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I bought an air compressor that is powered by the car lighter in my car. It does the job when I want to inflate my car tires, but if I want to use for something else like there are 3 bikes in our house and they all have to be regularly check, it becomes a bit of a hassle.

I'd like to change the adapter of the air compressor from a car lighter to a regular adapter, but I'm not sure what should be the voltage and amperage? Or will this depend on the air compressor specs?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This question is off topic, this forum is about design questions, not repair questions. This question is also not specific enough, no information is given on the air compressor. That being said, when replacing power supplies, the voltage needs to be matched, the current needs to be greater than or equal to the device. \$\endgroup\$
    – Voltage Spike
    Jul 14, 2017 at 15:20

4 Answers 4

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Get yourself a cheap power supply with a built in 13.8 VDC port. I have an old one from Radio Shack that I bought 20 years ago, and still use for exactly this purpose.

Your cigarette lighter plug will socket directly into the supply - into the round hole just above the terminals.

power supply

Another option is to get a supply like this: iSaddle, 12 VDC, 10 A. It's more restrictive, but great price. iSaddle

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The easy thing to do would be to purchase one of these. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01579KBFW Then you don't have to build anything that could potentially be dangerous and you don't have to modify the compressor.

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In general, car "cigarette lighter" outlets are fused for 10 amps so I'd doubt any device designed to plug into one would be designed to draw more. The car voltage is nominally 12 volts (though would generally be higher while the car is running) so you would be safe with a power supply that supplies 12 volts and at least 10 amps.

You can easily get a "cigarette lighter" outlet, which as this at Walmart. The center pin (red wire) is connected to the positive terminal.

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Your device should have Input label on it. Use that to determine what kind of power supply you will require. Buy an off the shelf bench power with the correct Voltage and >Current Rating.

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