor and/or inductor used to stop inrush current fails slowly over time until it gets out of spec. I don't know the design of the equipment so I am not sure what type of input circuit is used.

The fuse for the car is more likely to blow than the fuse in the tire inflator -- in my experience with most devices which are plugged into cigarette lighters. The car fuse seems to be more sensitive while the inline fuse in the device is simply setup to blow if there is a complete circuit short inside the device.

This is probably not related to the battery being partially drained.

In my opinion -- unless you know a neighbor/friend good at electronics repair as a favor for a few beers -- would be to toss the tire inflator out and buy the DeWalt.
 
schizo said:
If I can't revive the current pump, I probably will. I'm also a Dewalt fan-boi. :)
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Buy the dewalt anyway. The simple reason: you can program how much air you want. Set it and walk away. It's also got a digital screen so it's super precise.

I'm a fan-boi of their tools too.
 
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