Another air suspension problem
 

Like the title says, this is another annoying air suspension issue. This is an 06 X5 4.4 with dual axle air suspension. Little background on it, car was low ended up needing a new front strut. Installed strut and calibrated and the car went insane, height normal from the back but on max height in front. Noticed the height sensor arms were broken, so replaced both sensors along with the links. Tried recalibration the car went sideways… and then again and again until the rear was good and the front at lowest height. Gave up on calibration with my snap on souls ultra and bought inpa cable but didn't know how to install it lol. So I had a professional do the calibration with his stuff and it worked, height was good… but, the button wasn't working. I didn't mind as long as the height was good, but he informed me that the sensors were in the wrong position, the arm was pointing downwards when it should've been pointing out towards the wheels. I said okay… if that's the only issue I'll do it. Fixed the position of the sensors, put the car down, and what do ya know, back to square 1. Height is good from the back, max height in front. The adjustable height button works for the rear only, doesn't move the front at all. So now I'm stuck, recalibration? Sensor issues? I'm lost lol please help. Here are some pics of the position of the sensors.

Before ("wrong position")
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...be22309a02.jpg

After ("right position")
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8a52aa7ca8.jpg

Thanks in advance everyone.




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The calibrations made on the sensors were done with the sensors in the wrong positions...correct? Assuming the sensors are not faulty you should be able to recalibrate them now that they're in the correct position.

Is it worth all this hassle though? If you step on the running board on the way out of the car you'd avoid getting your trousers dirty :)

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I know it's not helping the actual issue but if you'll keep the car you should consider switch to coil springs.
I went with Bilstein HD but if you prefer stock ride there are Bilstein Touring struts and shocks along with Suplex coil springs for OEM ride.
I prefer and kept the OEM ride height but you could go lower if you want.
Getting rid of the inactive SLS light after swap is child's play with $30 P.A Soft scan tool.
No more sensors, air compressor, air bag and air reservoirs and most of all computer glitches to pest the X5.
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...gs-delete.html

Recalibrated it again, it worked, the levels were all good… but sls message kept popping up along with tpms. Ehc code says"64 distortation plausibility" and abs code says "5DD7 ride heights invalid". Whatever those mean. Clear the codes, drive less than .1 miles and it pops up. I checked the deviation on them and the front left is always negative, the front left is brand new.


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Why would I throw all that money on it when it's almost fixed? Everything is working properly there's just some software needed I guess. The labor of putting in the new shocks and removing pump and module lines etc would be more than just playing around with the system.


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Getting the suspension error message and tpms together indicates the car is sitting lower than it's programmed to do. I believe there is a maximum allowed difference in height between each corner before triggering the tmps (don't know how much) but if you measure the height of each corner you'd know which one is the lowest. That's assuming it is physical...it could also be a faulty sensor tricking the car into believing it's sitting too low.

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Hmm ok ok. That sounds just about what I had in mind. I'm gonna flip the front sensors since they're the same, and see if the deviation still gives me negative on the front left. Hopefully it'll work and that would basically mean it needs a new sensor. Now another issue I ran into, I tried calibrating again, this time the front worked out perfect, but after I drove it the rear dropped. Looked at the voltage and the rear left was giving me .5 when the rest were at 2.6 or so. Hopefully means it needs a new sensor as well and then calibration and it should work out. Thanks for your help Awntchi.


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No worries. Don't forget the module...if there are still issues after all sensors are checked Ok and programming done correctly then the only other possibility is the module. Best of luck and keep us posted.

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Correct!

On INPA.....Zero out all your "Count" settings on ALL three modes or do an "ECU reset"

Depends how you look at it. I consider it an upgrade and good investment. With air suspension it's never ending saga. Anyway, good luck.