Help me identify this

[Riba]

Hello all,

While diving under the car today (more about it in different thread) I spotted this box which obviously isn't connected to anything right now. It is located close to front passenger side suspension. I guess this may also explain the bunch of wires that are freely hanging from the junction box next to the engine. What is it?

[bhennrich]

It is your front suspension level sensor. If you have two axle air suspension you should have one on each side or if you only have rear air, then it is for control of the vertical aim on the xenon headlights. It should have a small arm with a linkage attached to the control arm.

[SlickGT1]

That looks like passenger or right side for US spec. But it only has 3 words, so I'm going to guess it is just the light level control.

You are also missing the arm that moves, attaching to the control arm itself.

[StephenVA]

Some where out there in the desert lays a small arm and a few wires.......

Any headlamp or suspension warning lights on?

[Riba]

Thanks. What a weird device. Yes, there is a small arm behind it but it is also not attached. I will just ignore it.

[Riba]

Originally Posted by StephenVA

Some where out there in the desert lays a small arm and a few wires.......

Any headlamp or suspension warning lights on?

No, nothing. I do have an annoying issue where trifecta and "Engine failsafe prog" pop up simultaneously at random times. It is something electrical, and a bitch to diagnose. :-/

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Riba

No, nothing. I do have an annoying issue where trifecta and "Engine failsafe prog" pop up simultaneously at random times. It is something electrical, and a bitch to diagnose. :-/

Almost always going to be alternator or battery. Something is causing your voltage to drop below spec, don't know when errors start throwing... <13.5ish maybe? Usually it's "Trans failsafe prog" though. If you know the age of the battery and it's good... then the alternator might need a new regulator or replacement. Replaced one recently with these symptoms and the cost was around $275 for a 170A Valeo if memory serves.

[Riba]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Almost always going to be alternator or battery. Something is causing your voltage to drop below spec, don't know when errors start throwing... <13.5ish maybe? Usually it's "Trans failsafe prog" though. If you know the age of the battery and it's good... then the alternator might need a new regulator or replacement. Replaced one recently with these symptoms and the cost was around $275 for a 170A Valeo if memory serves.

You are probably right. This started after I removed the alternator because the bearings were shot. Got it to a place where they replaced the bearings, it is possible they did not tighten something up. The brushes could be better shape but they were still holding up.
I was tolerating this problem for a while but I got enough of it so I checked the alternator terminal and found out that the lower nut on the terminal is loose. I tightened it up and that seemed to have solved the problem until 10 days later, just as I was bragging to a friend how I solved the problem the light came up. Literally in the middle of my sentence.
As I have the alternator out at the moment I will inspect it again and change the regulator. On top of it I put a new battery in a while ago which dies after a month. Got a new one under warranty and when I returned from a 4 day trip it was completely dead, so it appears I have a battery drain to deal with. Might be all related.