P38A EAS Suspension not activating

I hope someone can help as i have what seems to be an electrical problem with my EAS system

Car is a 2001 4.0 V8 P38

A few weeks ago the suspension collapsed, it was found that the airlines had corroded so all were replaced, airbags all checked and ok, the compressor was given a full rebuild as the output had dropped considerably this now is putting out the correct pressure as per the manuals and checked with a pressure gauge before it was fitted back on the car.

Now it appears there is an electrical fault and maybe another issue somewhere as the compressor is not powering up, if you bypass the relay it fires up and pumps however it is not pressurizing the system enough to lift the car.

So i have 2 faults i need help with why is it not powering up the EAS and why does it not pressurize even after 15 minutes of running, we have tried to inflate the system manually with an external compressor and the car does rise and is able to hold this for at least 24 hours.

Any advice on where i can start looking for the fault would be great.

Thanks

You will need to reset the EAS with a Nanocom or EASUnlock. I assume the lights are all lit on the facia panel? There might be someone close to you that can do a reset for you, where are you?

Thanks for the reply, no lights on the fascia panel are lit as normal, orange light for lowest setting solid and the normal height light just constantly flashing obviously due to the car not lifting.
One other thing i have noticed is the battery keeps going flat so there must be something in the electrical system that is draining it. (Battery was replaced 3 months ago)
Plus there are no warning messages on the dashboard for EAS fault which i omitted from the first post.

Sophia2007 said:

A few weeks ago the suspension collapsed, it was found that the airlines had corroded so all were replaced, airbags all checked and ok, the compressor was given a full rebuild as the output had dropped considerably this now is putting out the correct pressure as per the manuals and checked with a pressure gauge before it was fitted back on the car.

Now it appears there is an electrical fault and maybe another issue somewhere as the compressor is not powering up, if you bypass the relay it fires up and pumps however it is not pressurizing the system enough to lift the car.

So i have 2 faults i need help with why is it not powering up the EAS and why does it not pressurize even after 15 minutes of running, we have tried to inflate the system manually with an external compressor and the car does rise and is able to hold this for at least 24 hours.

Click to expand...

Airlines are plastic so don't corrode. Occasionally the exhuast leaks and burns a hole through a line.

Compressor has a thermal switch in the top. If that burns our it will run on diag or if relay bridged but not in usual running. If not filling tank then I'd say compressor has burnt out feeding a leak but you said it had had a rebuild. Maybe burnt out again feeding another leak? Don't know. Shouldn't run more than about 50% of the time if you take a trace of what it is doing. 30% or less is more usual depending how many height changes you do.

Before you do anything else you will need to clear the faults with the software/hardware mentioned. The lights will flash and the EAS wont function until you do. There are many threads on this site as to the battery drain issue. Unusual that the message centre doesn't give the warning though, do you get the beep, beep when starting? I have a tablet in the glovebox with the free version of EASUnlock and the cable, it has been a godsend. Have a look at Storeys website, www.rswsolutions.com/ there is a world of info there, or go to
paulp38a.com/range-rover-p38/

Sophia2007 said:

Thanks for the reply, no lights on the fascia panel are lit as normal, orange light for lowest setting solid and the normal height light just constantly flashing obviously due to the car not lifting.
One other thing i have noticed is the battery keeps going flat so there must be something in the electrical system that is draining it. (Battery was replaced 3 months ago)
Plus there are no warning messages on the dashboard for EAS fault which i omitted from the first post.

Click to expand...

Battery drain is usually the RF receiver getting interefence. You need a generation 3 receiver or use BrianDSE's second fob trick for a cheap fix.

There's an EAS troubleshooting guide in the Technical Section from Wammers.

Sophia2007 said:

Thanks for the reply, no lights on the fascia panel are lit as normal, orange light for lowest setting solid and the normal height light just constantly flashing obviously due to the car not lifting.
One other thing i have noticed is the battery keeps going flat so there must be something in the electrical system that is draining it. (Battery was replaced 3 months ago)
Plus there are no warning messages on the dashboard for EAS fault which i omitted from the first post.

Click to expand...

No air. Do checks for thermal switch. Compressor is not producing good air when circuit is jumped. Or diaphragm valve is leaking.

Yes plastic pipes had rubbed on the fixings so this is all ok with no leaks.

Yes getting the beep on starting but no fault messages on the display.

Compressor is producing 140psi when tested so no problem with seals on this after the rebuild.

next i am going to check the pressure switch and thermal sensor

Have you had the faults checked and cleared? It wont do anything until you do that

No i haven't, can i do a hard reboot by removing the battery or do i need the reset kit?

Unfortunately on a hard fault you will need to have the faults cleared by diagnostics equipment, you cant just "reboot". Have you checked the links regarding the EAS software/hardware (RSW or PaulP38) There are many links on this site regarding EAS issues and how to sort them. By reading the faults you will probably find out what the problem is, I would imagine that if you have the faults cleared the system will spring to life (no pun intended)

There may be someone close to you that can assist, you don't say whereabouts you are

haha i wish at the moment it did just have springs!

Ok i will order the software and cables to do some diagnostic checks, be useful to have for future anyway. yes looked these links.

I am in Southampton.

Sophia2007 said:

No i haven't, can i do a hard reboot by removing the battery or do i need the reset kit?

Click to expand...

140psi is only the pressure. The pump, in good condition doesn't have a massive delivery rate so although it might be able to achieve pressure, don't assume all is well. A very small leak can eat up what a healthy pump can produce.
Would be good to fit a pressure gauge in the line to the tank to see if it is actually filling when pump is running.
That said, without some diagnostic kit you really are trying to urinate against the wind.

Ok diagnostic software is ordered i'll get some diagnostic data first and then can also try the pressure gauge on the line running to the tank.

Thanks all, i will update next week

There is another member (or more) in Southampton so maybe see if one of them can assist, I am in Poole, pity you were not closer, I could have had a look at the faults and cleared them, I only have the RSW software so quite limited with other stuff without a Nano

Chances are that as you mentioned earlier that the car stayed up when manually inflated that maybe the reset will get you up and running

Ok thanks

I'll get the software and see what results this gives me fingers crossed

A compressor in good condition, when connected directly to a pressure gauge, should produce around 175 psi within a few seconds of startup. 140 psi is minimal if the diaphragm valve is leaking it will never fill the tank.