Suspension Fault Normal Height Only

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Originally Posted by turtle146

Well, after a short day doing some mild off road driving, my D3 has the dreaded 'Normal height only' message. I have tried all of the 'quick fixes' as outlined in this thread ie: lockup car, disconnect battery etc, all to no avail. I can only assume that the compressor has carked it. This is the second compressor since new. The first going at approx 80,000km (3yr) mark, now at 160,000km (6yr mark) another seems to be the problem. You would think that LR would rectify this problem. My biggest problem is gaining access to the compressor. I have fitted Rover Speciality rock sliders which weigh a ton, and are very awkward to remove and refit. Can the compressor be fitted in a different location? Has anyone tried? Where is the filter located, can this be readily accessed or is it fitted at the compressor site? Have also thought of fitting an after market compressor, but this seems to be a bad idea due to the high pressures required by the system.:(

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Interesting compressor stats Turtle,
mine failed at about 60,000 (2 years) while under warranty and the local dealer said they are seeing them last about 3 years.
By failure, I mean it was very slow to raise and lower, would stick in normal height mode and give suspension error codes for no obvious reason.
As you suggest, they are in a very exposed place and would be better off in the engine bay like an ARB unit or somehwere protected better.
The insulation around them does not dry out easily and they need regular cleaning or they seem to overheat. They do alot of work and sounds like they give most people trouble.
After reading the great link to the UK post where the guy overhauled his, I will order a spare set of parts to have ready for when mine goes again as next time it will be out of warranty,

cheers

So I had suspension fault normal height only and no terrain response issues that were intermittent. I had them showing up regularly after a long Vic high country trip, and haven't seen them in a while. I have changed my brake light switch and am hoping it solves a few of the issues. It definitely had affected ride comfort, and now it seems to be back to normal. Happy so far.

Well now I am very confused.:(
I have replaced the compressor - found the drier contents to be powder instead of crystals, so will overhaul when I get some spare time:lol2:
I have also purchased a Faultmate MSV-2 to read the fault codes - 43 codes in the suspension ECU WOW!! So I have reset them, along with the other fault codes found in the vehicle, but I'm still getting no joy with the suspension.
Yes the compressor works (albeit gets very hot trying to fill the air tank), but the vehicle will not get to ride height. After checking the fault codes again, there are now 45 fault codes recorded. Does this mean that the ECU is faulty is preventing the system from operating correctly?
Maybe it is time to ship the vehicle off to LR. I just can't afford the cost at present. This is now a month old fault. Not Happy!!:angry:

Don't confuse Faultmate's untested fault codes as faults as they are faults that could occur, not have occurred.

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Originally Posted by turtle146

Well now I am very confused.:(
So I have reset them, along with the other fault codes found in the vehicle, but I'm still getting no joy with the suspension.
Yes the compressor works (albeit gets very hot trying to fill the air tank), but the vehicle will not get to ride height. After checking the fault codes again, there are now 45 fault codes recorded. This is now a month old fault. Not Happy!!:angry:

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Well at least the car is still running - a bit bumpy to ride in but.

I assume your 3 is older than say 2008 and as such there should be an unused threaded bung in the front of the air tank that you can thread in a Schrader valve per the link below. I know that you have rock sliders so the idea is not as good as I might think. Basically you can determine the air tank pressure and hence what the air compressor is doing. The most the air springs need is about 150 psig to go full height. You can also fill air back into the tank as well - the 3 does not care where the air comes from, only that there is air.

As I have the NAV with the 4x4 display, when I have suspension problems, I set the display to show the axle heights. If one corner is acting up, sometimes the display will show that - jumpy wheel or something and that can help to determine where in the wiring or which sensor may be a problem. As you have the Faultmate, just keep clearing the codes and record which ones keep reappearing - that should help to determine where the problem is.

DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - Schrader Valve Air Tank Air In install

Faultmate can show the pressure sensor reading. The pressure sensor is in the compressor o/p line so you can see what's happening, along with what the valves and height sensors are doing. If the vehicle doesn't get up to height yet the compressor is getting hot them suspect that the dryer is mostly blocked or the compressor outlet valve isn't sealing and therefore needs replacing. As a test or short-term fix, empty the dryer contents.

mate, trying to get my head around this fix.

In Lieu of not having this "T4" thing to depressurise/pressurise is there any other way to do it? Or do we simply lower to access height, pull the thing off being careful and let compressor re-pressurise at start up?

Drier - can we get the silica balls and replace those? Would seem far cheaper then a whole new drier assy.


cheers
P

Leave the vehicle at normal or off-road height for reasonable access to remove the compressor, but put a jack stand or at least a jack nearby in case it drops. Remove either the suspenson 20A fuse in the engine bay fuse box or remove a battery lead to prevent the suspension ecu from releasing air from the springs.

There wont be any air in the compressor lines as its dumped as soon as the compressor stops so that there is no pressure for when the compressor next starts. The lines can be unplugged from the rear of the assembly by pushing in the collet around each air line but the dirt may need to be washed or blown out before the collets will move. The front line going to the reservoir valve is unscrewed at the compressor.

thanks for that.

I had a bit of a think about all of this today. The fault seems worse when weather up here in bris is wet or VERY humid.

Last few days has been sunny but cool with low humidity and the fault is hardly appearing.

Leads me to suspect the silca balls in the drier are full of moisture restricting airflow. Compressor works harder trying to compensate and gets hot. Suspension ECU detects taking too long and puts it into fault mode. Just my musings.

I got in the car at home this arvo and watched the 4WD screen and yes it was working nicely at first for a couple of lowers then off road height raises. From there though it went into "rasing slowly"

Took a few minutes to raise. At one point it refused to raise and front was at access height with rears at normal height.

A message about "raing when system cools down" or to that effect was seen on the dash centre display.

Soooooo me thinks a new drier and valve kit is in order. Have all the part numbers. Will also check the air filter on compressor intake while I am at it.

Got to be cheaper then a new compressor, $550 landed from the UK. Opposed to under $100 for the other bits.

cheers
Peter

Hi Guys, Have just taken air compressor off my 2005 D3 with 170000 klms on it pulled drier appart and found to be in very good condition. I have replaced the silca gel and blown out the felt filters and reinstalled. One thing that I noticed when I took off the air line coming out of the drier from the blue plug was a short rush of air. Does this suggest that there could be a leeky valve in the compressor. I have reinstalled it and it raised up to 4x4 height and then back down as it should do not like it used to say "raising into extended height" which with a second pull at the lever would then lower to normal height. I then lowered it to access height and then back up to normal height all worked ok. After leaving the car idleing I noticed the car was running a bit ruff when looking back in the car a transmission fault had thrown up. Turning off and locking then unlocking then restarting the fault had cleared but only for a short time then came back. Leaving the car for about an hour then restarting the car the fault had cleared. Do you think that the compressor my have been hot or pumping slow which my have thrown up the fault. This fault has been coming on from time to time. Maybe a valve kit might work any thoughts