Air Ride Suspension Life

[mlschultz]

Dark Side checking in lol I had to get one of the 1 1/2" lowered American Air coil kits installed on The Mark to keep it on the road.

I tried 3 different Ford master techs to try and figure out what went wrong, and to get it going, but no joy. Eddie at American Air Suspension even took a swing at it. My 98 Mark failed real good. The coils are nothing close to air ride, but the conversion got me back on the road.

BTW - Eddie will loan out his Ford air ride tester and instructions on how to use it for cost of shipping I believe. You plug it into the port that is located on the front passenger shock tower - thats where it is on a gen 2 Mark.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

Does anyone have a list of the error codes, or where I can find them easily?

 

[Nyghtshayd]

Ride height test

I got diagnostic test of the air ride by connecting an LED from the STI plug to ground.

1. solenoids clicked
2. compressor ran for 2 sec.
3. nothing...

Thanks to BILLCUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! again.
I know it is a ride hieight sensor issue but now I don't know which one is bad.

Anyone have a clue how to find out?

Thank you.

 

[YR1 MK8]

IMHO its the air ride that makes these cars so damn nice. the adjustability utilizing sensor lowering or an Asham8 et al, is why i would never consider converting to springs. even used air bags will last you several years.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

Ok, I changed the height sensors.
I got one front and a rear.
I left the air ride switch off and keyed on.
STILL GOT THAT @#$%! ERROR
I swapped the left to right front sensor still got the error.

Next?

 

[billcu]

Where are you at now?

Is the rear slammed?

If so, try jacking up the left rear a bit, but still below ride height. The sensor can be out of range when fully slammed.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

Hey, Billcu!

Yeah, the rear is slammed.
I'll try jacking it up a bit tonight.
BTW, Knyghtshayd was slammed on all four after sitting for 2 years and he lifted just fine until a few days after I changed the front strut. (To add more info...)

 

[Roadboss]

In post 25 you said you left the switch off and retried. This won't work, I hope you turned the switch back to on.

When you replaced your air springs did you also put on new "O" rings on the solenoid shaft? Have you used any soapy water to see if they or the air line going into them is leaking?

Is the compressor running at all before the check light comes on?

 

[Nyghtshayd]

I turned the switch on for the front but not the rear. I will do it all again to be sure.
New o-rings and paste.
Solenoids leak from where?
I only used the soapy spray to check the bags for leaks.
The compressor does not run before the check message.

 

[Roadboss]

The switch in the trunk turns the whole system on. There is no front or rear only switch, unless you have a modified system.

If the compressor makes no attempt to fire then you may have a blown starter relay which is located next to the compressor, and/ or the compressor itself needs to be replaced. American Air is my supplier of choice for all my air ride parts.

 

[driller]

If the check air ride warning comes on almost immediately, it is a hard fault, usually an open or short somewhere in the wiring. The suspension module does a system check when first fired up for normal values from height sensors and solenoids. If one of them has an open or short, the check air ride warning will come on and the compressor will not attempt to run.

You can access the wiring at the suspension module and probe the correct leads to check for the correct values.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

If the check air ride warning comes on almost immediately, it is a hard fault, usually an open or short somewhere in the wiring. >>>>>You can access the wiring at the suspension module and probe the correct leads to check for the correct values.

Over my Head!:fart

Yo, Roadboss

Whether the switch to the system was on or off did not seem to make a difference for the hard fault. But Its not a problem to do it all again.

 

[billcu]

Yes, turn the switch on. It won't pump up with the switch off.

There are 3 different faults:

If the warning comes on as soon as you key on, it's a hard fault.

If the warning comes on after 45 seconds, it's a vent fault.

If the warning comes on after 90 seconds it's a compressor fault.

You're getting the hard fault. If you get a hard fault, nothing will work until you clear that fault. Did you try jacking the car up yet?

 

[Nyghtshayd]

I have a hard fault, Billcu.
I am gonna jack the car up to park height tonight.
Do I clear the fault by disconnecting the battery?

Thank you all for your input.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

No luck jacking the car up.

 

[billcu]

I wouldn't jack the car to parked height. I leave it between parked height and slammed. This happened to me twice. I had to try a few times, keying on and off a few times, but eventually it started pumping up.

If that doesn't work, you might want to check the wires as mentioned before.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

Actions taken summary

Here is a list of the actions I took to fix my system error. This error started a few days after I changed the drivers strut. When I replaced it:

1. I never changed the front struts before but it was easy enough. There is a spunge inside a plastic cap in the solenoid. This spunge was sitting crooked inside the cap so I placed it flush.

2. Changed o-rings and applied D-grease.

3. I let the sensor dangle to get a fold out of the strut and reattached it.:wink2-green

4. The rear bag still had a leak that I would replace that weekend but the rear got slammed and System error.

5. Disconnected neg battery terminal for 5 min. then reconnected.

6. K/o error.

7. Connected test light to test connector plug 2; solenoids clicked, compressor came on for 1 sec, then nothing... no height test occurred.:err-what?:

8. Replaced P/S H/S, keyed on, error.

9. Switched replacement H/S from P/S to D/S, keyed on, error. :confused-red:

10. Got rear H/S replaced, K/o...error.

11. Replaced all original H/S.

12. Finally replaced leaky rear P/S bag.

13. Jacked D/S rear to get out of slam.

14. K/o...:mad-tilt:

 

[Roadboss]

Item #1. The sponge is supposed to be cut off (cut the plastic cage that holds it flush with the end of the solenoid). A sharp knife or Exacto knife is well suited for this. I am surprised you were able to get the solenoid in to full depth (it takes two twists to properly seat in). Throw the sponge and plastic trimmings away.

The starter solenoid for the compressor may have blown, it is mounted right on the tray next to the compressor.

 

[Nyghtshayd]

Item #1. The sponge is supposed to be cut off (cut the plastic cage that holds it flush with the end of the solenoid). A sharp knife or Exacto knife is well suited for this. I am surprised you were able to get the solenoid in to full depth (it takes two twists to properly seat in). Throw the sponge and plastic trimmings away.

The starter solenoid for the compressor may have blown, it is mounted right on the tray next to the compressor.

HOLY SMOKE, BATMAN!!!! :eek-large:

That was the dealer replacement too! Rizzo Ford(now out of business) :mad-tilt:
This was in crooked when I found it, then I set it straight...


Everything went in fine and the front lifted after the strut install.
I'll look into this tonight, Roadboss.

TY

 

[Roadboss]

This is what I am referring to. I keep calling it a starter, but the correct terminology is relay. Sorry if I have confused the issue, but it is located right next to the compressor. These items typically fail when a compressor goes bad. They are available at Napa and the other chains.