EAS Problems (again)

Hi everyone,
a while back i asked about my EAS sometimes taking a few mins to rise to standard profile. anyway, it has been pretty much ok except for the last week where it has taken longer and longer to rise to standard profile (even when i havent sunk it into access it has lost height when i come to it in the mornings). Anyway, got into it this afternoon, started the engine and the back rose a little and that was all. The standard profile height light was lit and everything seemed fine but it soon became apparent that the vehicle was leaning to one side (drivers). Anyway, i ignored this and didnt worry about it, got back home a bit later, went to get out and realised that the ground was alot closer (almost as though it was in access mode) than usual with the car still in standard mode. got out, went and stood and looked at the front of the car and the drivers side was heavily leaning down to one side while the passenger side was up almost as usual. switched the engine off and locked it where upon it slf levelled all the way down to the bump stops. soooo, i have been trying to get hold of my specialist all afternoon but he hasnt been around so im a bit stuffed until tomorrow. just got back in after taking the car for a run down to the shops and back and the access light was lit and the standard profile light was flashing. it tried to level itself all the way there and back but no luck, when looking at the car the passenger side again was slightly raised with the drivers side still down on the bump stops. sooo im now not sure what i should do, i still need to use the car and ill only be driving it on short journeys. until i get hold of my specialist should i unplug the EAS timer or what?? also, does anyone have any ideas what might be the problem?? my initial thoughts were that it was a dodgy front height sensor?? but reading up on rangerovers.net it could be a possible problem with the valve block as well. does anyone have any suggestions??

thanks for ANY help...

-Wills (still trying to smile and love his P38!)

Sounds like a failing compressor to me.Do not panic about rebuilding the valve block etc,they are very reliable - it is usually the drive pack that operates the valve block that fails,not the valves themselves.Alot of the info on the RR net site is well meaning but misguided.Most of the cars I see have worn compressors,faulty/worn height sensors or perished/leaking air springs.Or all 3 !
You can check the compressor,you need a 12mm open end spanner and an 8mm socket.Switch the ign off,dont disconect batt,remove EAS cover,unplug compressor 3way plug,undo the 3 nuts holding the comp,lift it up a bit so you can undo the outlet pipe,remove comp.
Turn the comp u/side down and remove the 4 8mm headed bolts,carefully remove the cylinder head of the comp - the alloy cyl usually comes off as well.Now you will see the little alloy "wobble piston" with its yellow piston seal.If it is worn through/torn this is why your EAS wont rise.If it is ok then something else is wrong.
OOps - must go now Dinner is served !!!!!

eightinavee said:

Sounds like a failing compressor to me.Do not panic about rebuilding the valve block etc,they are very reliable - it is usually the drive pack that operates the valve block that fails,not the valves themselves.Alot of the info on the RR net site is well meaning but misguided.Most of the cars I see have worn compressors,faulty/worn height sensors or perished/leaking air springs.Or all 3 !
You can check the compressor,you need a 12mm open end spanner and an 8mm socket.Switch the ign off,dont disconect batt,remove EAS cover,unplug compressor 3way plug,undo the 3 nuts holding the comp,lift it up a bit so you can undo the outlet pipe,remove comp.
Turn the comp u/side down and remove the 4 8mm headed bolts,carefully remove the cylinder head of the comp - the alloy cyl usually comes off as well.Now you will see the little alloy "wobble piston" with its yellow piston seal.If it is worn through/torn this is why your EAS wont rise.If it is ok then something else is wrong.
OOps - must go now Dinner is served !!!!!

Click to expand...

thanks for the reply eightinavee. anyway, an update, i took the car over to a specialist today. On the way over the computer finally figured out something was wrong and the dash lit up with all height indicators lights on and the suspension light on and EAS fault on the message centre. I didn't get the SLOW 35MPH message though so im not quite sure whats gone on there. Anyway, left it with him, later on this afternoon when he rang the specialist had plugged in his Rovacom system and it said that there was a compressor fault and a height sensor was out of range (front drivers side). Anyway, he is pretty sure its the compressor at fault and possibly a height sensor so he has ordered these parts and hopefully I should know whether its sorted pretty soon. i hope this gets it sorted, any opinions?? lol

Will keep you all updated...

-Wills

Doesnt sound too good to me,either the compressor is shot or its not - they are easy enough to check/test.As for the height sensor,it is quite common for them to log out of range faults if you drive the car on the bumpstops - hit a large bump and the axle travels farther up than it normally would,giving a higher/lower output voltage than the ecu normally sees.
I would test the compressor to get a definative yes/no answer,then inflate the eas with workshop air to test for leaks.Finally test all the individual height sensors with a multimeter checking for a smooth transistion of resistance through the full arc of movement.
The compressors I repair,but the height sensors have to be replaced,a Britpart agent ought to be able to do a decent price.If you are lucky you can get away without calibrating the system if only 1 sensor is replaced - sometimes they do lean badly and need to be recalibrated.Hope this helps.

Mine has failed twice on the height sensors (according to Rovacom) but it was because the air bags were leaking. Since I've had them all changed it has performed flawlessly (cue "EAS FAULT"!!!)

Matt.

Just a quick update on the whole situation, it turns out it was the compressor that was trashed. Got a new one in and everything is working again (touches wood and every other surface). Feels totally different if I alter the height now with the change being prompt and quick compared to how it was before - slow!

Thanks for the replies on the thread guys

-Wills

Following on from this, my 1998 P38 is very slow to raise from standard height to max height. This is in addition to being sometimes slow to rise from access to standard and a tendency to lean for a while at the front RHS. Reading the above, I'm thinking that this sounds like a combination of a leaky airbag in addition to a compressor problem. Am I reading this correctly? Interestingly, the intermittent "slow to rise" issue has got worse after dropping the car to access mode a few weeks back which is something I hadn't done for a while. Ordinarily, I tend not to drop the car to this (for the reason that its a bit moody about getting back to height).

I can (apparently) test the airbags by removing the EAS relay as described elsewhere. I'm reluctant about removing the compressor only from the point of view of not wanting to disconnect the battery and get into resetting things. By the sound of things, replacing an airbag is probably easier and less costly that work on the compressor. Has anyone any thoughts (and idea of parts costs)?

Thanks

Jonny

I never disconnected the battery to remove my compressor to test it. It is a 5 minute job (max) to remove and replace the compressor.

Matt