tomcat59alan
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P38A EAS Fault, how to pin-point
- Thread starter Henrik97
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Sarbirus
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About 4 years ago I managed to get all the bugs out of my air suspension except for these two errors.
Prior to that, I was at the point where I was getting a hard fault every other day.. A complete rebuild of all new air bags and compressor managed to get rid of the daily issues..
After that, once in a blue moon, typically the day after a 300 mile road trip (so I am 300 miles from home) I will get the "bleep bleep bleep" followed by all the level lights lighting up.. from that moment on I have about 50 miles until the suspension is completely deflated and bouncing along like a go-kart.. By which point I am getting maximum speed messages and all hell has broken loose!
My solution was to keep a haweye fault reader in the arm rest, plug it in and reset the codes, after which it will be fine again for months.. even fine on a long drive of 300 miles.. but usually, as I said before, on the way home, usually pulling onto the motorway.. I get those two exact codes.
I will look into the driver packs... first I need to work out what they are! lol
PS: Since having the Hawkeye, of course I do not leave it 50 miles until it is in gokart mode.. I pull over as soon as I can and reset things and it will be good all the way home!
Hi
I had the EAS kicker sitting on the dash, so pulled over every time this happened and reset the system. On some days it would then work fine for hours, on others it would keep throwing up a fault every 10 mins. Changing the driver pack seems to have cured it permanently. The driver pack is a square box, about 15mm thick, bolted to the side of the valve block with a bunch of wires coming out of it. Basically, it's a potted PCB with transistors to operate the solenoid valves. It may be serviceable, but it would be a pain to strip alle the gunk off it. A new one is £150 from Island.
I had the EAS kicker sitting on the dash, so pulled over every time this happened and reset the system. On some days it would then work fine for hours, on others it would keep throwing up a fault every 10 mins. Changing the driver pack seems to have cured it permanently. The driver pack is a square box, about 15mm thick, bolted to the side of the valve block with a bunch of wires coming out of it. Basically, it's a potted PCB with transistors to operate the solenoid valves. It may be serviceable, but it would be a pain to strip alle the gunk off it. A new one is £150 from Island.
Sarbirus
Member
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- Bournemouth
Thanks for pinpointing that for me.. I would say I would check it out, but it sounds like the choice is, change it for £150, or live with it and keep resetting codes... How often in miles did it used to play up? was it literally every 10 mins? and how many miles have you done since changing it?
Have you thought about refitting it and seeing if the fault comes back again, or if the process of changing it cleaned up some connector?
Sorry, I am always a bit of a tinkerer combined with mad scientist, so love to know the specifics and to double confirm my own findings.. Something to do with a cognative bias and bike sheds at nuclear power stations!
Mine only plays up once in a blue moon.. The only real frustraiting thing about it is the location of the OBD port on the P38 requires either a more flexible body than my overweight 44 year old frame, or a quick run around the car to plug in the hawkeye... I have been thinking about rewiring the OBD connector somewhere more convenient.
Have you thought about refitting it and seeing if the fault comes back again, or if the process of changing it cleaned up some connector?
Sorry, I am always a bit of a tinkerer combined with mad scientist, so love to know the specifics and to double confirm my own findings.. Something to do with a cognative bias and bike sheds at nuclear power stations!
Mine only plays up once in a blue moon.. The only real frustraiting thing about it is the location of the OBD port on the P38 requires either a more flexible body than my overweight 44 year old frame, or a quick run around the car to plug in the hawkeye... I have been thinking about rewiring the OBD connector somewhere more convenient.
PPP38vouge
Active Member
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Hi, there is only one driver pack which is bolted to the side of the valve block, there are diffident things you can try like connections for instance, you can pull apart and reconnect all the blocks around the valve block, check earth connections around the EAS box and also another common fault can be the large white connector behind the passenger side kick panel ( right hand drive) in the footwell. If your fault usually arises after a long journey it could be the driver pack playing up because they do not like a lot of heat shone after a long journey the engine bay does get rather warm as does the EAS box. It may pay to check your pump is not running for to long as that can also generate a lot of heat in the EAS box.
Sarbirus
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- Bournemouth
Well thats the weird thing...
Typically, the sequence of events is.. commute around town (8 miles in traffic each way every day), go on a jolly along country lanes once in a while, all fine...
Drive the 300 odd miles from Bournemouth to Lincolnshire to see family.. Still fine..
The next day I might drive around town in Lincolnshire, or not.. Still fine..
Drive back to Bournemouth, get onto the motorway after 50 miles or so.. Beep beep beep..
It has probably only done it locally once or twice in the last 3 or 4 years... However, every other time it is on a long road trip away.. it will be fine on the way out.. But play up at some point on the way back, often a day or so later..
I have even thought about the weather.. But it has done it in frosty conditions, rain and dry summer days..
Weird as hell and almost impossible to recreate... I almost think it is just as likely to be something the RAF are testing at one of the many air force bases up there as it is a fault with the car lol
Typically, the sequence of events is.. commute around town (8 miles in traffic each way every day), go on a jolly along country lanes once in a while, all fine...
Drive the 300 odd miles from Bournemouth to Lincolnshire to see family.. Still fine..
The next day I might drive around town in Lincolnshire, or not.. Still fine..
Drive back to Bournemouth, get onto the motorway after 50 miles or so.. Beep beep beep..
It has probably only done it locally once or twice in the last 3 or 4 years... However, every other time it is on a long road trip away.. it will be fine on the way out.. But play up at some point on the way back, often a day or so later..
I have even thought about the weather.. But it has done it in frosty conditions, rain and dry summer days..
Weird as hell and almost impossible to recreate... I almost think it is just as likely to be something the RAF are testing at one of the many air force bases up there as it is a fault with the car lol
