P38A EAS fault that I am unable to diagnose with certainty

Hi all,

I have a 1996 4.0 P38 with some kind of fault with the EAS. After doing some searching online I think a leaky bag may be the culprit, but before I buy some new ones I wanted to run it by you guys/girls on the forum. On some occassions I get all of the red LEDs light up and an "EAS fault" on the dash. Other times no problem at all whatsoever. During winter the rear right hand side went down and then the whole vehicle. However, I had the vehicle in my garage connected to a trickle charger for a week...and the height from floor to bottom of wheel arch was 82,5cm and it didn´t move by a single millimeter (hence why I am not absolutely sure the bags are at fault). I also thought the compresor may need overhauling so I have bought a kit and will probably do it this weekend. Or could the height sensor have an issue?

I originally thought it may be a dodgy battery as it went flat during winter when I didn´t drive it much. Anyway I asked my mate to do a battery check and the results were fine and the alternator is also good. So I ruled that out.

I´m not sure what the cause of this is... to be honest it isn´t a major problem as it is mainly a weekend car and 8/10 the error doesn´t appear. Even when the fault appears the car still drives ok. However, I want it perfect as it has only done 50,000km from new and is near immaculate.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

If they are the original bags they are doin well.
Time for a liberal application of soapy water spray on the bags. In the different heights as sometimes the fold can seal the leak.

J

Not sure if they are original, but I wouldn´t have thought so as the car looks to have been serviced quite well. Although I didn´t get any service hsitory with the car.

Check the white connector behind left kick panel for corrosion as well as the air bags check the pipes if there has been an exhaust leak they melt
a set of manual inflation valves may well help to pin point.

thank you, I will have a proper look over the weekend. Do you think it is worthwhile buying a nanocom for the P38? I would like to keep it for a while, although the cost is a fair bit

mikerajjers said:

Do you think it is worthwhile buying a nanocom for the P38? I would like to keep it for a while

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without a doubt. it makes even simple things so much easier and will pay for itself in no time at all

Y

mikerajjers said:

thank you, I will have a proper look over the weekend. Do you think it is worthwhile buying a nanocom for the P38? I would like to keep it for a while, although the cost is a fair bit

Click to expand...

Yes

Any good diagnostics will pay for itself, especially if it’s a keeper.

J

I would suspect a height sensor with a dirty track

oakey said:

I would suspect a height sensor with a dirty track

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Can they be cleaned?

No they are sealed

Is there a way to check whether the sensor is at fault? Would the nancocom be able to diagnose this?

I opened 1 years ago and managed to keep it going till new arrived but as said ^^^ sealed. So not a permanent fix.
Yes they can be checked with a DVM. Our @Henry_b did a Fred/post about them a while back but can find it.

J

marjon said:

Any good diagnostics will pay for itself, especially if it’s a keeper.

J

Click to expand...

it certainly is a keeper...I´ve already spent a fortune on it... definitely lots more than I would get for it. I have been searching for a green one with very low mileage and LHD for about 3 years before I bought it last year. I just picked up my Mondial alloys from the powdercoater this afternoon and already ordered some nice new rubber for it. I´ll post some pics next week when I get them fitted.

I love driving it so much that it is becoming my daily. Unbelievabel how quiet and comfortable they are!

marjon said:

I opened 1 years ago and managed to keep it going till new arrived but as said ^^^ sealed. So not a permanent fix.
Yes they can be checked with a DVM. Our @Henry_b did a Fred/post about them a while back but can find it.

J

Click to expand...

From memory multimeter on resistance,touch both outer pins and there should be resistance,touch one outer and middle,move arm and the resistance should alter,same with the other outer pin.the raising/lowering of resistance should be even without dead spots.

Before messing with height sensors, follow the usual advice:

1. Read the EAS Checks in the Technical Archive at the top of the forum.
2. Unplug the EAS timer relay, and see if it stays level overnight. If yes, then airbags are probably ok, but do the soapy water checks at Normal & Extended height just in case.
3. Four lights on the switch and no other regular faults is usually intermittent connections on the plug & socket at the driver pack underneath the valve block.
4. Get the diagnostic checked with either Nanocom or EAS Unlock.

After that you will know if you need to look at more complex stuff.

Resistance reading should be smooth throughout full motion. If you test against the others you’ll notice if ones out.

FYI, I also found mine dropped height during the colder winter nights in Dec & Jan but has stopped doing it now, with no changes done to the system. Same thing on another valve block in the garage over the winter. My conclusion is the solenoid valves struggle to hold air when they get very cold.

This 'ere is handy

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/testing-eas-height-sensors.364480/

No multi meter ? no problem get your self to Lidl on Sunday just under a tenner.