Diagnosing a Portable Air Compressor That Went Dead 

Thanks it's fun to learn!

Update-2: Following battery replacement in my Power Station PSX3 and tested the Air Compressor, which filled air into my car tires very satisfactorily. All along I was thinking to lubricate the Air Compressor components because I had noticed during battery replacement that the gears, connecting rod and other moving parts of the compressor were bone dry. But after reassembly following battery replacement, I realized that I forgotten to lubricate the gears and moving components. Last night I applied grease to my Power Station PSX3 Air Compressor. Since my unit is already 5.5 yrs old, I just tried to do a bare minimum job of applying grease, meaning not a professional job. That is why I am not describing my grease application method here. Thanks a lot for your excellent video!!!

Now since I brought the Power Station PSX3 into running condition by replacing the 5.5 Yr old battery and looking for lubricating the Air Compressor components, your video gave me detailed background of the Air Compressor components that I will look for to lubricate. In this regard, your video is very useful. Thank you very much for making such a great video, and sharing it. You mentioned about some noise from your rebuilt Air Compressor. I would recommend to lubricated the gears, connecting rod and other moving parts. However, should remember to select the lubricant which should not flow at high temperature (the compressor generates high temperature) and should not dry up, which will make the Air Compressor dead.

I liked your video. You diagnosed the problem and repaired yourself at your shop. I very much appreciate what you did. This gives me courage to open my Power Station jump starter/tire inflator which is charging OK but the tire inflator is dead. Thanks for uploading.

You are very helpful. Thank you!

My slime jr unit says to run no more than 8 minutes. After a 15 minute break, you can run it another 8 minutes. Im impressed my Slime inflator Jr still works.

Excellent, I need that OVAL SHAPED check valve, I only see part of it attached to the eyelet screw. How can I get or buy that check valve?. without it, the inflator is not working.

Thank you for your quick response. I would like to make one myself, what kind of flat metal should I use?

Update: I found that my battery is not holding charge (about 5.5 years since I bought from Costco). Thought of replacing the battery. Before doing that I tried to recover the battery by adding distilled water to hydrate it. I worked on hydrating (which is a slow process) for 3 days. Some cells worked and most of the cells were locked due to build up perhaps. There was no improvement in the voltage and max was 10.6V, which dropped to 9.26V in a few minutes. So I gave up and bought a new battery APEX 12180F3 ABX-86741 $23.99 plus shipping ($11.03). The battery arrived pretty quick and I replaced the battery in my Power Station PSX3 which is a Jump Starter cum Air Compressor. Before installing the new Battery, I compared the length, width and height and found that the new battery was approx 1/8" taller and the Terminal posts were approx 1 cm further away from the edge of the side wall. I already realized that I am going to face problem because the new battery won't fit in the existing battery compartment. When I tried to install the new battery, sure enough it appeared that it was too tall and I tried to find out alternatives - first thought to return the battery, which I did not want to go through the trouble of returning. There was another viable alternative - trimming some of the plastic guide plates that hold the battery in place. Luckily I did not have to do that and the battery went in snug fit - what a relief! Next challenge was the terminal posts being further away and the existing +ve and -ve connectors did not reach the battery terminals. I had to manipulate to make the connection. Then I tested the voltage which was 15.36V., which was same as I had measured soon after getting the new battery. Checked the light and then the air compressor. Instantly the compressor started with pretty strong sound. Then I tried to put the shell back. Again it was a challenge since there are so many screws and interlocking mechanism to pay attention to. All along since I started this project, I was thinking to lubricate the gears of the Air Compressor of the unit. Because I faced so many challenges in installing the new battery, I forgot to lubricate the gears and other components of the Air Compressor. Now it bothers me and looking for the right kind of lubricant/grease I need to buy which should not flow in high Temperature and should not harden too. In another Video, the author replied to my question to use white lithium grease. If you have any lubricant to recommend, which is appropriate for the Air Compressor components, it will be greatly appreciated.

Update-3: In Update-2 I had reported that I applied grease to the air compressor components (including the interior of the cylinder to reduce friction) of my 5.5 Yrs old Power Station PSX3 Jump Starter cum Tire Inflator. It worked pretty well - filled air upto 60 PSI in 3 to 5 min. After that also it worked when I filled air in 4 tires. Last week I tried to inflate another 4 tires with 5 min gap between each tire. Unfortunately on the 4th tire, while filling, the sound of the compressor changed signalling something went wrong. Also after filling to 29 PSI in the 4th tire, the pressure gauge reading did not increase any further. Today I concluded that the piston has failed. I opened the PSX3 and found that the rubber washer at the piston head had torn down. Perhaps the grease softened it and it lost its strength - it was already 5.5 yrs old to start with. Therefore, it is a bad idea to apply grease inside the cylinder. I just wanted to let the viewers know about it. Now it will be hard to find a piston with a good washer/ring so that it can compress the air to attain sufficient pressure needed for a car tire. Thanks for reading.

Wasn't the lead off one of the battery terminals?

Interesting, perhaps set yourself up with an overhead camera mount