Hi, I am putting a new compressor in my Sprinter. SMB wired the original to the house battery and it's mounted on the frame rail under the side door. I'd like to put the new under the hood to protect it from mud, etc. and it might be easier to wire it to the starter.
Probably depends on compressor size, your intended use and engine/alternator. Compressors can drain batteries very quickly, most vehicles barely produce enough power at idle to keep the engine running, let alone power large loads. All that in the wrong config (running compressor long time while idle) and you could be in bad situation. So if you do go down that path, you should be looking at the load calculations of compressor and idle output of alternator.
Personally I’d be running larger cables to the engine compartment if that’s your location, or look at a compressor that’s not going to be hurt by dirt. (Ie run a remote air intake on the compressor), and locate the air intake to a cleaner place.
PigPen
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