Long story short - my all-in-one printer gave up the ghost. New ones are just too pricey for me and ink is outrageous (ok, back on topic). Found the same model used on FB marketplace with ink for a good price. Agreed to meet selling party in a neutral, public location. But how can I test it? Do I just take the seller's word?

A long time back I bought a 12v -1KW inverter to keep in my Jeep, in case I needed to power something in an emergency. So I figured I'd bring it, and plug the printer in to verify it powers up, see the ink levels and test a few controls. The inverter came with battery clips and the lighter plug. Of course, I tested it before going.

So I started up my TL, connected the inverter using the battery clips (no load attached), and flipped the switch. After a few seconds, the idle on my TL starts surging, up and down. Had about 1000 rpm swing. I immediately disconnect the inverter and it still surges. Shut it down, restart, idles high but steady. Shut down again, wait a bit. Start up, idles high and now CEL lit. Pulled the P0505 - IAC. Dang it. So I reset the codes. Start up, idle is a bit low, but no codes. Go through idle relearn and a short drive. Still no codes, idle is OK. Of course, all readiness monitors were reset but they all came back OK the next day. Whew!!

Even though there was nothing plugged into the inverter, I'm guessing the extra load it demanded when I turned it on, caused things to go crazy. Funny, I don't have an issue jump starting other cars so it's unclear what caused it. Needless to say I just took my chances without it.

Just for grins, I hooked it up to my Jeep (1988 Cherokee). I've used it before, years ago, but it's just sat in the container with my roadside emergency stuff for quite some time. Didn't appear to have a problem, even powered on a fan in my garage. Of course, the systems on the Jeep are much simpler.

BTW: the printer works.

 

Strange. Since it was connected to the battery while the car was running there was either a voltage drop (DC) due to load of the unit or some interaction between the frequency (HZ) of the inverter and the frequency of the alternator causing either a voltage drop or injecting a higher than normal AC component to the DC. You would need an O'scope to see the AC component if it was riding on the DC. Best guess I have at the moment.