Ooops, Need some help with air ride

V

ViiiKiller

Registered
Last night I did my sensor drop mod going by memory instead of refreshing myself and well, now I am having "check air ride" message and car is somewhat high in front. I moved the front sensor bracket down and extended the sensors on the front instead of the opposite. I guess this gave the "hard fault" and now I'm trying to figure out how to manually bleed the front bags to hopefully reset the air ride system. After I found the article on how to do this, I realized I goofed big time. So I went out and drilled a hole right underneath the top hole and compressed the sensor. Turned on the ride computer in the trunk and started the car but the "check air ride" message still comes on around 5 seconds. The rear was done properly according to the instructions. However, the car doesn't look too high in front or too low in the rear, it just looks like its at normal ride height.

Does anybody know how I can bleed the front bags and reset everything? Thanks for the help. I feel like a massive tool right now.
 
You can turn and pop out the little solenoid where it attaches to the bag, but make sure the car is on jack stands or something because you will be letting all the air out that way, and it will be fast...

Are you getting the message because something is unplugged? I'm pretty sure the sensors have a lot of travel before they fault. If the car is at a normal height I'm not sure you need to vent any bags.

The air ride computer should reset every time you turn on the ignition.

:D -J
 
After you reset the sensors UP, drive it around the block or something, and it will vent on its own. Or you can just stand there and open and close the drivers door a few times and wait for it to vent. (may be as long as 45 minutes). This way is safer than popping a solenoid loose.
 
Thank you guys I will try both tricks, maybe a long drive will lower it. It seemed to drop to normal height after I drove around the block for about 3 or 4 miles.
 
ViiiKiller said:
Thank you guys I will try both tricks, maybe a long drive will lower it. It seemed to drop to normal height after I drove around the block for about 3 or 4 miles.
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Are you still getting the air ride warning message?
Once that pops up on the screen the system is shut off, so it won't vent or raise the car...

:D -J
 
Yes, about 5 seconds or so after start up and it just sits there, meaning I don't hear the compressor or any air ride noises. I know that this means its a hard fault so that is why I'm asking how to manually bleed the bags safely. I tried the opening and closing the door trick to no avail. It doesn't look too high but its not dropped like I'd like it to be.
 
ViiiKiller said:
Yes, about 5 seconds or so after start up and it just sits there, meaning I don't hear the compressor or any air ride noises. I know that this means its a hard fault so that is why I'm asking how to manually bleed the bags safely. I tried the opening and closing the door trick to no avail. It doesn't look too high but its not dropped like I'd like it to be.
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I think popping off the solenoid is the only easy way, but IMO the height of the car is probably not your problem... Once the computer shuts off the door thing won't work.

Is the message you are getting "check air ride"?
Is it possible that one of the sensors isn't plugged in?

:D -J
 
I have some free time tomorrow so I'll double check all connections. Thank you for all your help so far. The message center says, "check air ride".
 
Hey no problem...

I could be wrong here, but if my memory serves me, the check air ride message will only come on after the car has spent at least 90 seconds trying to get itself to the correct height.

If it's coming on within 5 seconds of the ignition being active, then the computer is failing some aspect of the self test on start up, i.e. the computer can't talk to a sensor or something like that...

Anyway, like I said... I could be wrong, it's been a while since I really messed around with the air ride...

good luck!

:D -J
 
Correct about the 90 second warning after failing to pump up to normal height.

You can also get a warning after 45 seconds if the car doesn't vent to normal height.

A warning right away like this is a hardware fault. Possibly the sensors are too far off from where they should be. I'd try to put them in a position that extends them just a little bit more than where they should be, and try keying on. If you still get the message, I'd try extending them a little bit more, and try it again. Keep trying this until it vents.

I know the fronts should be compressed to vent the car but, if they are too far off, you can get the warning and the system shuts down.
 
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Awesome Bill, I will try that today, because I think they might be too compressed at the moment. I have that little slot to move the sensors down perhaps a 1/4 inch. Thanks for your help.
 
I tried moving the sensors down the slot about a 1/4 inch but the check air ride still comes on within 5 to 10 seconds. No compressor noises or anything. How safe is it to vent the bags by twisting the vent solenoids counter clockwise to release air? Is this recommended? The car is at normal ride height right now but I was hoping the sensor drop would drop it 2 inches or so.

I copied and pasted this from American Suspension so I was wondering if I did this would it vent my bags and reset the system?

NOTE:

Believe it or not (unless a sensor has been disconnected or has malfunctioned) if the car was raised up with the susp. switch left on, the air suspension system will simply vent all the air out and lower the car to the bumpstops. Unless a malfunction of the system occurs, the system won't be damaged!
 
ViiiKiller said:
I tried moving the sensors down the slot about a 1/4 inch but the check air ride still comes on within 5 to 10 seconds. No compressor noises or anything. How safe is it to vent the bags by twisting the vent solenoids counter clockwise to release air? Is this recommended? The car is at normal ride height right now but I was hoping the sensor drop would drop it 2 inches or so.

I copied and pasted this from American Suspension so I was wondering if I did this would it vent my bags and reset the system?

NOTE:

Believe it or not (unless a sensor has been disconnected or has malfunctioned) if the car was raised up with the susp. switch left on, the air suspension system will simply vent all the air out and lower the car to the bumpstops. Unless a malfunction of the system occurs, the system won't be damaged!
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It is correct.

However, decompression happens quickly, and unless the car is supported in some way, one could find themselves trapped or crushed when they unplug the solenoids.
 
HA... thanks Bill, learn something new everyday around here... :D


logres said:
However, decompression happens quickly, and unless the car is supported in some way, one could find themselves trapped or crushed when they unplug the solenoids.
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"Happens quickly" is an understatement. The last time I had to change a bag, with the car on jacks and the wheel off, when I popped the solenoid off the wheel hub actually came back up... which needless to say I was not expecting.

:D -J
 
If your car is at normal height, why do you want to remove the solenoids and let the air out? That won't fix anything.

I'd put the sensors back in the stock position and see what happens.

Maybe a sensor has gone bad?
 
billcu said:
If your car is at normal height, why do you want to remove the solenoids and let the air out? That won't fix anything.

I'd put the sensors back in the stock position and see what happens.

Maybe a sensor has gone bad?
Click to expand...

I thought that maybe venting the bags would reset the "check air ride" message and then it would allow the air ride system to function normally.

It cleared itself up today at lunch time, I'm so happy.
 
From what I've seen the hard fault is often sensor trouble or the sensor just out of range. I've seen it with my leaky rear bags that vented too much to the point that I had to jack up the car a bit to get the system to work again.

I've also seen it if I turn my module VIII too much at once, which is basically an out or range thing too.

As was said before, the compressor and vent valve don't throw the code right away.

I'd keep an eye on it, yours sounds like an intermittent problem (we all hate those).

So anyway, what is the height of your car now that the system is up and running again.:)
 
ViiiKiller said:
All of a sudden this morning, the check air ride message disappeared on its own.
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I hate it when that happens! :D

I've worked on several things only to have them magically heal themselves. It just wants to be taken apart and put back together sometimes. Other times it just takes a notion to start working after prodding around when really nothing was done to fix anything.

It's hard to get any sense of accomplishment when that happens. :rolleyes:
 
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