Just got a Viair compressor, 85P, and saw that the instruction say the engine must be running while it’s used. The problem is that my Highlander Hybrid shuts the engine off when it’s not needed.
How do I make this work?
Doesn’t the highlander have some a/c & heater settings that run the engine all the time ?
For example my Ford Escape hybrid runs the engine in defrost and max a/c modes.
Perhaps the extra electrical load will cue your engine to run.
Unless you have an override to keep the engine running, you don’t want to ‘make it work’. Obviously the compressor uses a bunch of electrical power. The 12V battery in most hybrids are much smaller than the 12V battery in conventional cars. This is due to the hybrid battery being used to start the engine, not the 12V battery. Many Hybrid owner’s find the amount of available battery power from the 12V battery to be an annoyance, since you cannot even sit and listen to the radio in the car with the engine off for very long.
The standard method of using that compressor is not compatible with the highly complex electrical system of your Hybrid vehicle. The risk of damaging very expensive parts of that highly complex electrical system are high.
Also, this compressor requires up to 14.5 amps when running. Most Toyota’s I’m aware of are good for only 10 amps through the cigarette lighter. On the web site, they advise you to determine the maximum power from the cigarette lighter before ordering. Did you confirm that?
Ask the dealer for their recommendation?
Just make sure the car is on when you plug the compressor in and turn it on. If the engine needs to start up to supply power, it will do it on its own. Those hybrid engines are pretty smart.