Air Suspension Inactive Message

[lear60man]

My 05 with 42,XXX miles had been sitting for a few days in frigid temps (60 degrees F). Started her up to run some errands and had this warning. The suspension was frozen in the normal position but the rotary knob had the 'locked' led illuminated. The battery tested at 12.5 volts with the engine off. Tried the turn the wheels full left then right, didnt work. Tried the 'unhook the battery and touch the pos and neg together fix', didnt work. But that did give me a heart palpitation when I saw all the electronic 'hey dont do that if you dont need to' reset messages when I got back in the cabin.

So I gave up and called the dealership for a reset. They would only do a a diagnostic (cough $300 IIRC). Found an Independent service Yorks and Lances in Chatsworth, Ca 818-882-9954. The guy said to just bring it over and he will reset it then go from there. It pulled up the following code 'compressor temp'. Weird, as the fault popped up moments after starting the car and I know this fault code is related to an overheating situation. So the message is now gone and keep you fingers crossed. BTW I have never had a dropped suspension so Im ruling out air bag leak or leak in air line.

The battery is original (05). Ill keep a closer eye on it as I had a intermittent starter issue last week. But that is where my suspicion is focused now. Any other thoughts are appreciated.

[RRToadHall]

...sitting for a few days in frigid temps (60 degrees F).

Now THAT is hilarious!!

"Colder" temps paired with the original battery is most likely the issue. Even if it isn't I would be replacing the battery for good measure. Save the diagnostic fee and take the plunge before shelling out funds to the dealer.

[03rangiemark]

The battery is original (05)...

Seven years? That was a really good battery!

[lear60man]

I thought someone would get a kick out my temperature joke. So yea, I have only had to go to the dealer 3 times owning LR's in the past 7 years. But this independent service guy just earned my future business when I absolutely cant fix something.

Any recommendations on a good cheap battery? Im seeing Bosch from $108 to Odyssey dry cell at $477 I dont even want to know what the LR battery goes for.

[RRHSELux]

Look up the closest Interstate company-owned store... Long warranty on a great battery...

[RRToadHall]

Interstate is definately a great way to go. If you can visit their local outlet. Each outlet carries shelves of "scratch adn dent" batteries. These are batteries that are 100% functional but may have a nick or scuff in the casing. These are a fraction of the cost of their labeled batteries adn still carry the full standard warranty.

[srgsaibot]

Odyssey dry cell have a good rep , I have the blue top optima which is deep cycle 900ah cold crank, it has been flawless even after being completely drained .I made the mistake of using a cheap battery and it didnt end good.

Only 3 trips to the dealer must be a record, good to hear some Rangies did go the distance

[linuxfreakus]

The DieHard Platinum PM-1 marine battery is identical to the Odyssey and about half the price. I am using one and it has been great.

[lear60man]

Ok so I folded and got the Interstate because it was reasonably priced($140), long warranty and close to home. Hooked it up and the F****ng ballast on the right hand headlight buzzed then died. After taking off the Bull Bar, Aux lights, grill and side lamps, I confirmed that the ballast was toast. Swapped the good ballast to the right hand side since I had half of the air cleaner system off. And Ill pop the 'new' one on the left headlight at the wrecking yard. To top it off the Suspension Inactive message re-appeared!!!! But the 'turn the steering left and right' trick worked. I was told that I would probably get the message again after the battery swap but it would go away.....I did and it did. Now I only have a Check Headlight message. Oh well....off to the wrecking yard tomorrow!

[Big Jim]

The DieHard Platinum PM-1 marine battery is identical to the Odyssey and about half the price. I am using one and it has been great.

Wow, that's great to know. After I do the PCV and the fuel pump I think I'll treat my 04 to the Diehard. Thanks for that. Jim

[James Fonda]

Yep just got the Susp Inactive message myself. My battery has died out on me atleast 2 times in the past month (have been relying on my GL450 to get the boost :/), the first time it gave away I gave it the steering wheel trick and the message dissapeared. However this time the message is sticking around, which could be potentially the -30*C temperature. Any ideas or thoughts?

[lear60man]

Hi James,

From what I have gathered here and during my adventure this week......once the message sticks, it has to be cleared by the dealer or an independent who has the software. Lord knows I tried my OBD II reader fixer. Try to find an indy first as it only takes a minute to clear. Both dealers near me wanted to charge a Diagnostics fee.

Guys, feel free to correct me if im wrong, but this is what I have learned about the faults:

A weak battery can sen erroneous faults resulting in a Air Suspension Inact (ASI) message. I tend to believe this as my message was 'Compressor Temp/Hot' but the car had been sitting for days.

The Air Suspension ECU (?) will self test every couple of seconds. Some faults will self clear the ASI message and some will 'lock', IE must be cleared by a dealer/Indy.

Among other things that can cause a fault, a faulty door or tailgate sensor can also cause an ASI message.

(Im not 100% on this one) If not corrected after 20 minutes, the fault will lock in the ECU regardless if it has been fixed and thus must be cleared by dealer/indy.

RSW solutions makes a reader/clearer (sp) for $200 that...reads and clears the EAS faults duh!
http://rswsolutions.com/index.php?op...=268&Itemid=77

I havent searched for a specific procedure/warnings for changing the battery, but be prepaired for the following: When I changed mine yesterday, the nav/radio gave me a wait message (rebooting) set time date etc. I also got another ASI message but the steering wheel trick worked. Then for some mystery reason the Right Ballast blew to let me know that Murphy was alive and well. Found a used one for $100 local.

So all in all, Im down $250 and got a new battery out of the deal which was over due. Plus I now know how to tear the front end off the car.....something I dont want to do on a regular basis. I think I came out ahead on this deal.

[James Fonda]

Hey Lear60man, thanks for the info. I think its just the temperatures which are causing the malfunctions in the EAS, so I am going to park in a public heated parking area for about three hours and than we'll see what happens. If it still doesn't clear than I'll just take a trip to my friends workshop.

[linuxfreakus]

I think it is likely to be the battery. Even if it seems to hold a change, if it doesn't quite have the juice that it should, some of the electronics are not happy because they are sensitive to slight power fluctuations. These vehicles use a LARGE amount of power with all the electronics on board.

When my old battery started to fail, the EAS was the first system effected. Eventually when I started it up the whole dash would light up like a christmas tree... I got transmission faults, ABS faults, lighting system faults, you name it. It even toasted my MKIII nav (I manged to unbrick it but not a trivial task).

Another possibility is a bad alternator which may be leading to your dead battery. Less likely though.

The cold can cause issues too, but generally those go away once the vehicle warms up. (If your EAS is in excellent condition, the cold issues generally do not occur though)

[James Fonda]

@Linux Yeah I am also leaning towards the battery as the source of this problem. I actually just started it to run to the market and it is still displaying the exact same message. The temperature did come down to -3*C and it is still giving that error message so I am starting to rule out the temperature as a possible cause for this problem. It is stuck at the normal height and when I try to raise it or lower it the light just blinks for a second or two and nothing happens, I am just hoping I don't have to spend 1000$+ just to get the EAS in working order again. Also I don't know if this helps my situation, but the last time the battery ran out I was putting the vehicle in access mode (without having the car actually fully started, not the smartest thing to do on my part, I know) and it was after that moment that this whole shabang came into play. But the Range only has around 69,000 KM's on it so I don't think any of the EAS functionals should be out of work just quite yet.

James