P38A Compressor

Datatek · Jul 24, 2020

J L Carr said:
Hi Guys. Well tried it again but to no avail, so went back to hard wiring the power so ran the compressor till it told me the car was at road height but then looked at the car and here's the best laugh, passenger side front and rear at off road height front drivers was at road height but drivers rear never moved from the bump stops. So that ****ed me right off, dived into the shed to find an old valve block complete apart from acouple of bits so swapped the lot and low and behold the compressor ran and thd car came up to normal road height, so checked over the unit I have just taken out and noticed this to the suspension control unit, by the looks of things this was at fault. Thanks for your help (again) and imput. Pictures of the unit. As you see the back look a bit odd as the other one I have the back is a black colour. View attachment 215420 View attachment 215419

The driver pack electrolytic capacitor has failed where you see the cracks in the potting compound. When it fails, it allows voltage spikes from de-energising solenoids to go back the the ECU which scrambles the code. It can be changed with care and usually fixes driver pack problems. I have photo's somewhere if it is of interest. The pressure switch can be checked for continuity with a meter.
The connectors are also a source of problems.

Grrrrrr · Jul 24, 2020

J L Carr said:
Hi Guys. Well tried it again but to no avail, so went back to hard wiring the power so ran the compressor till it told me the car was at road height but then looked at the car and here's the best laugh, passenger side front and rear at off road height front drivers was at road height but drivers rear never moved from the bump stops. So that ****ed me right off, dived into the shed to find an old valve block complete apart from acouple of bits so swapped the lot and low and behold the compressor ran and thd car came up to normal road height, so checked over the unit I have just taken out and noticed this to the suspension control unit, by the looks of things this was at fault. Thanks for your help (again) and imput. Pictures of the unit. As you see the back look a bit odd as the other one I have the back is a black colour. View attachment 215420 View attachment 215419

That driver pack is toast! Open it up. Let's see inside!

RangeRoller dt · Jul 24, 2020

This thread is starting to warm up

Datatek · Jul 25, 2020

Grrrrrr said:
That driver pack is toast! Open it up. Let's see inside!

I have a stripped down one, I'll post photo's when I'm back in the office. Shame to destroy a pack that can possibly be repaired for a few pence.

tomcat59alan · Jul 25, 2020

Grrrrrr said:
That driver pack is toast! Open it up. Let's see inside!

I think @Datatek has opened one up. I posted this before your post #24, don't know why it didn't show.

Datatek · Jul 25, 2020

tomcat59alan said:
I think @Datatek has opened one up. I posted this before your post #24, don't know why it didn't show.

I opened one up with a view to reverse engineering replacements, then I found out what was wrong with it and realised many could easily be repaired.

tomcat59alan · Jul 25, 2020

Datatek said:
I opened one up with a view to reverse engineering replacements, then I found out what was wrong with it and realised many could easily be repaired.

I wouldn't know what to look for unless it was obviously burnt out,saying that I've impressed myself in the last few days sorting a few electrical problems.much prefer spanners and hammer jobs.Hope your all well in France.

J L Carr · Jul 25, 2020

But if you take the soft backing off, (as the covering is like a rubbber) then repair it what can you use to recover the back again, as I'm going to pick the covering off and see what the problem was.

J L Carr · Jul 25, 2020

Another quick question, a couple of my air lines that fit into the EAS block look a bit short especially the back 2, I was wondering if there is a way of extending the pipes,as I have some pipe the same size and strength but how to join them. as I think because there 2 short that's why the back end drops over a few days. Has anybody done this before and what type of junction did they use.

Datatek · Jul 25, 2020

J L Carr said:
But if you take the soft backing off, (as the covering is like a rubbber) then repair it what can you use to recover the back again, as I'm going to pick the covering off and see what the problem was.

You only need to pick off a very small area to replace the component that most often fails.
I use Dow corning electrical silicone to re pot after fitting the new component.

Datatek · Jul 25, 2020

J L Carr said:
Another quick question, a couple of my air lines that fit into the EAS block look a bit short especially the back 2, I was wondering if there is a way of extending the pipes,as I have some pipe the same size and strength but how to join them. as I think because there 2 short that's why the back end drops over a few days. Has anybody done this before and what type of junction did they use.

You can buy air line couplers. Might be better to replace the whole length of pipe to save introducing another potential leak point.

Tenebreaux · Jul 25, 2020

J L Carr said:
Another quick question, a couple of my air lines that fit into the EAS block look a bit short especially the back 2, I was wondering if there is a way of extending the pipes,as I have some pipe the same size and strength but how to join them. as I think because there 2 short that's why the back end drops over a few days. Has anybody done this before and what type of junction did they use.

6mm push fit works.

Tenebreaux · Jul 25, 2020

Datatek said:
You can buy air line couplers. Might be better to replace the whole length of pipe to save introducing another potential leak point.

That's why I did mine. Joined the new pipe to the old in the engine bay and just pulled it through to the wheels.

Datatek · Jul 25, 2020

Driver pack innards.

View attachment 215492

Last photo shows where I have re-potted the new component.
I need to take a better photo of the component side for some reason only part of the board is showing and it doesn't show the component that fails. Tomorrow.
I've added a better photo of the component side of the driver pack. The component that had failed on the ones I have fixed is the electrolytic brown sleeve bottom left corner. Easy to replace for a few pence.

tomcat59alan · Jul 25, 2020

Tenebreaux said:
6mm push fit works.

That's what I used and my very expensive jig and hair dryer to form the bends where the pipe enters the valve block

Tenebreaux · Jul 25, 2020

tomcat59alan said:
That's what I used and my very expensive jig and hair dryer to form the bends where the pipe enters the valve block

I'd make one of those but I don't have access to a cnc lathe.

tomcat59alan · Jul 25, 2020

Tenebreaux said:
I'd make one of those but I don't have access to a cnc lathe.

They're a bugger to make if you don'thave access to the proper tools,I was thinking of mass producing them in walnut.

They don't have to be used with the green bin by the way.

oakey · Jul 25, 2020

Would that be the Vogue version or the Holland and Holland?

tomcat59alan · Jul 25, 2020

oakey said:
Would that be the Vogue version or the Holland and Holland?

H&H of course.

RangeRoller dt · Jul 25, 2020

Was easier then painting the deck chairs

P38A Compressor

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