P38A EAS woes. I'm at the end of my tether

I won't fully get on my soap box but I'm very very sad.

Day 1- Near constant running compressor
Day 2- Leak identified in rear offside bag
Day 3- All 4 bags changed
Day 4- Near constant running compressor
Day 5- Leak found at valve block
Day 6- Kicked myself for not checking entire system thoroughly
Day 7- Replaced all seals in valve block and refurbished compressor
Day 8- Near constant running of compressor
Day 9- No leaks identified until my exhaust corroded and blasted hot exhaust air at airlines running over rear cross member
Day 10- Replaced air lines to rear bag and storage tank
Day 11- Near constant running of compressor
Day 12- Priced up a spring conversion but kicked myself again for not remaining a purist
Day 12- Brand new rear nearside bag explosion
Day 13- Warranty replacement of brand new bag fitted
Day 14 - Near constant running of compressor
Day 15- Car now drops at rear nearside corner EVERY time the ignition is turned off. By drop, I mean a solid 8-10cm drop

I'm not even sure if there's a word in the English dictionary that covers or describes the absolute nature of the P38 EAS system. One thing wrong and it tests a purist to his limit and forces him to consider making a Frankencar with springs instead of lovely air.

I've now bought a pressure gauge to fit to the compressor to check my output. Does anyone know if I can just place this at the valve block inlet (position 6 I believe it is)?

Gvmclean said:

Day 15- Car now drops at rear nearside corner EVERY time the ignition is turned off. By drop, I mean a solid 8-10cm drop

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Sounds like a leak. How long does it take to drop? Guessing it's not long or it would level out

I'd recommend you pull the relay from under the passengers seat and see if you can identify which corner is causing the trouble, as she'll self level to the lowest side until it is down on the bumpstops.

Removing the relay prevents this so you can narrow down where the leak is if there is one

What valveblock rebuild kit did you use? only X8R should be used.

Remove the EAS silencer and see if air is pishing out when the compressor is running, this signifies a ruined/leaking diagram

If there is a leak in the storage side of the system it'll keep running to replenish the air that is being lost.

could also be leaking NRV's

Just been out and unplugged the relay. I'll update very shortly.

I used the X8R rebuild kit. The diaphragm was changed at the same time. I will go ahead and check any leaks from the silencer though as I can't find any around the system. A couple of diagnosing false starts have made me be a little more thorough in my examinations. The only place I've not checked is the silencer.

Also, the same corner drops within 1 second. The moment the engine stops running and the key is unplugged, then it drops.

Gvmclean said:

Also, the same corner drops within 1 second. The moment the engine stops running and the key is unplugged, then it drops.

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OEM Dunlop bags I take it?

Are you sure the pipe is in all the way? Soapy water will help..

Could also be dicky height sensor.

Arnott up front and Anschler bringing up the rear.

2 bottles of soapy water prepared and utilised. No leaks at the bags or connections.

Dicky height sensor might be a solid shout. I'll have to plug in and check the raw sensor values at each height.

Gvmclean said:

Arnott up front and Anschler bringing up the rear.

2 bottles of soapy water prepared and utilised. No leaks at the bags or connections.

Dicky height sensor might be a solid shout. I'll have to plug in and check the raw sensor values at each height.

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Never heard of Anschler I'd be wary, some aftermarket bags only have 1 O rings in the pipe connections this causes an annoying leak!

Dunlops should be the only units used on the P38, Arnott i'd be wary off too, they're known to leak around the clamping rings.

I might take them all back to the shop and buy Dunlop all round if I can't get to the bottom of it. I've soapy watered all bag connections and there's no leak and so hopefully I'm lucky there.

Although, I always say I was born ginger and not lucky!

If there are no leaks at the bag connectors the next port of call will be the bellows themselves, if they are fine then you're looking at the Valveblock "again" or the line(s)

Again as I said it could also be the height sensor, I'd defo check the readings.

If the sensor is dicky she'll try and keep adjusting that side which would explain the compressor running constantly

Usual method is to unplug the the timer-relay, but if it drops immediately after switch-off, then the ECU is still trying to adjust until you unplug the relay or disable the timer.

FYI My P38 (and many others) have an extra ignition switched relay in-line with F44 which feeds the ECU via the timer, so removes the timer operation and the self-levelling both at switch-off and while parked (see RAVE extract below). Another option is to temporarily change the relay for a regular 4-pin so the system goes off immediately. Downside of method-2, is that diagnostic will not function with 4-pin installed.

If you've stopped & parked on level ground, it should not adjust much, so definitely suspect height sensors.

The compressor running too much indicates leaks somewhere. To verify, it doesn't matter if the corners are full or not. Leave door open to disable adjustments, and run compressor until tank fills. Check for leaks both while pump is running, and after it stops. Make sure you verify there's no leaks in supply system. If the pump still runs repeatedly with door open, then you must have a leak.

• No leak from exhaust when pump is running. Remove silencer to be sure.
• No leak in 8mm pipes to & from the dryer.
• No leak in pipe to tank.

To be really thorough, you could also remove the corner air-lines from the block while testing the pump. In this case, obviously the car will be on the bump-stops, but there should be zero air coming out of the ports. If there is pump / tank air coming out (with door open), then the Inlet & Corner valves are leaking. No air should come out during filling.

From RAVE:
The ride height of the vehicle is correctly maintained only whilst the engine is running. To compensate for any changes in load after parking (e.g. driver or passengers getting out),the EAS system will lower the vehicle to the height of the lowest corner after the last door is closed. Furthermore, if the vehicle should develop a lean due to temperature effects or air leakage whilst parked, the EAS system is automatically re–powered every few hours to allow limited corrections to the height to be achieved.

Considering how long you’ve had your
P38 I’m surprised you’ve only had 15days of this sort of nonsense. You got through day 12 so you probably through the worst of it. Calm your mind knowing you can revert to coils at worst case, reminding yourself how much they are charging for them will keep you going

If it drops that much on one corner, you must be able to hear where the air is going.. surely..

kermit_rr said:

If it drops that much on one corner, you must be able to hear where the air is going.. surely..

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Not if the sensor is telling it to drop

Heh.... yeah the EAS can sure send you chasing your own tail.

Since your suspension drops all the way down to the bumpstop at that one corner within a second of you turning off, I doubt you'll be able to get to the relay in time after turning your engine off to catch the car while it's still on the airsprings.

I suggest starting with a set of schrader valves. Install them on the airspring air lines where they enter the valve block. If the car still drops, or refuses to climb when you inflate the airpsrings from the schrader valve, then you know you have a serious leak either in the air lines or air springs.

If it goes up and stays up then you know your problem is in the valve block/ air dryer/air reservoir/driver board/pressure switch/ECU (god forbid).

Try that first- in the meantime, STOP SPENDING MONEY.... except for the Schrader valves. If you already have them, use them. If you don't, you'll need them someday anyway so it's not wasted money by any means.

Good luck- and hang in there!!

Henry_b said:

Not if the sensor is telling it to drop

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If it was a single sensor that was out, how would it level while the engine was running? My limited knowledge says the car should level down in that case?

I actually condensed the days down for effect. The EAS issue has been ongoing for quite some time. The days mentioned are just key dates where a break in family and work life let me investigate further.

I have installed schraeder valves and two different corners dropped! A little soapy water told me not to trust brand new equipment to have decent o-rings. Replaced o-rings late last night and installed once again. I've yet to check her height this morning but will update the moment I can. I'm praying it's just something simple that I'm missing.

Gvmclean said:

I actually condensed the days down for effect. The EAS issue has been ongoing for quite some time. The days mentioned are just key dates where a break in family and work life let me investigate further.

I have installed schraeder valves and two different corners dropped! A little soapy water told me not to trust brand new equipment to have decent o-rings. Replaced o-rings late last night and installed once again. I've yet to check her height this morning but will update the moment I can. I'm praying it's just something simple that I'm missing.

Click to expand...

Good plan.

Just try the Schrader valves, once you're confident they're not leaking themselves. First where they enter the valve block, and if the car still drops then directly onto each airspring. You'll need a few short lengths of airline to do this, and the rears are a bit fiddly but this will tell you if the continued leaks are from the airline or the airspring.

Once you've sorted/ eliminated all the airlines and airsprings, we can turn our attention to the rest of the doodads.

Oh... btw- have a tyre pressure gauge handy. If one airpring is leaking then the remaining airsprings will need to bear more weight and this will cause them to compress, maybe even to the point of making you think that a perfectly healthy one is also leaking. If the car drops, check the pressure at each schrader valve before doing anything else and focus your attention on the ones with a zero reading or anything under, say 30psi.

Also take the exhaust silencer out for now. Then you can easily hear when the ECU is triggering exhaust & corners to drop.