Suspension and Ride height adjustment Issues….

igosal · #1 07-15-2011, 07:47 AM

I am so mad at seller who sold me this 2005 X5 - 4.8is about a month ago. All looked good but recently I started noticing that every morning the gap between the front tires and the fender would be very minimal. But as soon as I would unlock the X5, height goes up. Also, the ride height adjustment button never worked and always stayed in the middle. If pressed, it would blink three times, stay lit and do nothing. I ignored it as I didn’t use it before. I had 2002 X5-4.4i in the past but without this height adjustment button.

Anyways, yesterday I found that Air suspension fuses in the rear are missing completely. I removed the spares from the front (in the glove box) and installed them in the rear at missing places (79 and 87, I guess) but nothing happened. The good thing is that X5 does go up when unlocked but I can't do it manually if I have to and the bad thing is that the air escapes when turned off and locked and the X5 settles down eventually. I am guessing there is a leak which will get worst with time. And yes, I haven't got any Air suspension levelling error so far, probably because the fuses are out in the rear….

I just wanted to vent out my frustration. Please suggest where to start….

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cannan · #2 07-15-2011, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igosal

I am so mad at seller who sold me this 2005 X5 - 4.8is about a month ago. All looked good but recently I started noticing that every morning the gap between the front tires and the fender would be very minimal. But as soon as I would unlock the X5, height used to go up. Also, the ride height adjustment button never worked and always stayed in the middle. If pressed, it would blink three times and then stay lit and do nothing. I ignored it as I didn’t use it before. I had 2002 X5-4.4i in the past but without this height adjustment button.

Anyways, yesterday I found that Air suspension fuses in the rear are missing completely. I removed the spares from the front (in the glove box) and installed them in the rear at missing places (79 and 87 I guess) but nothing happened. The good thing is that X5 does go up when unlocked but I can't do it manually if I have to and the bad thing is that the air escapes when turned off and locked and the X5 settles down eventually. I am guessing there is a leak which will get worst with time. And yes, I haven't got any Air suspension levelling error so far, probably because the fuses are out in the rear….

I just wanted to vent out my frustration. Please suggest where to start….

So the fuses for the air suspension were missing, but the bags were still inflating when you unlocked the car. When you installed the fuses nothing happens? I don't understand how the system would fill up if the fuses were not in place.

Bottom line is that you will need to replace your bag(s) sooner rather than later. If you have the correct fuses in place you should be fine. Once you have the bags replaced and fuses all setup then see if your height adjustment is working correctly. It's hard to tell if it is actually not functioning correctly given the current situation of a leaking bag and missing fuses.

Oh, and next time I would suggest a pre-purchase inspection.

Zulu95 · #3 07-16-2011, 10:02 AM

Replace the air ride with springs and be done with it. They seem to be nothing but trouble and turn into a money pit as soon as you start throwing parts at them.

igosal · #4 07-20-2011, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cannan

So the fuses for the air suspension were missing, but the bags were still inflating when you unlocked the car. When you installed the fuses nothing happens? I don't understand how the system would fill up if the fuses were not in place.

Bottom line is that you will need to replace your bag(s) sooner rather than later. If you have the correct fuses in place you should be fine. Once you have the bags replaced and fuses all setup then see if your height adjustment is working correctly. It's hard to tell if it is actually not functioning correctly given the current situation of a leaking bag and missing fuses.

Oh, and next time I would suggest a pre-purchase inspection.

The rear fuses were missing and its the front suspension that goes down and then after unlocking comes back up. Also, I re-plugged my rear fuses. No change. No error messages. Also, my ride adjustment is not working either. It blinks three times and stay in the middle.

civdiv99 · #5 07-20-2011, 07:11 PM

Kinda surprised you aren't getting the "Self-Level Susp Inactive" (or words to that effect) msg on the dash at start-up, or even displayed full time?

igosal · #6 07-21-2011, 07:52 AM

Like I mentioned before, I replugged my rear fuses for Air Suspension and no messages, so far. Also, I noticed that there has been no change overnight to the ride height. The front tires have not come down. Does it mean there is possibly no leak and it is EHC module or something else that could be the culprit? I really don’t want to go to stealer as in Canada, they are notorious and much more expensive than US (I miss US everyday)….

TriX5 · #7 07-21-2011, 08:44 AM

Yesterday my left front was an inch down and given the screeching of the tires when braking a little harder I knew there was a problem. Given all the problems that come up on the board I started to worry. I don't know how the system works but here is what I found out.

Pressing the up button resulted in blinking but no height change, NO msge from the computer though. I figured it had stopped pumping air and unplugged the rear fuses with the motor running. This did not give me a msg either, but replugging did not restart the pump.

Unplugging the front fuse resulted in an error msg but when I replugged the fuse the error msg went away. So, it seems there is no pressure sensor in this system (or low pressure does not generate an error msg) andI am guessing that the front fuse is for the ride height monitoring system only and the error msg relates only to that.

I also surmised that the computer relays some kind of msg to the susp control module to start pumping or releasing pressure depending if up or down is needed. So, next step was to check if any power was coming to the pump. There are two much bigger wires running through the plug that clearly carry 12V to run the pump.

I disconnected the big white plug and replugged it to check that there was no corrosion or loose wires, but before getting the DVM out I decided to open the pumpkin and have a look at the pump itself. The pump and the valve unit next to it seemed brand new.

For some reason I decided to restart the engine and give the up/down button another try. Low and behold the pump immediately kicked in!!! After that the left front was normal and using the dash button made it jump almost like a low-rider...... ;-) So, not sure what the problem was but it seems likely a poor contact in the plug was the cause. I hope this helps you all in troubleshooting yours.

igosal · #8 07-21-2011, 10:59 AM

Great !! Thanks TriX5. I'll try the same after i get off from work today. The ride adjustment has not worked even once since I have bought the truck. So, it will be nice if unplugging and replugging the front fuse will make it work. Also, I really doubt the leaks to be there as even after a night in the OFF mode, it was still at the same height. Hopefully, it's something simple. I'll keep you all informed....

DUCATI5 · #9 07-21-2011, 11:27 AM

Hey, you guys do realize that the doors have to be closed in order for the suspension to raise/lower, right? If you press the button with a door open, you'll only get a blinking light with no action out of the vehicle.

I had the same "issue" with mine till I read the manual closely. Don't over analyze. If it's broken then you'll get an error message.

If you already knew all this and you're still having the same problem, then I hope you find the evil little gremlins that are running rampant

igosal · #10 07-21-2011, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriX5

Yesterday my left front was an inch down and given the screeching of the tires when braking a little harder I knew there was a problem. Given all the problems that come up on the board I started to worry. I don't know how the system works but here is what I found out.

Pressing the up button resulted in blinking but no height change, NO msge from the computer though. I figured it had stopped pumping air and unplugged the rear fuses with the motor running. This did not give me a msg either, but replugging did not restart the pump.

Unplugging the front fuse resulted in an error msg but when I replugged the fuse the error msg went away. So, it seems there is no pressure sensor in this system (or low pressure does not generate an error msg) andI am guessing that the front fuse is for the ride height monitoring system only and the error msg relates only to that.

I also surmised that the computer relays some kind of msg to the susp control module to start pumping or releasing pressure depending if up or down is needed. So, next step was to check if any power was coming to the pump. There are two much bigger wires running through the plug that clearly carry 12V to run the pump.

I disconnected the big white plug and replugged it to check that there was no corrosion or loose wires, but before getting the DVM out I decided to open the pumpkin and have a look at the pump itself. The pump and the valve unit next to it seemed brand new.

For some reason I decided to restart the engine and give the up/down button another try. Low and behold the pump immediately kicked in!!! After that the left front was normal and using the dash button made it jump almost like a low-rider...... ;-) So, not sure what the problem was but it seems likely a poor contact in the plug was the cause. I hope this helps you all in troubleshooting yours.

I unplugged the fuse in the front and it only caused the height adjustor button's light to go away. But no error message appeared surprisingly on the dash. I replugged the fuse and button's light appeared but it still didn't work.

Next i opened the trunk and to the right side compressor, there are bunch of wires that go via white receptor plug. Hope you were talking about that only. It's a male and female plug connected together. I unplugged it and plugged it back and again tried the button to adjust height but no luck. It blinks three times and stay in the middle.

But I am sure that it is not the air bags in my front shocks because the X5 was at its height as it was last night. Nothing changed. So, it has to be either a loose connection somewhere or a bad ECH....

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