Replacing/changing Height sensors

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C

Canyon

New Member
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541
Location
London
I have successfully cleared a soft fault on the EAS, but I obviously need to fix the problem, I think it is due a set of air springs as the rear bags seem to be a bit crazed and lightly cracked. The fault has reoccured within a 3 week period, and I really don't want to take any chances with being stranded!
So my questions are...
which bags/brand? why and what experiences? Dunlop/Arnott?
how easy to change? and the height sensors which are triggering the fault - how do I find out which one/s are faulty?
I did read something about swapping them over each side? are they servicable? again is it easy to do and where can i get them from?
is it a good idea to buy them used?
I have noticed over a the last month or so that it will go the wading height randomly, also access level randomly, I have done a leak test, but nothing showing up, compressor seems fine not running excessively or hot.
I dont think the car is dropping over night- never on bumpstops.
I am fairly sure its a sensor, but how to i find which one?
I look forward to your comments/experiences/tips!
 
I'm in the same boat as you, I've just bought a set of 4 bags of eBay for £230, arrived two days later and they're good quality. Don't go paying £400 for a set of Arnotts Generation III blah blah...

Height sensors are £60 each, so not too expensive if that cures the fault, i'm thinking of doing that as my Rangey has a bit of a list, even after checking the calibration using EASUnlock. Wouldn't think used would be the way to go, you've got used ones on at the minute anyway.
 
Does no one in the UK like Arnott Bags?
Personally I think they are well worth the money and slight extra cost. They have an unlimited lifetime warantee. Does not matter what happened, they will overnight a replacement pair to me as soon as I pick up the phone. They also allow me to recalibrate the air suspension and put longer shocks on the Rover for additional off-roading height.

The EAS sensors can be tested manually with a ohm-meter or they can be tested with the EASunlock software. Range Rover EAS Reset Tools
Manually testing involves removing them from the vehicle and hooking up the ohm meter. Then push the sensor arm through the full seep and watch the resistance. I think it should be between 0.5 and 1.5K. It should not jump around. It should change in a smooth and uniform fashion.

The sensors can be swapped from side. Early EAS Sensors can be swapped from side to side without any wiring change. The later sensors, the wiring has to be reveresd. Center pin stays the same but the outside pins swap positions.
 
I think the Arnott air springs sound great, they have good reviews etc, I have read that the Gen 3's can be a bit difficult to fit if you dont have the perfect welding in place, ( I would like to know how many UK owners hae them and if they had to grind away any welding) why cant they be manufactured to compensate for this- like the gen 2 or even the oem dunlops? are the bags physically wider? also there is a matter of cost, they are expensive, they are all made from the same basic material in the same range, what i dont understand is why have a gen 1 and 2 selling alongside the gen3, surely they should only offer the gen 3 at the same price between the gen 1 and 2. if there is such a huge diffrence between the gen2 and 3 then why even make or sell the gen2? depends how much money you have? The oem are fit for purpose, they last 10 years approx, and nobody complains about ride quality until an arnott product is available on the market, surely this is one of the reasons why you purchased the car! so if the the gen 3 were more fairly priced i would buy them, making them the default upgrade.
like i mentioned before, I have now cleared the fault, but if I connect the cable to eassoftware program will it tell me which sensor it is? or do i have to wait until the next fault to occurs?
How do I know if i have the later sensors or not? does swaping them over cure the problem in a reliable way?
 
I understand about the cost of the GENIIIs. They were a hard cost to swallow. But I am glad I did. Like I said before, they give the owner more options when playing with the EAS for off-road use and they have an unlimited warantee.

The EAS computer can log faults before it triggers a Dash EAS Fault message. So checking might be useful.

I will try to post a picture of the different types of EAS sensors on my website. I have been meaning to regardless. Looking at the rear sensors is the easiest to determine which kind you have. The original sensors, (95-97?) the EAS Sensor arm is a steel rod that pierces the EAS Sensor armature. While the newer version has a steel barrel that encircles the armature.

Also, the original EAS sensor mounting bracket has four mounting holes while the newer EAS sensors have only two mounting holes in the steel frame bracket.
 
great advice!, I will run the diagnostic and report back.. How long does it take to change the sensor and reclaibrate? Also what are the default ride height values?
 
Hi Canon,
I have fitted Dunlop air bags from Island 4x4 great service from this company and parts seem fine, you will however need to get the clips etc. to fit them as well. I found they were cheaper from my local Land Rover dealer.

The sensor I fitted took me several hours due to bad weather and several trips to shops to buy a grinder etc. I found I needed a grinder as the sensor bolts had rusted into the collet retaining them. I could not re-calbrate my car so I replaced the new sensor with the intermittent old one and tried again. Still have problems but I did manage to reinflate the system and have used it once.
I will try again to fit the new one at the weekend. If it's not raining.
My problem was lack of knowledge of the calibration software and the use of get height etc. and what typical values should be to start with. Some of my heights have gone to zero since the new sensor and although I clear faults and set heights again the system still plays up.
I may have a faulty front near side sensor as well which may cause the system to give false readings.

Take great care when you fit the sensor as it's lowest mounting is rubber stuck to the swinging arm, I was told you cant buy this as a seperate item.
Arm costs £400+.

Watch Malafax Dand's videos on the RSW site they are a great help. Well done Storey
Maybe he could do one for a complete set up from deflated bags, showing how to use get height and typical problems after replacing sensors and bags.

Fred
 
ok i have a disco series 2 99 .the rear air suspension will drop even when i am at hiway speed , it used to and still does drop overnight when the weather hits freezing ,but usually it will stay up, i hear the compressor working it sounds strong ,i am afraid it will overwork as it now stops to cool itself and will not re lift the tail end unless i turn off car and wait an hour , today i drove it it started to go down i could hear air releasing , so i so i pulled over and jiggled the height sensor arm ( i think thats it ) dont know why i did it but i did , and it started lifting again , is this normal ? is there a way to stop this from happening (the dropping whilst driving) without converting to springs ( which by the way if needed does one have to change the struts too?) or can the height sensors be replaced by a novice without any complication ? also to confirm i see to identical plastic arms connected i think to a metal rod on either side of the vehicle right in front of rear wheels almost under backseat so to speak.are these the height sensors , wires leading into the top of them????.. as you can see , i need help, i love my land rover and its my english pride in the usa , so if anyone can help me to keep from just buying some rubbish from germany or japan i'd appreciate it ..
 
Last edited:
Canyon said:
I have successfully cleared a soft fault on the EAS, but I obviously need to fix the problem, I think it is due a set of air springs as the rear bags seem to be a bit crazed and lightly cracked. The fault has reoccured within a 3 week period, and I really don't want to take any chances with being stranded!
So my questions are...
which bags/brand? why and what experiences? Dunlop/Arnott?
how easy to change? and the height sensors which are triggering the fault - how do I find out which one/s are faulty?
I did read something about swapping them over each side? are they servicable? again is it easy to do and where can i get them from?
is it a good idea to buy them used?
I have noticed over a the last month or so that it will go the wading height randomly, also access level randomly, I have done a leak test, but nothing showing up, compressor seems fine not running excessively or hot.
I dont think the car is dropping over night- never on bumpstops.
I am fairly sure its a sensor, but how to i find which one?
I look forward to your comments/experiences/tips!
Click to expand...

I used Arnott Gen 2 when I replaced my airbags last month solely on the basis of the lifetime warranty. I paid £269 for the 4 from P38 Spares on Ebay:D:D. Not a lot more than I was quoted for OEM. Unless you are a serious off roader and need the extra articulation that I think Gen 3's give, I do not think they are worth the extra money. Second hand height sensors would be a waste of time in my opinion. They are not exactly a robust design in the first place.
 
Malafax_Dand said:
The sensors can be swapped from side. Early EAS Sensors can be swapped from side to side without any wiring change. The later sensors, the wiring has to be reveresd. Center pin stays the same but the outside pins swap positions.
Click to expand...

Hi
If we don´t swap the pins what happens? will never use the "new" part of the sensor right?
So the problems go f.e. for the left to the right side right??

It´s easy to due the swap?

Thanks
 
Hi,

I'm wanting to check my height sensors. My question is, as the EAS is still active with the engine off will disconnecting the sensor put the EAS into fault since there will not be any signal while it is disconnected? Should I disconnect the battery first?
Thanks,
mikeateves
 
mikeateves said:
Hi,

I'm wanting to check my height sensors. My question is, as the EAS is still active with the engine off will disconnecting the sensor put the EAS into fault since there will not be any signal while it is disconnected? Should I disconnect the battery first?
Thanks,
mikeateves
Click to expand...

Opening the tailgate freezes the suspension, I have disconnected mine & re fitted, one time I got a fault which I reset with the EAS software next time no fault:confused::confused::confused:
 
so if i switch the height sensors over , might that clear the problem, of my disco II suspension lowering whilst driving , if so how easy is it to do (sounds simple) and will i have to disconnect the battery before removing ?
 
I plan to get a set of Arnott Gen 2s when I get round to ordering them.
Are P38 Spares the cheapest place to get them from?

My suspension's doing rather odd things at the moment. I've got it manually set to Motorway height, but it still looks way too high to me. As soon as I turn the ignition off it drops to about where I would expect it to be for Motorway height, but when I start the car, it climbs back up again immediately so there's obviously plenty of air in the tank - the drop seems like a commanded drop rather than a leak induced drop.

I'll have a proper look at it once I've got the new bags on. There's a scary looking bit of wiring that's been added inside the eas box which looks like it's a bypass of some sort, but I haven't got a clue what it's doing. I hate trying to work out previous owners bodges!

Guy
 
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