My car refuses to lower itself

[Pete38]

No I'm not talking about it lowering itself to a Toyota level or anything ha ha. EAS height.

Just before I parked my car at the station I noticed the suspension wouldn't go down to race mode for the roundabout aka highway height.

When I parked it I tried again, as well as access mode. I think the front starts to go down but the back doesn't move. Puah the button to go back to standard height and the front lifts.

So it appears to be exhaust related I'm thinking. No errors on the dash but i didnt leave it trying to lower itself for long.

Thinking I plug the nanacom in when i get home. Look for faults first as its easy, check the height sensor values to make sure there isn't a problematic height value and change all exhaust valves to open.

Any other suggestions? It was the coldest morning I've noticed this year and close to zero so hoping the exhaust valve was frozen shut. They are all independent though yes? Unlike the intake where the dryer is common

[Pete38]

I'm thinking that the cold wasn't the problem seeing the engine bay wouldn't stay cold for long anyway.

[Pete38]

Hmmm. Not looking good.

I noticed there were no errors and something just wasn't right with the EAS going up and down. Tried to lower the front on nanocom, front goes down slowly. Tried the rear, nothinhg....

Then noticed all height sensors were alternating from a low value to a high value, alternating between the two values eg 41 to 120, then back to 41 then 120.... Odd I was thinking. But no wonder the ehights are doing weird things. Still not sure why deflate rear doesn't deflate it but hey.

Anyway, I noticed the nancacom was reporting fluctuating voltages to the eas, down to low 11V and only up to higher 11's, not getting to 12V.

Checked in the BECM settings and it too showed the fluctuating voltages.

I'll get out the volt meter tomorrow and check what is happening. I know these things do weird things with low voltages so I guess I need to find the source of the problem. Nancacom shows 11.5V when car is off, but it appears to crank fine with no hesitation. So volt check tomorrow. Leaning towards the regulator for the alternator but too early to be certain.

Hoping this doesn't end up much bigger than I was thinking it would be.

[TheTree]

Hi Pete

The rr.net electrical sticky is a good place to start as referenced in the recent break pedal ignition issue which shows that bad earths can cause weirdness as well

Steve

[Pete38]

Thanks Steve. I'll have a read.

Seems like low voltage at the battery and it's not charging. It's not the end of the world if it's the alternator as one of the bearings was beginning to whine I think. But I'll be sure to do more diagnosing before forking out for an alternator.

[Scouse]

Are you GEMS or Thor? I have a heap of GEMS alternators about to go for scrap. Most have unknown faults but some have been diagnosed as regulator faults - if you want one of those, you can make 1 out of 2 (or 3).

[Pete38]

Thanks Scott. It's a Bosch aka Thor so no good. But thanks for the offer.

The voltage doesn't change with revs so I might take the alternator out and get it checked. Then buy another alternator if that's the problem.

Sound like a good plan yes seeing the voltage at the battery shows there is no charging?

Anyone know if the regulator can be pulled out of the Bosch alternators? And check the brushes etc. I'll have a look later when I'm at the car if that's possible.

[daf11e]

I am sure there is a thread..Alternator replacement or repair..on here back a few years saying the regulator , brushes can be replaced ok....worth a look.

[Keithy P38]

I had my 150a alternator rebuilt on the blue Rangie two days after I bought it. Was cheaper to buy a brand new one than rebuild (even at mates rates).

Good luck mate!

Cheers
Keithy

[Pete38]

I had my 150a alternator rebuilt on the blue Rangie two days after I bought it. Was cheaper to buy a brand new one than rebuild (even at mates rates).

Good luck mate!

Cheers
Keithy

Bugger. Only 2 days.

I'll be pulling the regulator out tomorrow and checking voltages there first. Pretty familiar with how they function so hopefully that will give me a clear diagnosis. If confused then I'll head over to rr.net.