My VIAIR is about 1.5 yrs old (out of warranty--naturally). I use it every time I drive my truck as the VIAIR is incorporated into the truck's AirLift bag system. On the trip to Atlanta last week I noticed the pump was silent when I was trying to use the VIAIR to adjust air pressure. That led to a morning full of troubleshooting.
<erases five paragraphs to spare the audience>
The problem was a stuck closed (so it never shut off the pump) pressure switch. If you look closely at how the unit is designed (last picture), moisture and crap will "fall" down into the tube where the switch is at the bottom. Not a great design--switch should be above the air travel with a drain off the bottom. When I separated the tube from the switch, moisture and dark "gook" oozed out. Not good.
To fix the problem I sprayed out the pressure switch with alcohol (isopropol, not Jameson--get real!). Unfortunately VIAIR soldered the push on switch's connectors so I had to get creative to reinstall everything. I tested it and it works. Tomorrow I'll put it all back together. Then I need to figure out how to install an air dryer on the INLET side of the VIAIR. Florida's moisture-rich air is causing havoc, if I don't prevent the problem I'll just have to deal with it again soon.
The pics below also show the pump end (that I took apart first) and the corrosion inside. A big "thank you!" to JCR GD for recommending ACF-50 (different thread a while back). The stuff came in handy to clean the internal parts of the pump.
Note that the disassembly of the VIAIR is easy--but the reassembly is a royal pain. There are multiple gaskets that must be aligned perfectly and simultaneously, so patience is definitely required. (There's YouTube videos so I didn't bother documenting the process.)
Corrosion inside the cylinder.
After scrubbing with a soft toothbrush dipped in ACF-50.
Corrosion above the piston. (Clean now--no after picture, though.)
Pressure switch inside the end assemble before removal.
Ops Check Good! Tomorrow everything gets reassembled.
Note how the switch is at the bottom of the air tube, thus moisture and any debris falls down on top of the switch. Not a great design IMHO.
-Howard
<erases five paragraphs to spare the audience>
The problem was a stuck closed (so it never shut off the pump) pressure switch. If you look closely at how the unit is designed (last picture), moisture and crap will "fall" down into the tube where the switch is at the bottom. Not a great design--switch should be above the air travel with a drain off the bottom. When I separated the tube from the switch, moisture and dark "gook" oozed out. Not good.
To fix the problem I sprayed out the pressure switch with alcohol (isopropol, not Jameson--get real!). Unfortunately VIAIR soldered the push on switch's connectors so I had to get creative to reinstall everything. I tested it and it works. Tomorrow I'll put it all back together. Then I need to figure out how to install an air dryer on the INLET side of the VIAIR. Florida's moisture-rich air is causing havoc, if I don't prevent the problem I'll just have to deal with it again soon.
The pics below also show the pump end (that I took apart first) and the corrosion inside. A big "thank you!" to JCR GD for recommending ACF-50 (different thread a while back). The stuff came in handy to clean the internal parts of the pump.
Note that the disassembly of the VIAIR is easy--but the reassembly is a royal pain. There are multiple gaskets that must be aligned perfectly and simultaneously, so patience is definitely required. (There's YouTube videos so I didn't bother documenting the process.)
Corrosion inside the cylinder.
After scrubbing with a soft toothbrush dipped in ACF-50.
Corrosion above the piston. (Clean now--no after picture, though.)
Pressure switch inside the end assemble before removal.
Ops Check Good! Tomorrow everything gets reassembled.
Note how the switch is at the bottom of the air tube, thus moisture and any debris falls down on top of the switch. Not a great design IMHO.
-Howard
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