Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:16 pm
Hey guys, I need a little help with my compressor. I pulled it out of an old dehumidifier (probably from the 90s), hooked it up, it ran for about 5 seconds, clicked, and then shut off. About 15 seconds later, a tiny click comes out of a little black cylinder on the side, maybe 20mm diameter and 10mm thick and it would turn back on. Repeat about 10 times. I cut the wires coming out of the cylinder, rewired the compressor without it, and then turned it on. I left it running from a few minutes, trying to figure out which tube was the output, as neither were putting out much air when the larger diameter tube started puffing white smoke that smelled like burning oil, and about 10 seconds later the circuit breaker in the power strip blew.
Any ideas? What have I done wrong? Was the black cylinder a overcurrent protection circuit? Why was there no air and all the smoke?