[An04Prius]

The manual says Prius has power for accessories in the power (cig lighter) jack only if the car is in ACC, IG-ON, or READY mode.

I want to use a portable air pump, powered by the power jack (cig lighter)in the car, to put air in my tires, while the car is stationary of course.

(I realize doing it while the car is moving could add spice to this thread, challenging the creative & comedic talents of Hep, Sanny, Melgish, et al but not till I get the answer to my serious question), which is:

Any reason one of the three choices ("ACC, IG-ON, READY ) is better than another ? Or does it not matter at all.

 

[RSnyder]

IG-ON would be the worst choice by far. You'll be draining the 12V battery with a bunch of unneeded stuff, so will limit the amount of time you have to run your pump. ACC would be good if you're only going to run the pump a couple minutes. Any longer and you might as well go to READY to make sure you don't drain the 12V.

 

[DanMan32]

For the pump, I put my car in READY so I give the pump 14V rather than about 11V. In any mode other than READY, you are running strictly off the 12V aux battery. In READY, the DC/DC converter is running, which puts out 13.8-14V depending on charge state of aux battery, so effectively you are running it off the HV battery.

Think of it this way, in a conventional car, you might choose to run the engine so that you would run the compressor off the alternator. It would run fine with the car in ACC, but not run as fast. Prius however doesn't have to run the ICE just to keep the aux battery charged.

 

[Astrowoman]

Is this just for emergency use? Wouldn't it be better to use a compressor that plugs into the wall in the garage for regular use? Of course, I'm not really sure if polar bears normally have electricity in their garages, so I could be way off base....

 

[An04Prius]

Is this just for emergency use? Wouldn't it be better to use a compressor that plugs into the wall in the garage for regular use? Of course, I'm not really sure if polar bears normally have electricity in their garages, so I could be way off base....

I did grow up in a neighborhood where the tenements did not have central heat, hot water, showers, etc. (how ? public bath houses ! 2 cents, if you didnt have it, they let you go in anyway, and they had a swimming pool :wink: ).

But I'm way past that now, we have electricity & stuff, even toilet paper :lol:

I just got the little portable air thingee to try, after complete frustration using gas stations that give you tokens, or you use quarters, and the air machine is either broken or stops in the middle of your effort.

 

[Sanny]

Is this just for emergency use? Wouldn't it be better to use a compressor that plugs into the wall in the garage for regular use? Of course, I'm not really sure if polar bears normally have electricity in their garages, so I could be way off base....

in summer, polar bear solar works great. but in winter, not so much.

 

[ehurtley]

Is this just for emergency use? Wouldn't it be better to use a compressor that plugs into the wall in the garage for regular use? Of course, I'm not really sure if polar bears normally have electricity in their garages, so I could be way off base....

I don't know if this is An04Prius' case, but I use a small air compressor to pump up air mattresses while camping... No plug-in electricity anywhere nearby.

 

[rwlade]

<snip>

I just got the little portable air thingee to try,

<snip>

Where did you get your tire pump?

 

[Sanny]

Where did you get your tire pump?

I got mine from Walmart. Plugs into lighter, and also has its own battery. Or plugs into wall outlet.

 

[An04Prius]

<snip>

I just got the little portable air thingee to try,

<snip>

Where did you get your tire pump?

I got mine at K-Mart, but it only plugs into the cig lighter. If I had seen one with wall plug also, I would have gotten that.