Air suspension not rising

Hi i apoligise if this has been asked before

Ive recently brought a p38 4.6 HSE, it was all working fine when i brought and inspected it but next day i come you use it and the lights for the air suspension on the console (not dash) are flashing when they go to the appriopraite position and the car does not raise from its lowest setting.
When driving the lights move to there correct setting, eg to motorway when over 50mph for a period of time, but they still flash and nothing changes height wise.
Its not until a good 30 mins that the lights stop flashing and stay constant. When this happens all works fine and everything adjustsa as per normal. I can now leave the car and come back to it and all works fine. The longest ive left it is two hours and it still works. But when i come to use it in the moring again im right back at the drawing board.
Ive heard this could be many thing - perished air bags, leaking valves or a lazy compressor
Does anyone have any suggestions to try from pervious experience, before i go to a main dealer Or possibly recommend someone near the milton keynes area that is a specialist

Many thank
MAtt

Hi Matt, Just read about your problems, I've had the same in the past with my p38. Do the following before starting your car in the morning.
The first thing you want to check is if the air tank is staying full overnight, it sounds to me as if it is draining out. Open the bonnet stand on the passenger side and look in the bonnet and bolted on the wheel arch is a black box, this is your air suspension unit. There are a number of pipes going into this box, all with coloured tags and numbers, No. 6 pipe supplies and receives air from the tank. There is a quick release coupling which holds the pipe, (black ring just inside the edge of the box around the pipe), push that in carefully and pull the pipe out. If no air is released, your tank is draining, therefore you have a leak on the system. The first place I would look would be that length of pipe and the tank. The tank is underneath the car on the drivers side bolted inside the chassis (basically underneath the drivers seat, on the outside of the car). Spray the tank with soapy water, if it bubbles then your tank is leaking. Don't leave it too long before you do this otherwise if the compressor is any good, you will ruin it, because it is having to work overtime to make up lost air.
If you have got plenty of air in your tank, then check your valve blocks inside that black box. Good luck!

The compressor should be able to fill the tank from empty in about 6 minutes - if the compressor runs continuously for 20 minutes the EAS ECU will flip out and you will get "EAS Fault" appear in your dash display, which you don't seem to have, so doesn't sound like you have a serious leak to me.

If the system works properly eventually, it sounds more like an intermittent electrical or EAS ECU problem. Other possibility may be sticky valves in the valve block.

Personally I'd get it down to a local LR specialist who can plug it into Rovacom and run it in dynamic mode to see exactly what is going on. You'd probably have to leave it with them overnight tho so they can see why it doesn't work the next morning. Don't take it to a run of the mill garage, they won't have a clue, and don't take it to a main dealer, they will just charge you a fortune for replacing every part under the Sun until they find the fault!


Matt.

I appreciate your replies, I shall try first thing in the morning to see if i can see where the leak is coming from.
Ive been on a good 20min journey and the suspension still hasnt levelled today, yet im not getting any fault or display messages (EAS)
The only garage i can find locally is a main dealer. CAn anyone recommend one close to me
Thanks Matt

Where are you based?!

Milton Keynes, Bucks

A quick update, i found a local specialist only 5 mins away which was a bonus. They put it on rovercom and its looks like a faulty compresser. So fingers crossed ive a new compresser coming tomorrow and this will sort it

Nice easy job. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to replace it, that includes getting the tools out and a 5 minute tea break

Can I ask where you got the compressor from and how much did it cost?

Matt.

update
it was the compressor. Job gone done first thing this morning, and the suspension works and drives as it should