P38A A fool and his money.....

Thanks.

I have just confirmed, after another brainwave on the men's thinking chair, that it is the air compressor causing the issues. Why I never thought of this 2 weeks ago I don't know. Why no one else said to remove the compressor from the system(unplug it) I don't know. To be fair though, everyone giving the advice was all thinking along the same lines, until now.
So I unplugged the air compressor, started the car without issue 3 times. Plugged the air compressor back in and, boom, there goes another fuse. Happy days. I don't know what to do now though because I still have the issue when doing a continuity test with my multimeter on the plug from the car to the compressor of it reading 40 ohms (I believe this, albeit keeping in mind that I have no electrical teaching). Which to me says it's an open circuit. As I say, I may be wrong there.
This has all come about by stumbling on the OP's posts here on the same issue. Which is, by the way, the only post on the forum for the last 5 years (that I have seen by trawling through every post) where someone has described the same issues.
So now I don't quite know what to do. My worry is this. If I buy a new compressor or have one of the old duff compressors refurbished, will it still not work because of the issue re the 40ohms I mentioned above?
One bonus from all this is I now know I can inflate the suspension and remove the relay under the front passenger seat to stop it from lowering overnight. Another plus here is that by removing that relay I can just reassure myself that, after having replaced all four airbags and refurbished the valve block, that there are in fact no leaks.
So thank you.
Regards
Craig

MacMan6107 said:

I have just confirmed, after another brainwave on the men's thinking chair, that it is the air compressor causing the issues. Why I never thought of this 2 weeks ago I don't know. Why no one else said to remove the compressor from the system(unplug it) I don't know. To be fair though, everyone giving the advice was all thinking along the same lines, until now.
So I unplugged the air compressor, started the car without issue 3 times. Plugged the air compressor back in and, boom, there goes another fuse. Happy days. I don't know what to do now though because I still have the issue when doing a continuity test with my multimeter on the plug from the car to the compressor of it reading 40 ohms (I believe this, albeit keeping in mind that I have no electrical teaching). Which to me says it's an open circuit. As I say, I may be wrong there.
This has all come about by stumbling on the OP's posts here on the same issue. Which is, by the way, the only post on the forum for the last 5 years (that I have seen by trawling through every post) where someone has described the same issues.
So now I don't quite know what to do. My worry is this. If I buy a new compressor or have one of the old duff compressors refurbished, will it still not work because of the issue re the 40ohms I mentioned above?
One bonus from all this is I now know I can inflate the suspension and remove the relay under the front passenger seat to stop it from lowering overnight. Another plus here is that by removing that relay I can just reassure myself that, after having replaced all four airbags and refurbished the valve block, that there are in fact no leaks.
So thank you.
Regards
Craig

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Well from what I've read if you unplug the compressor the car starts without blowing the fuse,when you plug the compressor back in it blows the fuse when the ignition is activated. I think you have found your problem. Change the compressor.Refubing the compressor ie.piston ring and cylinder won't sort your problem. It's electrical so contact Kurt .

Sounds like a short circuit in your pump is its knackered with a capital F

MacMan6107 said:

Hi, Grrr (interesting name). My car is from March 2001. So I don't know how much later it was they separated the EAS & starter motor. I bought a pack of 10 40 amp fuses so in the meantime, I am doing just that but it feels even more so like throwing money at the car without actually fixing the problem. I know, I know, we do that anyway while these cars are in our possession. As I hope to have this car for at least another 20 years I'll continue to throw money at it.

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That's interesting. I'd heard they changed the later cars. Guess it will be in RAVE to check! If they didn't then that's a bit of a major faux-paux IMO. Quite a lot of members have been a victim of this now.

Talk to @kurtjohnson10 and get a compressor off him. Your compressor motor is jamming inside because it is so worn.

oakey said:

Sounds like a short circuit in your pump is its knackered with a capital F

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Or seized solid, but probably the bushes are fecked and it's shorting as said.

Thanks guys.
To me with not having any electrical experience at all, it does seem strange that Land Rover would put two of the major components piggybacking the same fuse. So far, if I remember correctly, the EAS has 2 relays and 4 fuses. Why (rhetorical question)? I'm going to trace the wires to the pump right back to the ECU under the passenger seat. Test them for continuity, fix or replace whatever is needed & purchase a new OEM compressor.
I had a rake through the receipts I have from previous owners and from what I understand, including the three that I will have fitted, it has had at least 6 compressors since new. So that to me has me thinking there must be an electrical issue somewhere else down the line.
At least I now know I can raise the car with an external compressor, remove the relay under the passenger seat and drive the car if needed while waiting to buy the new compressor.
So thanks guys, you have all been a great help.

Regards
Craig

Tomcat raises a fair point - That you've proved it is electrical and not air. My experience was the problem was indeed electrical, but because of a crap motor in the compressor I bought. By refurbing the original component all was well immediately.
That tends to prove the essence of the system. I recalled one of the immortal quotes of Wammers that if you can stop the air flow from the compressor outlet with your finger then the component is knackered. In my case, that's what started it, the poor performance of the OE pump was requiring it to run constantly which in turn caused it to overheat. I wouldn't attempt to refurb the electrical bit but the air part was easy to do and I learned a lot about the item in the process. However, the likes of our man Kurt brings a great deal of expertise to the site so a properly restored pump is tempting for sure.

They sure are fun, aren't they............

MacMan6107 said:

Thanks guys.
To me with not having any electrical experience at all, it does seem strange that Land Rover would put two of the major components piggybacking the same fuse. So far, if I remember correctly, the EAS has 2 relays and 4 fuses. Why (rhetorical question)? I'm going to trace the wires to the pump right back to the ECU under the passenger seat. Test them for continuity, fix or replace whatever is needed & purchase a new OEM compressor.
I had a rake through the receipts I have from previous owners and from what I understand, including the three that I will have fitted, it has had at least 6 compressors since new. So that to me has me thinking there must be an electrical issue somewhere else down the line.
At least I now know I can raise the car with an external compressor, remove the relay under the passenger seat and drive the car if needed while waiting to buy the new compressor.
So thanks guys, you have all been a great help.

Regards
Craig

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Pity your not closer you could have tried one of my spares to prove the point.

tomcat59alan said:

Pity your not closer you could have tried one of my spares to prove the point.

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Been thinking,bad move,but I wonder if the dead short has damaged the relay points? When you change the compressor it may be worth changing or at least testing them.

Good idea

Thanks for the offer, Alan. I'm going to test everything on the car side of things first. I'm not even going to think of putting a new compressor in until I've confirmed there are indeed no problems with the cars' electrics. Especially given the prices I have seen for OEM compressors.

On that note who makes the OEM compressors? I've seen many Dunlop items listed as OEM but my last two compressors have been Dunlop (definitely the cheap one). Does Dunlop offer a cheap non OEM item as well as the more expensive item? What's the difference (other than the price) between the two compressors?

Regards

Craig

MacMan6107 said:

Thanks for the offer, Alan. I'm going to test everything on the car side of things first. I'm not even going to think of putting a new compressor in until I've confirmed there are indeed no problems with the cars' electrics. Especially given the prices I have seen for OEM compressors.

On that note who makes the OEM compressors? I've seen many Dunlop items listed as OEM but my last two compressors have been Dunlop (definitely the cheap one). Does Dunlop offer a cheap non OEM item as well as the more expensive item? What's the difference (other than the price) between the two compressors?

Regards

Craig

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I'm pretty sure they weren't made by Dunlop. I can feel the hole of the name in my head but is won't come to the fore. I suspect a lot of the Dunlop stuff is now made in China, some of it under license and some of it just copies. Henry has had a couple and says they're utter crap if they have the ally coloured end. Dopey got a different brand that was cheap from Germany and that was worse.

Armstrong? No, that's not right. Bloody memory ...

I just ask Kurt. I suggest you do the same.

Grrrrrr said:

I'm pretty sure they weren't made by Dunlop. I can feel the hole of the name in my head but is won't come to the fore. I suspect a lot of the Dunlop stuff is now made in China, some of it under license and some of it just copies. Henry has had a couple and says they're utter crap if they have the ally coloured end. Dopey got a different brand that was cheap from Germany and that was worse.

Armstrong? No, that's not right. Bloody memory ...

I just ask Kurt. I suggest you do the same.

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Have a ly down and it'll come to you

Rubberknees said:

Have a ly down and it'll come to you

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No, it will come to me on a totally unrelated subject in a few days time!

Grrrrrr said:

No, it will come to me on a totally unrelated subject in a few days time!

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Or at 4.00 o'clock in the morning when you wake everyone up with your shout of elation

I've sent Kurt another message with regards to the compressors.

Regards

Craig

Grrrrrr said:

No, it will come to me on a totally unrelated subject in a few days time!

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Itchyfanny?

Grrrrrr said:

I'm pretty sure they weren't made by Dunlop. I can feel the hole of the name in my head but is won't come to the fore. I suspect a lot of the Dunlop stuff is now made in China, some of it under license and some of it just copies. Henry has had a couple and says they're utter crap if they have the ally coloured end. Dopey got a different brand that was cheap from Germany and that was worse.

Armstrong? No, that's not right. Bloody memory ...

I just ask Kurt. I suggest you do the same.

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The original suppliers were Thomas Compressors from the states. Great compressors they were
Dunlop non OEM is an okay replacement as long as its not trying to feed a leak constantly or if you have dodgy voltage going into which case you will blow the thermal trip on it.