P38A problem with air suspension
- Thread starter GARY88
- Start date
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- Posts
- 19,297
- Location
- Buckinghamshire, UK. ('95 DT)
If thermal switch was fried feeding a leak it won't run except by jumping or using diag. New thermal switch is under a fiver delivered.
GARY88
Member
- Posts
- 12
Hi wammers,
i've fitted the new diaphragm and pressure switch, ran the rsw diagnostics, initially it said vehicle has moved so cleared faults and then ran again and no faults appeared, afterwards i left the car running but no rise, it appears to blow off on the exhaust as if the pressure is up to correct height and the pump knocks off,when i turned the ignition off the front lifts, i started the engine again but no lift, turned the ignition off and front lifted again, restart the engine and no lift, turned ignition off and front lifted again, the back doesn't move. The front lifted so much i was panicking that the bags would blow but luckily they didn't, the front was like super super high ride. I tried to drop the front manually on the dash but nothing would happen. Left about an hour and looked out the window and the front is as flat as the rear. I've checked everything there are no signs of any air leaks, i should have mentioned earlier, after fitting everything into the block, i had to re-borrow my friends valve block, i thought that i might have left something out so re-checked mine to make sure nothing had dropped out but everything was in order, so i re assembled it and fitted again and this is what happened today. There's no mix up on the solenoids on the valve block because i did each one in turn so there was no chance of mixing anything up. I've got so good at removing and fitting the valve block that if RR were in formula 1 i'd be a part of their team, I'm a bit stumped and just can't think where to go next so hope you can help.
i've fitted the new diaphragm and pressure switch, ran the rsw diagnostics, initially it said vehicle has moved so cleared faults and then ran again and no faults appeared, afterwards i left the car running but no rise, it appears to blow off on the exhaust as if the pressure is up to correct height and the pump knocks off,when i turned the ignition off the front lifts, i started the engine again but no lift, turned the ignition off and front lifted again, restart the engine and no lift, turned ignition off and front lifted again, the back doesn't move. The front lifted so much i was panicking that the bags would blow but luckily they didn't, the front was like super super high ride. I tried to drop the front manually on the dash but nothing would happen. Left about an hour and looked out the window and the front is as flat as the rear. I've checked everything there are no signs of any air leaks, i should have mentioned earlier, after fitting everything into the block, i had to re-borrow my friends valve block, i thought that i might have left something out so re-checked mine to make sure nothing had dropped out but everything was in order, so i re assembled it and fitted again and this is what happened today. There's no mix up on the solenoids on the valve block because i did each one in turn so there was no chance of mixing anything up. I've got so good at removing and fitting the valve block that if RR were in formula 1 i'd be a part of their team, I'm a bit stumped and just can't think where to go next so hope you can help.
PPP38vouge
Active Member
- Posts
- 411
- Location
- deddington, oxfordshire
Hi, it could be you have an electrical fault, if you remove the passenger side kick panel you will see 2 white blocks check them for corrosion or broken pins, most people including myself cut the blocks out solder and heatshrink the wires back together, also could be a dodgy driver pack too, try parting all the connectors in the EAS box and check for loose pins, also check the earth.
- Posts
- 58,170
- Location
- Preston Lancs.
One white connector is the interface from the height selector switch and inhibit switch to the ECU. The other one has nothing to do with EAS. If his EAS kicker will not work he has an hard fault that it cannot clear. If the compressor will not run without being jumped thermal switch is favourite. He may have burned it out at some point by jumping relay.
GARY88
Member
- Posts
- 12
Hi and thanks for all of the comments but its not an electrical problem because when i fit my friends block it does work as it should albeit a little slow. When i turned the ignition off this morning it blows off in one blast from the exhaust like air brakes then it ticks down and the pump is running fine., the front did rise ever so slightly and theres no EAS fault showing on the dash at any time.
- Posts
- 19,297
- Location
- Buckinghamshire, UK. ('95 DT)
So it does seem to be pointing at the valve block, although it should move PDQ. The diaphram valve is OK and in the right way up?
If I were you I'd get it to extended ride height, pull the delay timer and leave it overnight. If it hasn't gone down in the morning then probably OK. After that go back and check compressor is making as much air as it should. You can tee in a pressure guage for about a fiver between the valve block and the tank. If the tank has a leak (and I can remember only 1 person having that) then that will pick that up because you'll see the pressure drop after you switch off. The driver pack connections in the EAS box are worth checking. Strange things can happen if the pins aren't making good contact. If all else fails then contact @kurtjohnson10 on here and see if he has a spare valve block and/or compressor. Dopey had a leak at his air-dryer. They're cheap so might be worth replacing that if you haven't already. In fact it might be worth doing it anyway as the drying material can break down and then the white dust gets everywhere and causes mayhem.
If I were you I'd get it to extended ride height, pull the delay timer and leave it overnight. If it hasn't gone down in the morning then probably OK. After that go back and check compressor is making as much air as it should. You can tee in a pressure guage for about a fiver between the valve block and the tank. If the tank has a leak (and I can remember only 1 person having that) then that will pick that up because you'll see the pressure drop after you switch off. The driver pack connections in the EAS box are worth checking. Strange things can happen if the pins aren't making good contact. If all else fails then contact @kurtjohnson10 on here and see if he has a spare valve block and/or compressor. Dopey had a leak at his air-dryer. They're cheap so might be worth replacing that if you haven't already. In fact it might be worth doing it anyway as the drying material can break down and then the white dust gets everywhere and causes mayhem.
- Posts
- 58,170
- Location
- Preston Lancs.
You have assembled the valve block incorrectly and got the corner solenoids in the wrong places. The rear should always lift first. See this and work from it. http://paulp38a.com/range-rover-p38/eas-valve-block-renew/
- Posts
- 19,297
- Location
- Buckinghamshire, UK. ('95 DT)
Good call.
kurtjohnson10
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 15,235
- Location
- midlands
Today come the following
Pressure switch
Thermal switch
All already have
Valve block seal set and diaphragm
Alteady done compressor seals piston “ twice”
And the seals in the air dryer.
Start tomorrow “ not done anything like this before”
Any tips please,, how ever small
Thank you
Pressure switch
Thermal switch
All already have
Valve block seal set and diaphragm
Alteady done compressor seals piston “ twice”
And the seals in the air dryer.
Start tomorrow “ not done anything like this before”
Any tips please,, how ever small
Thank you
tomcat59alan
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 18,611
- Location
- wirral and triquivijate
Over to you @holidaychicken , he hasn't done anything like this before and he wants a tip however small. Just the man for the job.Today come the following
Pressure switch
Thermal switch
All already have
Valve block seal set and diaphragm
Alteady done compressor seals piston “ twice”
And the seals in the air dryer.
Start tomorrow “ not done anything like this before”
Any tips please,, how ever small
Thank you
holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
GARY88
Member
- Posts
- 12
Hi wammers you were correct the solenoids were in the wrong places. that's now corrected (on tracing back following the above link), when i've got the car up to the correct height the height will go from normal road height up to high ride and down to motorway height, when i stop i have to put it to high ride, open the door and stop the engine and pull out the key, when i shut the door it starts ticking and then it drops down to ride height at times but at other times it drops right down to the stops. If it doesn't start ticking it will stay on high ride for approximately 24 hours, When i then get into the vehicle if i forget to leave the door open when i start the engine the ticking starts straight away and its back down to the stops.over the weekend after i'd been out in the car and left on high ride i'd forgotten that i'd left something in the boot, i went out and opened the top of the tailgate which i had open for a while but on closing the boot, the ticking started and the car went down to the stops once again. Don't know if you can help but its greatly appreciated.
- Posts
- 19,297
- Location
- Buckinghamshire, UK. ('95 DT)
It will self-level. Earlier models can self-level a lot more, I think. If the EAS calibration leads to the sensors being more than a certain amount each side then it will self-level to the ground.
If it goes straight up in the morning then the tank is fine. Get it to extended height, open a door, switch off. Pull the delay timer under the passenger seat. Leave for 24 hours. If it hasn't dropped then there's no leak to worry about. If it keeps dropping you might need to recalibrate the EAS and possibly move the sensor until it is within 2 counts each side but they can be an utter sod to get off so that's last resort.
If it goes straight up in the morning then the tank is fine. Get it to extended height, open a door, switch off. Pull the delay timer under the passenger seat. Leave for 24 hours. If it hasn't dropped then there's no leak to worry about. If it keeps dropping you might need to recalibrate the EAS and possibly move the sensor until it is within 2 counts each side but they can be an utter sod to get off so that's last resort.
Personal experience, I had some real fun with mine. Turned out my rear exhaust boxes had rusted & one had blown a hole in the top, which just happened to be right below the pipe to the air tank!
I didn't know this at the time and had an absolute hoot trying to fix my EAS after rebuilding the block the 1st time around (I've since done another using Red Rubber Grease this time instead of vaseline...) as no matter what I did, she would not rise! It was only when I jumped the pump (relay out, jump wires in to make it run without EAS input) and walked around, did I hear the hissing of air and found the leak.
It was simple enough to fix, a 30mtr roll of 6mm pipe (it was around 15 quid) I cut enough to do the job after having removed the old stuff and re-routed it well away from the exhausts this time
After that, all was well until the NRV's (non return valves) started playing up, leaking and causing all manner of muppetry, ending in arse down head up at 60mph
Anyway, I rebuilt my recently obtained valve block with another kit from X8R including the new piston seal and barrel. However, as per my recent post, there was a list to port as the front left valve turned out to be faulty thanks to a nipped "O" ring (my bad, I was rushed at Christmas when I was doing the rebuild).
I also had some fun (not) with the EAS Unlock Suite, but eventually nailed it. Before this, I removed the brand new NRV's from the latest block and put them into the original one I did last year. She's sitting pretty now and so far is remaining at full height as that's where I left her so I can see if there is a mechanical leak like the FL valve "O" ring...
The best bit is my car is laden with a couple of hundred kilo's of PA equipment and whatnot so she's working bloody hard to lift and she's doing it like a trooper now.
My point is, keep looking for the obvious even when it isn't
I didn't know this at the time and had an absolute hoot trying to fix my EAS after rebuilding the block the 1st time around (I've since done another using Red Rubber Grease this time instead of vaseline...) as no matter what I did, she would not rise! It was only when I jumped the pump (relay out, jump wires in to make it run without EAS input) and walked around, did I hear the hissing of air and found the leak.
It was simple enough to fix, a 30mtr roll of 6mm pipe (it was around 15 quid) I cut enough to do the job after having removed the old stuff and re-routed it well away from the exhausts this time
After that, all was well until the NRV's (non return valves) started playing up, leaking and causing all manner of muppetry, ending in arse down head up at 60mph
Anyway, I rebuilt my recently obtained valve block with another kit from X8R including the new piston seal and barrel. However, as per my recent post, there was a list to port as the front left valve turned out to be faulty thanks to a nipped "O" ring (my bad, I was rushed at Christmas when I was doing the rebuild).
I also had some fun (not) with the EAS Unlock Suite, but eventually nailed it. Before this, I removed the brand new NRV's from the latest block and put them into the original one I did last year. She's sitting pretty now and so far is remaining at full height as that's where I left her so I can see if there is a mechanical leak like the FL valve "O" ring...
The best bit is my car is laden with a couple of hundred kilo's of PA equipment and whatnot so she's working bloody hard to lift and she's doing it like a trooper now.
My point is, keep looking for the obvious even when it isn't
gandelf1953
Member
- Posts
- 57
- Location
- wales
Have read on another forum about replacing the delay relay which i think is a 5 pin with a 4 pin to stop the self leveling down to the bump stops
