Arb locker/compressor wiring question

[JPaul]

Getting ready to finally hook up my front and rear ARB air lockers and one of ARBs little air locker compressors. The question I have is would there be any reason to not wired the rear locker solenoid and the compressor power to the same switch so that activating the rear locker switch will both turn on the compressor and open the solenoid? The front locker switch will just activate the solenoid for the front locker, so the rear would need to be on for the front to work at all.

To help clarify the situation, I have the Switchpros 9100 which can handle up to 20 amps on the low end outputs which is more than enough for the compressor and solenoid combined. The compressor only pulls 9 amps max. Not sure on the solenoid but it's probably less than an amp. This would greatly simplify my wiring and help keep the wires shorter. Right now the spot I have to put the compressor is pretty far from where the switches would be, as well as a 12v power source.

Seems like it'd be fine to run it like that since it won't take the compressor long to charge the line and actuate the locker. I'm going to be also installing my ARB twin later on for my main air source, so the little locker compressor will be exclusively used for the lockers so there is no need for into be able to run separately without using the lockers. I want to run the lockers off the smaller compressor since I'd like to have two air sources for the lockers in case anything goes awry, plus the smaller compressor runs at a lower pressure which is better for the lockers (100 psi vs 150 psi on the twin).

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Happy Joe]

As far as I can see it will work;
However it prevents you from unlocking the rear while locking the front... very occasionally it is some times advantageous to let one axle or the other spin sideways...
Most people , in reality, never get into terrain this difficult, it all depends on your driving techniques and how you use your vehicle..

My most effective ARB switch setup (eyes on the trail and both hands on the wheel), was in a CJ; used a old style floor headlight dimmer switch positioned high and out of the way, actuated by my left foot to activate the rear locker and an XJ (Delco) column (said Jeep on the horn button) with turn signal head light dimmer to switch the front ARB on and off (the actual switching of the compressor on and off was from the ARB switch (until I got tired of having too many visible switches).

Enjoy!

 

[JPaul]

Sounds reasonable to me. Keeping things simple is usually best.
But, I dunno much about ARB airlockers.
I assume its compressor automatically switches off at a given pressure, and will switch on again if the locker bleeds down ?
And energising the solenoid allows air into the locker, then de-energising exhausts air to release the locker ?

Correct, the compressor has a pressure cutoff switch that will turn the compressor off at 100 psi and back on once it drops below that. The solenoid will exhaust air from the line to the locker when it is disengaged.

Another thought I had was to wire the compressor so that it is always powered on when the ignition is on. It's a little one and only for the lockers so I wouldn't worry about it draining anything if I only turn the key on to ACC for something (which is rare). The only concern then is will it affect the life of the pump by always coming on each time I run the vehicle. Probably yes and no for that.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[JPaul]

As far as I can see it will work;
However it prevents you from unlocking the rear while locking the front... very occasionally it is some times advantageous to let one axle or the other spin sideways...
Most people , in reality, never get into terrain this difficult, it all depends on your driving techniques and how you use your vehicle..

My most effective ARB switch setup (eyes on the trail and both hands on the wheel), was in a CJ; used a old style floor headlight dimmer switch positioned high and out of the way, actuated by my left foot to activate the rear locker and an XJ (Delco) column (said Jeep on the horn button) with turn signal head light dimmer to switch the front ARB on and off (the actual switching of the compressor on and off was from the ARB switch (until I got tired of having too many visible switches).

Enjoy!

I have thought about being able to lock only the front rather than having to lock the rear first, but from what I could find when looking into it there seems to almost never be a situation that really calls for that and it can be more trouble than it's worth. Especially with an IFS.

That's a neat sounding setup and I can see the advantages of going that route. Not a lot of room in the H3's firewall for a foot switch that won't accidentally get bumped while driving around though.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Happy Joe]

I have thought about being able to lock only the front rather than having to lock the rear first, but from what I could find when looking into it there seems to almost never be a situation that really calls for that and it can be more trouble than it's worth. Especially with an IFS.

That's a neat sounding setup and I can see the advantages of going that route. Not a lot of room in the H3's firewall for a foot switch that won't accidentally get bumped while driving around though.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

Yep! It happens only rarely and then on very difficult to extreme obstacles.

For the Rubicon I ended up putting the floor switch under the carpet just to the left of and a bit higher than the brake pedal pad (no clutch; dang it)... I will likely change it this year, to operate the front locker, and move it to a more convenient location.

Enjoy!

 

[JPaul]

I was thinking about it some more and will probably just wire the compressor power into a fused circuit in my factory fuseblock that is on with ignition. As long as all the seals are good it will probably end up holding pressure long enough that it will only have to pump up very infrequently rather than every time I start the truck. Then I can just wire the solenoids to my Switchpro and be done with it.

There is even a factory circuit labeled "air pump" that I have the ability to use. It seems at some point GM was going to make an OBA setup available as a factory option on the Hummer H3 but it never came to fruition but they left it in the fuseblock. It's not an emissions pump either since that has a different label and circuit.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[drrobinson]

I was thinking about it some more and will probably just wire the compressor power into a fused circuit in my factory fuseblock that is on with ignition. As long as all the seals are good it will probably end up holding pressure long enough that it will only have to pump up very infrequently rather than every time I start the truck. Then I can just wire the solenoids to my Switchpro and be done with it.

There is even a factory circuit labeled "air pump" that I have the ability to use. It seems at some point GM was going to make an OBA setup available as a factory option on the Hummer H3 but it never came to fruition but they left it in the fuseblock. It's not an emissions pump either since that has a different label and circuit.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

I’d check the rated max for that circuit first. You may need to put a relay in between so you can wire the compressor to the battery (via the relay) with appropriate wire gage and just use that circuit in the fuse block for switching. If you do this you will need another in line fuse between the battery and the relay.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JPaul]

I’d check the rated max for that circuit first. You may need to put a relay in between so you can wire the compressor to the battery (via the relay) with appropriate wire gage and just use that circuit in the fuse block for switching. If you do this you will need another in line fuse between the battery and the relay.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That particular circuit is 25 amps, so plenty since the compressor is 9A max.

Unfortunately I just looked back at my notes and it is always hot so that is out. The rest of the switched circuits in the breakout harness are 10 amp according the the schematic and fuseblock, so those are out as well. I could wire in a relay to still have it come on with ignition, but I'm not sure I want to go that route. May just go back to the first idea of having it and the rear locker solenoid on the same circuit on the Switchpros.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk