P38A EAS Compressor thermal switch: Sorted. Switch is kaput.

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marjon said:
Refurb kit dont include the thermal switch though, so he wouldn't be left with a "plug & play " spare;)
But he may be just aswell off refurbing what he has, and battle the seller:D

Just trying to think of maybe quickest way to get up and running:)

J
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My plan now is to get the compressor I had in the car that is now seized and hopefully send it to Kurt to have one sitting around in the back of the car (because these things are oh so reliable.........with breaking) as a spare. :D
 
MacMan6107 said:
Hahaha I do but it is also done and dusted as well. This is the 6th compressor in the car that I am aware of. Which is why I didn't install it straight away. I wanted to see if there was something causing the issue but all tests I did came back as if there was no issue except for the compressors. Earlier ones could have been because the car was on its original bags and I changed them back in 2019 which is when the compressor literally seized up the first time. Then I bought a new compressor and after 3 months it died so I contacted the seller who sent me out a replacement that worked fine until a few weeks back.
I had a look at the guts of the electrics in the 2 dead pumps I had to see what was involved with regards to replacing the switch but I seriously don't understand how electwizardry works. My dad was an electrical engineer and always relied on him. Yep he tried teaching me but it wouldn't ever stay in my head. Anyway he is gone now and that's all off point.
The seller of this latest compressor has replied and are going to pay for return shipping and will send out a known working compresser. So here's hoping that gets the car back on the road for a few days before I take it off again to fix a coolant leak.
I tell ya what. In Australia we could fix our cars all year round pretty much and actually get some good hot months running with them. Over here with this one, I seem to spend all summer out working on it chasing issues that keep popping up. Know what though, I love it really hahaha
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Good result with seller
BUT and big but it sounds like a leak somewhere so would seriously go round carefully with soapy water spray checking pipes and everywhere else. Could even be leaking valves in valve block. Kurt is definitely your man for valve block repairs
 
MacMan6107 said:
Hahaha I do but it is also done and dusted as well. This is the 6th compressor in the car that I am aware of. Which is why I didn't install it straight away. I wanted to see if there was something causing the issue but all tests I did came back as if there was no issue except for the compressors. Earlier ones could have been because the car was on its original bags and I changed them back in 2019 which is when the compressor literally seized up the first time. Then I bought a new compressor and after 3 months it died so I contacted the seller who sent me out a replacement that worked fine until a few weeks back.
I had a look at the guts of the electrics in the 2 dead pumps I had to see what was involved with regards to replacing the switch but I seriously don't understand how electwizardry works. My dad was an electrical engineer and always relied on him. Yep he tried teaching me but it wouldn't ever stay in my head. Anyway he is gone now and that's all off point.
The seller of this latest compressor has replied and are going to pay for return shipping and will send out a known working compresser. So here's hoping that gets the car back on the road for a few days before I take it off again to fix a coolant leak.
I tell ya what. In Australia we could fix our cars all year round pretty much and actually get some good hot months running with them. Over here with this one, I seem to spend all summer out working on it chasing issues that keep popping up. Know what though, I love it really hahaha
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That's a lot of compressors, are you sure you have checked all the lines for leaks. there's 2 sides to the system:).

J
 
MacMan6107 said:
My plan now is to get the compressor I had in the car that is now seized and hopefully send it to Kurt to have one sitting around in the back of the car (because these things are oh so reliable.........with breaking) as a spare. :D
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Sorry have to disagree;).

The 96 is on its second and the 2001 is still on its first. (in our ownership).

I have just jinxed them haven't I :oops::oops:

J
 
MacMan6107 said:
Yep, I tested the compressor while it was unplugged from the wiring harness. All I can think of is when I received the delivery of the item the packaging appeared to have been torn open, it was a whole corner ripped apart. It is possible that the compressor may have fallen out of this hole and damaged the internals somehow although I don't know how. There are no signs of external damage to the compressor so I have nothing to go on really. When I received the box I did take photographs of the damage to the box and emailed those photos to the vendor after having spoken to them on the phone that same morning.
They later in a reply email accepted liability for the compressor not having been packed correctly and instead allowing it to move freely within the box. The person who replied to my email ensured this would not have happened had they had packed the item and instead threw a fellow employee under the bus blaming them. At the time they were aware I was not immediately installing the compressor to the vehicle and would be doing so after ensuring everything else was as per spec before I did install it and that this would take at least a week or slightly more.
So I have emailed them again stating the tests etc. that I had performed and shall now wait to see if or how they are going to respond to this.

Thanks for your help gentlemen.

Regards

Craig
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The thermal switch is a little transistor looking thing by the wiring brushes in the top of the motor. It is soldered to a small circuit board so should be pretty robust. I did have one where the track on the circuit board was so thin it had vapourised. A line of solder fixed that.
 
marjon said:
That's a lot of compressors, are you sure you have checked all the lines for leaks. there's 2 sides to the system:).

J
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I will be pulling all four wheels off and really rip into the whole thing properly. I didn't fit the bags, a friend owns a workshop and his mechanic did it, ex-racingmechanixc. However, I am finding lots of things he has done that aren't right. So now no one but me will be touching the car unless I can't do whatever is necessary. I had doubts at the time as well but I didn't even have a drive to work on as I do now. A garage or workshop would be ideal but I can only work with what I've got.
 
MacMan6107 said:
I will be pulling all four wheels off and really rip into the whole thing properly. I didn't fit the bags, a friend owns a workshop and his mechanic did it, ex-racingmechanixc. However, I am finding lots of things he has done that aren't right. So now no one but me will be touching the car unless I can't do whatever is necessary. I had doubts at the time as well but I didn't even have a drive to work on as I do now. A garage or workshop would be ideal but I can only work with what I've got.
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If it stays up on the bags (think you said it did) Then before you go in deep with all the wheels off, get your soapy water and start under the bonnet then work you way back underneath.
Some reports of tank feed line and exhausts have come up before.
You can spray plenty of wata on the bags without taking wheels off for a quick first check. If the bags "were" replaced you should be able to tell condition just by looking at them.

J
 
marjon said:
If it stays up on the bags (think you said it did) Then before you go in deep with all the wheels off, get your soapy water and start under the bonnet then work you way back underneath.
Some reports of tank feed line and exhausts have come up before.
You can spray plenty of wata on the bags without taking wheels off for a quick first check. If the bags "were" replaced you should be able to tell condition just by looking at them.

J
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I need to take the wheels off anyway for other things so may as well make it slightly roomier for myself. I know the valve block isn't leaking as I reconditioned that myself (my dad used to do that back in Australia so I learned a thing or two there). The bags definitely were replaced, I took the old ones to make sure they were totally gone and they really were and as I said, that was only done in 2019 so if they're worn in any way other than normal use I would be very surprised.

Cheers for the tips though, it is greatly appreciated.

Regards

Craig
 
You may have a leak in your system or you have a power surge going on somewhere. I would say its the latter the amount of pumps the vehicle has gone through. Could be a faulty driver box on the valve block not opening and closing valves correctly or a loose connection or bent pin int the driver pack plug.
If it was a leak you would have the wonky donkey syndrome with the air springs :D
 
MacMan6107 said:
I need to take the wheels off anyway for other things so may as well make it slightly roomier for myself. I know the valve block isn't leaking as I reconditioned that myself (my dad used to do that back in Australia so I learned a thing or two there). The bags definitely were replaced, I took the old ones to make sure they were totally gone and they really were and as I said, that was only done in 2019 so if they're worn in any way other than normal use I would be very surprised.

Cheers for the tips though, it is greatly appreciated.

Regards

Craig
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Make sure you use axle stands,we don't like loosing members of the forum.;):D I had to add of the forum because of the durty minds on here eh @Rubberknees :p:D:D
 
tomcat59alan said:
Make sure you use axle stands,we don't like loosing members of the forum.;):D I had to add of the forum because of the durty minds on here eh @Rubberknees :p:D:D
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Ahh come on Alan i've been very helpful today. Hand on heart not 1 dirty thought has crossed my mind today:rolleyes::rolleyes: There was the young lady in mini skirt I saw but that wasn't 1 dirty thought:rolleyes::D:rolleyes:
 
I've seen several compressors where the problem was not the actual sensor, but the internal crimp on the orange wire. Soldering it into the PCB terminal solved the problem.

Replacing the thermal switch is a bit of a faff, and involves drilling out the PCB rivets & then tapping the end cap to refit using small screws. Therefore anyone with this problem check the wire and the switch first. Then consider whether you want to have a go, or contact Kurt !!
 
kurtjohnson10 said:
You may have a leak in your system or you have a power surge going on somewhere. I would say its the latter the amount of pumps the vehicle has gone through. Could be a faulty driver box on the valve block not opening and closing valves correctly or a loose connection or bent pin int the driver pack plug.
If it was a leak you would have the wonky donkey syndrome with the air springs :D
Click to expand...

Thanks Kurt. When I use Hawkeye to test the valve block I can hear every valve opening and closing. I do have another driver box sitting in the shed. Is there a way that I can test it out of the car to make sure it is still good before installing it?

tomcat59alan said:
Make sure you use axle stands,we don't like loosing members of the forum.;):D I had to add of the forum because of the durty minds on here eh @Rubberknees :p:D:D
Click to expand...

Hahahaha. A habit I got into 30 years ago was putting said wheels under the car before I went under it. I had a car up on its jack (thin useless one) and it started to fall while I had my legs under it. So never again. Back then though I used to be the width of the wheels/tyres front to back and could move a lot faster. So I guess nowadays I'd need something like a Lamborghini Countach's massively wide rear wheel & tyre combo for the same job. :D
 
MacMan6107 said:
Thanks Kurt. When I use Hawkeye to test the valve block I can hear every valve opening and closing. I do have another driver box sitting in the shed. Is there a way that I can test it out of the car to make sure it is still good before installing it?



Hahahaha. A habit I got into 30 years ago was putting said wheels under the car before I went under it. I had a car up on its jack (thin useless one) and it started to fall while I had my legs under it. So never again. Back then though I used to be the width of the wheels/tyres front to back and could move a lot faster. So I guess nowadays I'd need something like a Lamborghini Countach's massively wide rear wheel & tyre combo for the same job. :D
Click to expand...
We used to say pack as you jack when I was in the Fire Brigade.The Emergency Tender had loads of different size wooden blocks.Was once called out to a guy under his car when the jack collapsed.not pleasant.:(
 
MacMan6107 said:
Thanks Kurt. When I use Hawkeye to test the valve block I can hear every valve opening and closing. I do have another driver box sitting in the shed. Is there a way that I can test it out of the car to make sure it is still good before installing it?



:D
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I would check your relays and all fuses , and the board for any damage or corrosion. You have a surge issue somewhere that will love to eat your pump thermal trip asap.
Just replacing pumps is not the best way, take your time and have a good luck at the relay board and replace relays with correct relays.
One major problem that can be ticked off the check list then :D

See @pwood999 think he may have a source for compressors :)
 
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