Member Since: 03 Jun 2017
Location: Essex
Posts: 22
Suspension fault
Hi all, hoping everybody here had a great Christmas. Mine was going fine until….
I took a quick trip to the local tip yesterday, this required lowing the car to access height on the way in and again on the way out due to a height restriction. Then 10 minutes or so and two stops later I received a yellow suspension fault “normal height only”. When I got back home and switched the car off, the compressor (just in front of the left rear wheel arch) continued to work away, quiet loudly with no sign of stopping. In the end I disconnected the battery to stop it.
Now when restarting the car I get the same fault with the occasional ”special features disabled” message thrown in for good measure. The car is at normal height, drives fine but doesn’t go up or down on it’s own accord at all. Just now, I stood to the left of the car while the wife started it and heard a continual hiss (sound like a tyre being let down), lasting about 10-15 seconds before fading, at which point the error comes up.
I’m no mechanic but having seen some guides on YouTube reckon I have it in me to replace a compressor, firstly though I would like to know what other (easier/less expensive) causes to look for, so any help on that front would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t know if it’s relevant but since the start of the colder weather last month I’d noticed that the car was taking a while to warm up and I hadn’t seen any evidence of the FBH activating, so after a quick read up on here I removed it’s fuse for a short while, replaced it and bingo! A bit of smoke around the front left quarter and a nice warm car (Thanks chaps!). However, it does seem a bit of a coincidence that I got this error within an hour or two of touching the fusebox for the FBH.
Many thanks...I aint broke but brother I'm badly bent...
29th Dec 2017 4:28 pm
z1234567890
Member Since: 30 Nov 2015
Location: Dubai
Posts: 161
What I recommend are below:
1. Check for air leakage
2. Leave the air compressor with air leakage will push the air compressor to work more than what it
suppose to and will lead to failure due to overheating, etc.
if it's failed, get a dunlop it's cheaper rather than hitachi
Please note that air compressor rule is to generate air source and push it into the air compressor
storage tank. The pressure PSI is monitor by some sensor somewhere in system and it's not met
then it will generate error that will come as amber on your dashboard (suspension fault)
Unfortunately I don't know how to tell the pressure PSI comes out from air compressor
3. The leakage may comes from:
a. air valve (center, front, or rear)
b. drier component of air compressor
check by levelling to access height then offroad height
monitor how fast both to get offroad height level, usually the problem will either center or front
if that is the case, replace it
29th Dec 2017 8:13 pm
G_Cam
Member Since: 12 Aug 2010
Location: Fife
Posts: 2048
Sounds like a leaking air tank. They rust on the top so not easy to spot.. but you might be able to hear and feel the leak.. try the front top first...
Check for air loss here first.
You might not need a new compressor if you stopped it overheating. however you should fit a new relay as a precautionary measure..
Check out my reply just this past week..on the same subject..
Hope it helps1 TR6 Rusting away quietly
1 FARR UTV SOLD
1 International Harvester SOLD
7 x D3 all SOLD
2 x D4 both SOLD
1 x Mrs D4 'Panther' SOLD
1 x Outlander van SOLD
1 continual stream of car parts and me living in the garage...
30th Dec 2017 12:22 am
Oldtombanjo
Member Since: 03 Jun 2017
Location: Essex
Posts: 22
Thanks for the input, plenty to think about / try there. The wife needs the car today (fingers crossed for that!), so I'll take a look tomorrow, weather permitting. I aint broke but brother I'm badly bent...
30th Dec 2017 2:10 pm
Oldtombanjo
Member Since: 03 Jun 2017
Location: Essex
Posts: 22
Leak located, part id required
So I finally got a chance to take a look underneath. When I start the car the compressor kicks in for 10-20 seconds and there is a hissing from the same area. I applied soapy water and spotted what looks like it could be a leak (difficult to see properly) coming from a pipe with a red ring around it up inside the unit (See image).
So, questions:
1, Am I right in thinking that this is a Hitachi unit?
2, Is this likely to be repairable (loose or worn pipe) or a knackered unit and will I need to remove the whole thing to find out? ie what part is this: compressor, dryer etc?
3, Does the suspension's air system need to be decompressed if the car is already at it's lowest height due to the leak.
I also found a small black pipe that had disconnected (indicated in attached pic at right angles to the main airlines), reconnecting it hasn’t made any difference.
Any help greatly appreciated...
I aint broke but brother I'm badly bent...
13th Jan 2018 7:46 pm
Oldtombanjo
Member Since: 03 Jun 2017
Location: Essex
Posts: 22
Bump!I aint broke but brother I'm badly bent...
20th Jan 2018 8:06 pm
XDAndy
Member Since: 16 Jan 2018
Location: Gibraltar
Posts: 597
Would be interested in an answer to Tom’s problem as well as I can feel this is one of the rabbit holes I’m about to dive into, and it would be good to know just how deep that hole goes.
As the saying goes
Quote:
I know what you're thinking, 'cause right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here: Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill?
But then every time I look at her I just grin inside
Andy
22nd Jan 2018 10:27 am
AndyGreen
Member Since: 18 Jul 2007
Location: Tramore
Posts: 97
Re: Leak located, part id required
There are lots of threads on here about compressor replacement and identification, also you could look at a parts site like John Craddock or Rimmer Brothers to identify the compressor for sure. -
You can recondition them if you are handy but best results are to get a new one, OEM Dunlop replacements seem fine (I got one eventually after a rebuilt one started to get tired again) but you need to positively ID yours first.
Tanks are straightforward to replace and relatively cheap.
Yes you do need to fully decompress as there is still lots of pressure even when car is lowered. Again, read the threads on this forum for full details
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