[jaedwards]

Has anyone tried to use the air compressor part of the tire repair kit to inflate their tires? My tires needed to be topped off so I opened the kit, flipped through the instructions, connected everything, and turned it on. It made noise for a brief second and then quit. I connected something else to the 12v power and it wouldn’t work. To further confirm it was the fuse or something in the car, I connected the compressor to another vehicle and started it up. It started up and immediately stopped.

Do you think this compressor is just a dud? Or did they source a compressor that draws too much current?

 

[yecam]

It appears as if you have a defective air compressor that is drawing too much current and leaving you with a blown fuse in both of your vehicles. I would have your dealer look at it and replace it under warranty, and in addition get some spare fuses because you can be sure that the dealer will go through a couple of these while testing. As it is, you have a useless piece of equipment and are lucky to have found this out before really needing to recover from a flat tire.

 

[insightfully]

Is the car running (power 'ON') before the compressor is started? The 12V battery charge is maintained by the HV battery (instead of alternator), and I wonder if there's an interlock preventing 12V overuse.

To confirm, is this the sequence used to run the air compressor:
1 - Turn car power 'OFF'
2 - Select 'air' mode on compressor
3 - Attach hose to valve nozzle, and lay compressor flat on ground ('this side up')
4 - Plug compressor into 12V accessory socket
5 - Turn car power 'ON'
6 - Turn compressor power switch 'ON'
7 - Inflate to target pressure then turn compressor power switch 'OFF'
8 - Disconnect hose and replace valve cap

 

[LowRider]

I believe the problem may be in the fact that the tire repair kit is only for the express purpose of REPAIRING A DAMAGED FLAT TIRE. Inside the kit is a small can of product similar to FIX-A-FLAT that is connected in with the air supply line that connects to the valve stem. I think there is a good chance that since the tire or tires simply need air pressure adjustment and are in fact not flat or damaged, the pressure inside the tire is causing a back pressure to the compressor, preventing it from continuing to inflate the tire. When I purchased my Insight I asked the parts department if the compressor repair kit was one-time-use. I was told the compressor unit itself is still good after fixing a flat. However, they said one would need to purchase a new small can of repair material to insert back in the compressor kit to use if there is another flat. Unfortunately this small can of product is only available at the Honda dealer.

 

[jaedwards]

Is the car running (power 'ON') before the compressor is started? The 12V battery charge is maintained by the HV battery (instead of alternator), and I wonder if there's an interlock preventing 12V overuse.

To confirm, is this the sequence used to run the air compressor:
1 - Turn car power 'OFF'
2 - Select 'air' mode on compressor
3 - Attach hose to valve nozzle, and lay compressor flat on ground ('this side up')
4 - Plug compressor into 12V accessory socket
5 - Turn car power 'ON'
6 - Turn compressor power switch 'ON'
7 - Inflate to target pressure then turn compressor power switch 'OFF'
8 - Disconnect hose and replace valve cap

Nailed it. I didn’t read the directions closely enough and only had the accessory power on. It’s sufficient for the other compressor I have in my other car so I didn’t think about powering on the car.

On the bright side, I know what I need to do when I have a real emergency and I’ve got spare fuses on hand. Also, I had no idea about the 12v battery so thanks for teaching me about that.

Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[hasarad]

Nailed it. I didn’t read the directions closely enough and only had the accessory power on. It’s sufficient for the other compressor I have in my other car so I didn’t think about powering on the car.

On the bright side, I know what I need to do when I have a real emergency and I’ve got spare fuses on hand. Also, I had no idea about the 12v battery so thanks for teaching me about that.

Thanks for the quick responses!

I've thought this many times. @insightfully has the entire Insight manual in his head. If, on some rare occurrence he doesn't know the answer, he's no more than five seconds from finding it. I wish my mind was that fast. He's set me straight and has gotten me out of a few jams by answering my oddball questions. ありがとうございました @insightfully.

 

[insightfully]

:nerd: Happy to help, and glad it worked out!

 

[Carfreak09]

Let me start off by saying that the OEM air pump is extremely poorly designed and difficult to use. I’ll explain why. I have a Slime air pump I’ve used in several cars for years that uses a simple flip down trigger to secure the line to the valve. On the way home last night, I got the low air pressure warning, not surprising since I parked it for a month. I pulled out my trusty Slime pump, plugged her into the accessory socket and nothing happened. It’s worked before in my Insight so I thought, did the cheap unit finally die?? I plugged it into my Fiat and it works just fine. So now I’m getting mad because I’m like how did the socket die when I haven’t even been using it?! It’s dark but I just have to investigate the problem. I dig out my manual and discover the fuses are of course under the dash on the driver side. These fuses are spaced so tightly that no human fingers or flathead screwdriver can remove them. You must open the hood and find the main fuse block in order to retrieve the fuse puller which is attached to the lid of that fuse block. Checked two fuses and both were fine. Decided to plug a phone charger in to see if the socket itself was bad. It charged my phone. So now I’m LIVID as it makes no sense why it won’t power my air pump.

I pull out Honda’s air pump and this stupid thing requires you to screw the line on the valve. What’s the big deal you ask?? Well, while screwing and unscrewing the line, it leaks air out of the tire, BIG TIME. The attachment is small and hard to screw quickly. On the first tire, I ran into a lot of difficulty getting the stupid thing to seal. By the time I finally got it working right, the tire went from 28 to 12psi. You have to pump the tire at least 2-3psi above the pressure you want it at because it leaks that much out while you tediously unscrew the connection. STUPIDEST MOST FRUSTRATING DESIGN EVER!! A 10 minute air up turned into an hour of wasted time. I still can’t figure out why the Slime pump won’t work in the socket anymore. I can’t imagine this experience would be enjoyable on the side of the road......anyway, just thought I would share this and suggest buying an aftermarket pump with a better connection.

 

[hasarad]

This is why many of us have purchased a Gen X Civic spare setup and tools. The original foam holder and pump sit on a shelf in may garage.

 

[insightfully]

I pulled out my trusty Slime pump, plugged her into the accessory socket and nothing happened. It’s worked before in my Insight so I thought, did the cheap unit finally die?? I plugged it into my Fiat and it works just fine.
[...]
Decided to plug a phone charger in to see if the socket itself was bad. It charged my phone. So now I’m LIVID as it makes no sense why it won’t power my air pump.

I pull out Honda’s air pump and this stupid thing requires you to screw the line on the valve. What’s the big deal you ask?? Well, while screwing and unscrewing the line, it leaks air out of the tire, BIG TIME. The attachment is small and hard to screw quickly.

Maybe re-try the compressors with the car running (ignition in full "power on"). See similar experiences described above regarding compressor kicking out, in-tact fuses, and re-trying with car powered on (vs accessory mode).

Honda's directions advise to run the 12V compressor while the car powered on; it doesn't mention an interlock, but my theory is there's an interlock that prevents 12V overuse. Guessing that the charge demand by the compressors was too high for the interlock, while the charge request from phone charger was 'acceptably low.' The interlock isn't present on conventional cars (Fiat?), but it's different for hybrids since they're battery-sensitive.

Agree that there's huge travel to dis/connect the valve to tire. It seems to be a consequence of plastic fitting (more likely to wear threads, so more threads needed?) instead of metal. Clarity owner below describes similar need to overfill, due to the long thread path.

 

[Carfreak09]

Maybe re-try the compressors with the car running (ignition in full "power on"). See similar experiences described above regarding compressor kicking out, in-tact fuses, and re-trying with car powered on (vs accessory mode).

Honda's directions advise to run the 12V compressor while the car powered on; it doesn't mention an interlock, but my theory is there's an interlock that prevents 12V overuse. Guessing that the charge demand by the compressors was too high for the interlock, while the charge request from phone charger was 'acceptably low.' The interlock isn't present on conventional cars (Fiat?), but it's different for hybrids since they're battery-sensitive.

Agree that there's huge travel to dis/connect the valve to tire. It seems to be a consequence of plastic fitting (more likely to wear threads, so more threads needed?) instead of metal. Clarity owner below describes similar need to overfill, due to the long thread path.

Car was fully on during this entire ordeal. No idea why the Slime pump wouldn't get enough contact to work.

 

[Carfreak09]

This is why many of us have purchased a Gen X Civic spare setup and tools. The original foam holder and pump sit on a shelf in may garage.

I have the spare as well. But not carrying an air pump is a bad idea because you can’t depend on a gas station having an air compressor that works. Plus, the spare loses air over time. Nothing worse then pulling out that spare and finding out it’s flat and your in the middle of nowhere and can’t pump it up because you left the pump in your garage....This is why I carry an air pump under the driver’s seat.

 

[matttelz]

I've used my pump numerous times with no issues...bummer dude. Make sure your car is running the ice engine before you operate the pump. The ice engine will charge the agm battery and will boost the voltage to >15V so the amp draw will be lower when you run the pump. I blew a fuse in my old accord running the pump without the engine on. Now I always run the engine when I pump the tires. Turn the hvac on to get the ice to kick in FYI.