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  #1  
Old 01-04-2018, 10:37 AM
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Tool for setting twin axle ride height please.

Friends

I am stuck. My 4.8is Ride Height is all over the place, when viewed with INPA.

Each corner is showing a massive variation in the numbers and my attempts to re-calibrate it using INPA have all failed. I have dedicated weeks to reading and searching the forums in a vain attempt to correct my ride heights using INPA and it is just not happening.

I measure the height from the ground to the middle of the arch/fender in a vertical through the wheel centre.

I then note the difference between that measurement and the INPA default for my car (20" wheels on Sports suspension) this is 707 for the fronts & 709 for the rears.

I then enter the calibration mode and enter the difference into each section.

Result? The car is still not resetting to it's default and is out of range on INPA which in turn causes the suspension to go 'inactive'.

I have tried different routes and different suggestions but none work.

Door Open.
Door Closed.
Engine On.
Engine Off.
Ignition Position I
Ignition Position II

It is driving me insane.

My compressor is working fine and has just been rebuilt with the fantastic bagpipingandy kit. I can raise and lower it using INPA and test each valve etc. The corner sensors are all good and I have no leaks.

It just needs re-calibrating.

But I cannot get it to reset to the default values/height.


What is the simplest tool that I can use to reset the heights to default and get it calibrated correctly so that it stops the 'Self Leveling Suspension Inactive' kicking in all the time?

I have a WIndows 10 machine that is running INPA and a cable with pins 7&8 linked.
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  #2  
Old 01-04-2018, 12:01 PM
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The correct measurements are from the bottom of the rim too the fender lip. You may be feeding it "implausible" results.
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  #3  
Old 01-04-2018, 02:39 PM
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It is not that. Thank you.

If you enter an “implausible” value it rejects it as “implausible”.

I have measured the height as per BMW’s recimmendations. But even allowing for any deviation there, it just does not work. If I enter -50. The car will raise by 50. That is not the issue. The issue is: it is so far out of range I cannot get it back to default.
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Old 01-04-2018, 05:08 PM
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INPA is a good tool for performing this calibration. I think you have something else going on with your system.

When you say 'Each corner is showing a massive variation in the numbers', what do you mean by that? If your sensors are OK but out of calibration, each time you hook up INPA, you should see similar results at each wheel that you saw before (+ or - a few mm due to temp variation, etc.). They should also move smoothly when you jack up or push down on each corner (or raise/lower by activating within INPA).

You probably already know this, but note that you're not trying to achieve the 707/709 numbers on the sensor readings in INPA. You do the manual measurement, and take the difference between your measured # and the 707/709 #. Enter that number in INPA as an adjustment, and that's your calibration. Reset the fault light, and then key the ignition and re-measure the height manually. Your manual measurement should now be at or close to 707/709, and you don't care what numbers INPA is showing as it's a relative measurement at that point.

Also, what code(s) are stored when you get the SLI light?
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Old 01-04-2018, 05:16 PM
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Thank you for this. I will try again following your post exactly and report back.

The only error I get on INPA is 116. If I clear it it comes back immediately.

But I can use the “hand control” in INPA to raise or lower, bleed, pump up, etc with no issues.

The re-built compressor includes cleaned solenoids and pumps well lifting the car quickly.

I also have zero sag, even if I leave the car for a week.

So the thinking is that it it errors when it thinks it is out of range on the calibration.

Trying to post a pic from my iphone but can’t sorry.
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Old 01-04-2018, 05:29 PM
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OK, that 116 error likely means you still have a problem with your compressor. I fought this one a while back for like 6 months and it was very frustrating as everything always tested out OK in INPA, but that damn error kept coming back, usually after a few days to a week.

I could raise & lower each corner, dump each valve, fill the tank and watch the pressure go up, dump the tank pressure, etc. All seemed fine.

In the end, I took my INPA laptop on a 1,000 mile road trip, and finally "caught it in the act". I pulled over the moment the SLI light came on and ran my INPA tests. This time, I could see that if I activated the pump with the tank valves in the right state, the tank wasn't filling. It only takes one of these instances to trip the SLI indicator, and the system will not try again until it's reset.

A new compressor from Arnott (rebuild kits weren't available back then), and I've been without in SLI light for about 6 years now! (really shouldn't have just typed that 'cuz I know what's going to happen...)
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Old 01-04-2018, 05:51 PM
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That is great info. Thank you. The issue I just now is that as quickly as I clear the error, it comes back. I found another post where it was said that this is the ‘top solenoid’ sticking and needing a clean. So I removed and cleaned both solenoids which did not look dirty or appear sticky. It is massively frustrating. I rebuilt the compressor and it is very strong. But no use if it cannot get past this error.
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Old 01-04-2018, 10:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brucemillar View Post
It is not that. Thank you.

If you enter an “implausible” value it rejects it as “implausible”.

I have measured the height as per BMW’s recommendations. But even allowing for any deviation there, it just does not work. If I enter -50. The car will raise by 50. That is not the issue. The issue is: it is so far out of range I cannot get it back to default.
The BMW documentation I have states: -

The "HEIGHT OFFSET" is adjusted using the DIS or MoDiC. The procedure is as follows:

• Place the vehicle on a level surface unloaded.

• Access the Height Offset program in the service function menu.

• Measure the base ride height from the lower edge of the wheel housing to the center of the wheel hub.

• Check measured height against the specifications listed.

• Use the DIS/MoDiC to correct the ride height if the value differs from the listed specification.


I know you don't have access to DIS/MoDIC but it's interesting that it uses "lower edge of wheel housing to the centre of the hub" as the measurement of interest... I'm assuming lower edge of wheel housing means the fender.
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Old 01-04-2018, 10:56 PM
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Following. Will be attempting this soon in INPA. Just soldered my cable pins. My compressor is not kicking on at all though. I believe I have at least one bad height sensor based on a previous scan report the shop recently did. I expect the EHC module should report this error code when I am finally able to connect.

I think my compressor may be burned out so I likely will be getting a rebuild kit. I was thinking of directly connecting power to it to see if it comes on (if necessary).

PITA
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  #10  
Old 01-06-2018, 06:23 AM
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Okay. Here is the latest:

* Sat the car on perfectly level concrete (my garage floor)

* Measured from the ground vertically through the wheel center to the wheel arch (fender) and wrote down that measurement for each wheel.

* Worked out the difference between my measurements and the BMW Default Measurements for my car =709 rear. 707 front, and wrote that down.

* Using INPA I go to >>Chassis >> Twin Axle Suspension >>

1) I clear the error from memory (this allows the suspension to be activated) on the car and from INPA.

2) I then go to >>Set Height>> and make sure it is >>Normal>>

3) Then go to >> Calibrate Height>> and Enter my values for each corner.

NB. To raise the car you enter your value with a Minus in front of the value, as in " -22"
To lower the car you enter the value as it is "20"
To make no change you must enter "0" do not leave it blank, that confuses the brain.


With all four values entered, and no errors on the suspension!! the car should do a dance as it re-calibrates. My car raised up very high >> then dropped very low >> then settled on the new measurements I had just entered.

Walk around the car and re-measure your heights. They should now be the same as you expected.

I now have one problem.

1) Error 116 returned after about 15 minutes of the re-set.

My next step is to check the output air pressure from my compressor at the main <speed fit> connector. This needs to be between 120 & 220 psi. I hope to be able to do this using a tyre gauge?

I suspect that my piston bore is scored and needs replacing? The plan then is to replace both the bore and the piston (again) from the wonderful bagpipingandy.com Andy has been a great help here. I had already replaced the piston ring but we suspect that bore is scored and we are just not generating enough air pressure to lift the car. Replacing both will eradicate that from the equation.

MY car has sat all night (almost 24 hours) and not lost height from where I set it yesterday. So I suspect that I have no leaks.
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