ARB CKMA12 Simple Wiring

I just purchased one of the

$310 ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

ARB CKMA12 OBA units on a recent T.W. group buy Thanks ramonortiz55 very simple transaction and was completed very fast GOOD JOB.

Here's my question to any "harness kings" , the harness that comes with the compressor is gigantic !! I want to mount a simple on/off water proof switch next to the compressor in the engine bay, no lockers, no switch illumination .......Just on-board air, open the hood flip the switch AIR.

That big 'ol ARB Medusa harness is a little intimidating

Thanks,
Steve

 

Bump

 

I'll see if I can help.

You should have two wiring harnesses that connect together, to form the complete harness.

Take the harness that has the battery connectors, pressure switch, relay and compressor connector and hook that all up. Should pretty much be plug and play.

Take the second part of the harness that is for the switches. Disregard switch 1 and switch 2, you will need to hook your switch up to the isolation switch. I'm not sure what switch you plan on using but you should be able to hook it up as shown below. All the other connectors on that harness can be ignored, though taping them up to help prevent corrosion isn't a bad idea.

The Yellow Ignition source wire could also come directly from the battery if you want to be able to run the compressor even with the truck off, though it is not recommended as it will drain you battery.

 

This looks doable I'll give it a try Saturday!

 

Success 2 pin switch will work. You will need a positive power wire going into the switch and then have the power out wire go into the red wire that is part of the 4 wire section. Then I cut out all the unused wire and slack. It's really kind of simple once you remove the harness tape so you can see what wire goes where. Get rid of the supplied rocker and just get an (2 spade) on/off rocker.

First photo completed install, second un-needed wires from the supplied Medusa harness
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/8788/yqQ5ud.jpg

 

Where is the ignition line? Trying to install mine and everything makes sense other than the ignition line!
Any help is appreciated!

 

The ignition line is just +12v power - you can tap the battery positive terminal directly if you're in the engine compartment, or you can find an ignition switched power source under the dash and run it back out into the engine bay.

The idea of using ignition power is just that you don't have to worry about leaving your compressor powered (by accident) if you turn off the ignition.

The way that line works is that when you turn the switch "on," power flows from the battery, through the pressure switch, and then to the solenoid. The solenoid then switches on the high-current 12v that goes to the compressor motor itself. When the switch is "off," or the pressure switch is tripped due to the compressor being at max pressure, no 12v flows to the solenoid.

 

So i guess my dilemma is choosing which way to do it. I get taping the battery instead of the ignition line. This i assume is not the recommended way. The other way would be the ignition and i guess it would just be locating it from the cab and tracing it back? or does someone know an easier way from the the engine bay like a relay location or where i comes through at the firewall.

 

There's no harm in going to the battery directly and in some cases it'll be more convenient (you won't have to turn the ignition to acc/on to run the compressor for a short time). Just remember to turn the switch off when you're not running the compressor. Heck, even if you forget to turn it off, if you don't have an air leak, the compressor won't be on (it'll just be pressurized), so you'll still be fine.

One other thing - if you think you'll be adding more accessories, consider a Bussmann (or similar) fuse/relay box - then you run a single line the battery, and you run accessories like this to the Bussmann.

 

Awesome, this is the kind of response I was looking for. I really appreciate the clarification as im rushing to get this done for memorial day weekend.
Thanks!

 

what is wire gauge you guys use for this? i am thinking doing same thing mounting it the bed with simple on off switch dont care about lights or anything like that just base, came cross this wire harness to run power direct to rear, will this work? Note i just care about wire think its 14gauge.

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742LV4J...colid=P4HMX2279NDA&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

Curious as to how you mounted this @DeltaSteve??? Mine shows up in the mail today and I want to mount it under the hood. Any more pics by chance?

 

Old thread but the ignition line with the diode. If your going directly to the battery is the diode needed? Turns out the diode in my harness is DOA and it’s new. I have it ran to the battery which should not affect any sensitive electronics. doing a check before before I cut it off and connect without the diode.

 

Cut it out and you'll be just fine. No need for it when you're hooked directly to the battery.

 

Makes sense and what I did. I didn’t bother hooking up the dash light switch either since I only need that if it’s on. Works as expected.

 

Does anyone know where the red/blue pressure switch wires go? I cut up my harness not realizing that it didn't have a built in pressure switch... and now my compressor just keeps filling and filling....

 

In series with your compressor switch. Switch output to red, blue to relay.

 

Yeah Ive seen that in all of the youtube install videos but do you know where the red and blue go away the compressor switch? Like within to the harness itself?

 

I just told you. The red wire comes from in cab switch to the pressure switch. The blue wire goes from the pressure switch to the relay. The two switches are in series such that both must be ON to trigger the relay and run the compressor.