[ctt]

Good day to all,

this has been going on for a while and I have tried our Indie Shop here, no joy. Every other day or so when I start up the Rover, the Normal Height and the Off-Road lamp are lit simultaneously on the Air-Suspension Control switch. Sometimes its the Normal Height and the Access Height lamps are on simultaneously.

• Also there is a huge blast of air pressure released from under the Drivers side (sounds like a whale clearing its blowhole), and it continues for a few minutes after.
• This leads to a frustrating day of pure craziness.
• The Rover raises (on its own) when I am parked at a traffic light or anytime for longer than a few minutes.
• I turn off and on the Rover, it works for a few mins then the Amber suspension light comes on, then its downhill from there.
• The suspension light turns red, the 'Special Programs are off' message comes on. Then, on good days the message says 'Suspension Fault- Normal Height Only'.
• Yes, there are old Normal Height Only problems in the 'Search' box on this site but nothing like this. The Indie Shop here cannot solve the issue. Ideas?

ctt

 

[phil.]

let's start with the obvious:
how old is the battery? these are super sensitive to electrical issues and a low/failing battery could lead to all kinds of seemingly unrelated electrical gremlins.
how old is the compressor? how many miles on the RRS? given its a 2006 this could maybe be the 3rd or 4th compressor for that vehicle? if not, your compressor could be dying.
when suspension faults are thrown, what are the codes?
what has the indy shop tried so far in response to those codes thrown?

 

[ctt]

Thanks for the reply Phil.

I have a new Jag/ Land Rover Varta Battery about 5 weeks old. They replaced the old Hitachi compressor with a new one about 7 months ago (March/April) I will have to check the bills. The Rover has 102K miles on her.
- I cannot remember the code numbers thrown but one was a faulty rear-right height sensor, another was air-supply and the third was an air-valve. Which have all be changed out. They ran electrical wire checks back and forth, checked connectors, even checked the ECU.
The strange thing is, they cannot find any leaks with the 'soapy water' test. Yet, every morning apart from the stuff I mentioned above, the front and rear right side is down about an inch.
- We purchased the Rover in Dec 2015, with 84K miles and replaced the front left air-suspension, Compressor, and all three valve blocks, that was about 3.5 years ago. No major suspension work since then. This is our second compressor since owning the Rover.
I suspect they sold me a faulty Compressor 7 months ago, I mentioned this a few times and they are leaning to switching it out but they want to try everything else first. Last week I was told there might be 'an uninterrupted air flow hindrance in the line' which causes the rig to rise to Off-Road height on its own. I am taking it back in later this week.

 

[meelaud]

you're describing a lot of the same issues im having with my RRS - it goes into extended off road mode randomly at start up, then when trying to put it down, i eventually get a C1A13 code (amber light). sometimes it errors out when the butt of the car is still in extended mode and the front goes down to normal. but it's never done this while driving. i also get the 'blowhole' sound when exiting and locking the car, i think that's normal - the sound of the exhaust valve perhaps. i recently tried cleaning out the airlines around the compressor and valve block - but i couldn't find anything blocking it. a few days ago, i did see my rear right wheel drop on my 4x4 info nav screen along with a code for that right rear sensor. but it sounds like you got that sensor sorted out. i am on my third compressor in the past year (OEM for 160k miles, used rebuilt OEM, 1AAuto new one), but have a 4th one coming in (Lucky8 HD unit). If that doesn't fix the amber suspension code, i'm going coils. if it does, then i'll get a new sensor and calibrate it to hopefully rid my RRS of its suspension woes.

 

[ctt]

Well, I am sure it's not just the two of us.
As far as sorting out the Rear RH height sensor, it still shows up on the 4x4 info screen out of place from time to time. Its an intermittent code. The Indie shop says its not the height sensor, there is some sort of electrical problem. The next time I go in I will ask if they can check below the console itself and the air suspension module again, just above the driver side foot-rest.
Apart from everything else, I think (a gut feeling) the Reservoir Valve block is bad or the air supply to it from the Compressor is not what it's supposed to be. I have been studying this LR3 Component Description (attached) for a while now to get familiar with the nomenclature and what their roles are. If you get your rig fixed before me, please let me know any helpful information that might be relevant to my issues.

 

[ctt]

Update - sort off.
I took the Rover in this morning, explained the symptoms again. One agent stood next to me as the Rig raised on its own when I tried to lower it. They kept it for about 3 hours. The Lead Mech said that the two rear shocks were dead and that the air damper module was okay, not leaking but it was the only thing holding the back of the Rig up. I was confused, I thought it was a complete unit. These faults were throwing the 'Amber Lamp' and the 'Right RH Height Sensor' codes.
I told him to hold on a bit and let me do some research first before I commit. Anyone ever repaired just the shock absorber?

 

[garrycol]

Yes the shock absorber can just be replaced by itself but normally when they fail due to fair wear and tear it is also time to do the airbag so most do both together as a strut unit.

But - the shockie can be done by itself.

Garry

 

[ctt]

Thanks for the info.
I swear owning a Rover turns you into an internet Mechanic. The things you learn and more important, the things you should learn saves you time, frustration and cash.