P38A EAS guidance appreciated...

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Salisbury Nick

Salisbury Nick

Well-Known Member
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790
Location
Dorchester
The dreaded EAS, I don't know how often I see this crop up on here - and I have searched and looked at previous posts so I must be really dense to find myself in the position of asking for more help!
I've got a leak, the drivers side drops first when at rest, takes a couple of hours to drop, then overnight the rest of the car drops too. If I start it up the next morning then it rises quickly all over, if I leave it a few days it takes a minute or two before rising and the passenger side rises first then the drivers side.
I have a spare pump that I have refurbished, (Thanks to @Datatek for the parts for that), and I'll fit in the next few days. I don't expect that will fix the problems as I can't see any potential leaks from the pump that would cause one side to drop before the other. So, I expect to have at least one other leak somewhere. I have seen the suggestion of using soapy water to help reveal the leak, and I have some leak detector spay too. However, what I'm not sure about is where to look? What are the key components and seals that I should be getting to?
 
Yes, plenty of reading on this subject right here! :

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/search/75034803/?q=EAS+fault&o=relevance&c[node]=10

To my non-expert ears, it sounds like you may have an air leak from one of the air bags on the driver's side. A simple check is to wait until the EAS is at full pressure/correct height, then lend an ear to the front wheel arch then the rear wheel arch (where the air-bags are located) and listen for the psssss of escaping air (you may need to switch the engine off to hear better). Do you know what state the air-bags look to be in?
Hope this helps
 
I had same problem front and back, air bags leaking. Not a hard job. Just look at Datatek's guide in technical section
 
They are original but were checked not long ago and thought OK. However, that does not mean they have not sprung a leak in the meantime.
 
Salisbury Nick said:
The dreaded EAS, I don't know how often I see this crop up on here - and I have searched and looked at previous posts so I must be really dense to find myself in the position of asking for more help!
I've got a leak, the drivers side drops first when at rest, takes a couple of hours to drop, then overnight the rest of the car drops too. If I start it up the next morning then it rises quickly all over, if I leave it a few days it takes a minute or two before rising and the passenger side rises first then the drivers side.
I have a spare pump that I have refurbished, (Thanks to @Datatek for the parts for that), and I'll fit in the next few days. I don't expect that will fix the problems as I can't see any potential leaks from the pump that would cause one side to drop before the other. So, I expect to have at least one other leak somewhere. I have seen the suggestion of using soapy water to help reveal the leak, and I have some leak detector spay too. However, what I'm not sure about is where to look? What are the key components and seals that I should be getting to?
Click to expand...
Don't fit a new compressor until fixed. Duty cycle is 30% and anything over that (feeding a leak) will burn it out.

Park her up, pull the delay timer under the passenger seat and then shutup shop. See what has dropped overnight. If a corner drops then almost certainly a bag leaking. It could be the connection into the valve block or bag but if the bag is 7 years old or more then most likely the bag.

If you have the emergency EAS things with T pieces then take them out first as they tend to leak.
 
Salisbury Nick said:
The dreaded EAS, I don't know how often I see this crop up on here - and I have searched and looked at previous posts so I must be really dense to find myself in the position of asking for more help!
I've got a leak, the drivers side drops first when at rest, takes a couple of hours to drop, then overnight the rest of the car drops too. If I start it up the next morning then it rises quickly all over, if I leave it a few days it takes a minute or two before rising and the passenger side rises first then the drivers side.
I have a spare pump that I have refurbished, (Thanks to @Datatek for the parts for that), and I'll fit in the next few days. I don't expect that will fix the problems as I can't see any potential leaks from the pump that would cause one side to drop before the other. So, I expect to have at least one other leak somewhere. I have seen the suggestion of using soapy water to help reveal the leak, and I have some leak detector spay too. However, what I'm not sure about is where to look? What are the key components and seals that I should be getting to?
Click to expand...
Airbags have a design life of 80K miles or 7/8 years, odds on you have a leaking airbag. The must be replaced in axle pairs, better to do all 4. the car levels down every 6 hours or so, that's why the passenger side eventually drops.
 
@Grrrrrr - thanks. I understand nearly all your wise words when read one word at a time but far fewer of them when read together. How do I identify the Delay Timer? and pull the right wires?
Do i need to remove the pump to get to the valve block? I looked at this the other day and it seemed to have more pipes than i expected it to and hard to reach. I bought the car about two years ago and i don’t know it’s mechanical history. Where do the Emergency T pieces live if fitted?
Blimey, it’s one thing to understand the principles of EAS and something completely different to understand how it’s actually built!
 
Datatek said:
Airbags have a design life of 80K miles or 7/8 years, odds on you have a leaking airbag. The must be replaced in axle pairs, better to do all 4. the car levels down every 6 hours or so, that's why the passenger side eventually drops.
Click to expand...
Ah. A succinct explanation. Thanks Datatek.
Do you know where I can find the technical section on here where i’m lead to believe that you have posted a EAS guide or similar?
 
brianp38dse said:
Slide passenger seat back and you should see a tall black relay poking up remove that relay.
Click to expand...

That's where the delay relay is and as Brian says, find Wammers How To as it has everything you need.

Don't go buggering about with the valve block at this stage! Just spray soapy water where the pipes join. If you imagine the block is turned so the pipes are now on top then the four grouped pipes are the ones that feed the bags and match the corner of the car in layout.
 
Salisbury Nick said:
@Grrrrrr - thanks. I understand nearly all your wise words when read one word at a time but far fewer of them when read together. How do I identify the Delay Timer? and pull the right wires?
Do i need to remove the pump to get to the valve block? I looked at this the other day and it seemed to have more pipes than i expected it to and hard to reach. I bought the car about two years ago and i don’t know it’s mechanical history. Where do the Emergency T pieces live if fitted?
Blimey, it’s one thing to understand the principles of EAS and something completely different to understand how it’s actually built!
Click to expand...

If there are no Scrader valves near the EAS box you don't have the emergency lift kit. This is a bonus!
 
The rear rises first then the front. If one side rises then the other the pipes into the valve block are not in the correct outlets. Or someone has removed the coils and fitted them in the wrong places.
 
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