2005 XJ8L Air Suspension Fault
#21
After sitting overnight, the car has the same measurements as when I parked it. In addition, I measured from the top of the wheel arch (at the thin black trim) to the tire and this measurement was 2" at each tire. So I am assuming this points away from a leaking shock and to the compressor? What about a sensor or does the code eliminate that as a possibility? Most likely our next step will be relacing the seal on the compressor. Once again, thanks for the help!
Last edited by olypen123; 07-26-2014 at 01:09 PM.
#22
The following 4 users liked this post by Xag:
#23
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Crossroads of America
Posts: 19,603
Received 13,290 Likes
on
6,570 Posts
And here are some links to photos that are specific to the Jaguar X350. Note that most folks don't replace the desiccant beads as I did, but your mechanic should disconnect the air dryer so he can access the check valve to clean any corrosion and gunk and ensure the valve is closing properly. I would also recommend that he open the exhaust valve and clean it and ensure it is moving freely if he's comfortable with that:
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Cheers,
Don
#26
After sitting overnight, the car has the same measurements as when I parked it. In addition, I measured from the top of the wheel arch (at the thin black trim) to the tire and this measurement was 2" at each tire. So I am assuming this points away from a leaking shock and to the compressor? What about a sensor or does the code eliminate that as a possibility? Most likely our next step will be relacing the seal on the compressor. Once again, thanks for the help!
Keep us apprised.
The following users liked this post:
olypen123 (07-28-2014)
#27
I wanted to report back on the status of my ASF problem. This morning I took the car to the mechanic to have him install the seal repair kit I purchased from Bagpipingandy via Ebay. On the way to the shop I got the ASF message. This past week I have been receiving the fault message regularly when I drive the car short distances. The mechanic changed the seal. I picked the car up and drove it for about 60 minutes. NO AIR SUSPENSION FAULT MESSAGE!! I am hopeful it is fixed but will report back again in a couple of weeks to update. The mechanic charged $98 to replace the seal and I spent $199 to replace the battery (which probably needed replaced anyway). I spent just under $50 for the kit. If I can get off this cheap, I will be estatic!! Thanks everyone for all the help!
Last edited by olypen123; 08-04-2014 at 07:12 PM.
#28
Wow! I wish I had saw this before now! I just got my air suspension comp replaced today (spent $600 for a new 1 with lifetime warranty including labor) but this price still sounds much better; I was having the exact same symptoms as the OP. BUT, my did go down just a tad bit, & I could actually here "air" when the ASF came on; but I'm ok with knowing I have a brand new 1 with Lifetime warranty; hopefully your issue is resolved Olypen...
#29
Today I drove the car approx. 170 miles. At the beginning of the trip about 2 miles out of town the ASF appeared once again. Ugh!! It remained on until I stopped for lunch. We were in the restuarant for about 1 hour. When I started the car again, the message was not there. After driving about 10 miles the ASF message reappeared and stayed on the entire way home--about 60 miles. Any ideas on what my next step should be?
#30
It seems the kit wasn't enough to fix the compressor back to "as new" unfortunately. It usually does the trick but not always. The next step would be getting a new compressor installed.
But before spending money let's check a few things.
You only have the Air Suspension Fault, not the Vehicle To Low message?
After your car's been standing for the night and you open the drivers door, do you hear the suspension letting out air? This is a hissing sound.
Maybe you could do this little test next time you take the car somewhere. Start the car but before driving off let it idle for 2 minutes. Do you get the ASF message during the trip or not?
Guus
But before spending money let's check a few things.
You only have the Air Suspension Fault, not the Vehicle To Low message?
After your car's been standing for the night and you open the drivers door, do you hear the suspension letting out air? This is a hissing sound.
Maybe you could do this little test next time you take the car somewhere. Start the car but before driving off let it idle for 2 minutes. Do you get the ASF message during the trip or not?
Guus
The following users liked this post:
olypen123 (08-09-2014)
#31
#33
Hello, Marque! I am kind of at an impasse at this point. Please see the posting below from another recipient of the ASF message. Before buying and installing a new compressor, I am wondering if anything was improved with the compressors. If not, I am not so sure I want to spend the $$ to replace an item that, in my case, lasted only about 30,000 miles before starting to fail; and as can be seen in the below case, did not ultimately solve the ASF problem. I have some thinking to do this weekend. I do intend to follow the advice of Xag and report back to see what the general consensus is after hearing my results. I appreciate all the feedback!
I too have a 2005 XJ8L. At 97,000 miles I started seeing the ASF message. Over the past year and a half, I've had a new air suspension compressor installed and replaced the left and right front struts (leaks). After the aforementioned repairs, the car rides fine, yet the ASF warning message still comes on intermittently. On more than one occasion I've left the car with the dealership multiple days and "no drop" discerned. I'm now at 99,993 miles (I've had the auto since 23,000 miles (early lease turn in)). I'm just about ready to give up and live with it unless the ride is impacted! Any ideas?
Last edited by olypen123; 08-09-2014 at 09:46 AM.
#35
I only heard the 1 hiss right @the moment the ASF warning came on. I'd have to ride with the Windows down to hear it; I did see the other post as well, but for me, it's corrected mine; I certainly understand your position though...
#36
Since olypen123 doesn't seem to have air loss in the suspension it might be solves with replacing the compressor. The ASF message appears because the compressor doesn't pressurizes the system within the limit set by Jaguar. The idle test I described can be used to test if the compressor is still able to reach the required pressure so you won't get the ASF message. Let's see...
Guus
#37
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Crossroads of America
Posts: 19,603
Received 13,290 Likes
on
6,570 Posts
Hi olypen123,
I'm sorry that you're still having this trouble. Here are a few thoughts:
1. When you mechanic replaced the piston ring/seal in your compressor, did he disconnect the air dryer and clean the check valve, and did he open the exhaust valve and check it for corrosion as I had recommended? I assume he would have checked the cylinder for excessive wear, but that is highly unlikely since the cylinder is aluminum and the piston ring is soft Teflon.
2. There are only a few things that can cause the compressor to underperform, and most of them can be addessed without the expense of a new unit: piston ring, check valve, exhaust valve and pressure relief valve. If the motor fails, the compressor won't run at all. If the piston rod/crankshaft bearing fails, the compressor will run, at least for a while, but it will be noisy. Assuming your compressor motor runs and isn't excessively noisy, it would be worth having the pressure from your compressor tested before you spend any more money on parts.
3. The ASF warning can appear if the vehicle is too high. If that is the case with your car, perhaps there is a malfunction with a solenoid in the valve block or the exhaust valve in the compressor.
Out of curiosity, when you park your car at night, is it on a relatively level surface or does it sit at an incline? It is normal for the system to exhaust some air while the car is sitting to attempt to make it more level if it is parked on an incline.
Cheers,
Don
#38
I went out and started the car and let it idle for at least 2 minutes before I drove it. I then proceeded to drive about 10 miles and did not receive the ASF message. I am confused about opening the driver's door/hissing after it has sat overnight. After driving the car today, I parked the car and opened the door, I did not hear any hissing. Is that what you mean Xag? I also did not hear any hissing when I initially started the car, opened the door and listened. I will continue for the next few days to let the car idle 2 minutes before driving and report my findings.
Don B. I will contact the mechanic on Monday and discuss with him what procedures he performed. I asked the mechanic before if there was a way to test the compressor. He told me no. How would I go about having the compressor tested? The car is parked in my garage and it is a flat surface. What would be considered too high? When I was previously told to take the measurements of the car, the back end does sit slightly higher than the front. I mentioned this to the mechanic, but at the time he didn't feel it was problematic. Should the car have equal measurements front and back?
The only other variable I can pinpoint so far, and it may just be coincidence, is that I have not received the ASF message when driving solo. I drove to my mother's yesterday (about 2 miles out of town). No ASF message-- she got into the car and as we headed out, I received the message. She is the only passenger I have had in the car since replacing the seal.
Don B. I will contact the mechanic on Monday and discuss with him what procedures he performed. I asked the mechanic before if there was a way to test the compressor. He told me no. How would I go about having the compressor tested? The car is parked in my garage and it is a flat surface. What would be considered too high? When I was previously told to take the measurements of the car, the back end does sit slightly higher than the front. I mentioned this to the mechanic, but at the time he didn't feel it was problematic. Should the car have equal measurements front and back?
The only other variable I can pinpoint so far, and it may just be coincidence, is that I have not received the ASF message when driving solo. I drove to my mother's yesterday (about 2 miles out of town). No ASF message-- she got into the car and as we headed out, I received the message. She is the only passenger I have had in the car since replacing the seal.
Last edited by olypen123; 08-09-2014 at 06:18 PM.
#39
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Crossroads of America
Posts: 19,603
Received 13,290 Likes
on
6,570 Posts
I am confused about opening the driver's door/hissing after it has sat overnight. After driving the car today, I parked the car and opened the door, I did not hear any hissing. Is that what you mean Xag? I also did not hear any hissing when I initially started the car, opened the door and listened.
On our '04, when I shut off the engine and step out of the car, I will often hear a hiss of air from the compressor at the front left corner of the car. My understanding is that this is the correct, normal behavior. The ASCM is opening th exhaust valve to backflow dry system air through the desiccant beads in the air dryer to help flush some of the adsorbed moisture from the beads to partially reactivate them.
Also on our '04, when I use the remote key fob to unlock the doors, I will often hear a hiss of air from the compressor exhaust valve. This is normal operation. Whenever the ASCM detects luggage compartment, door or ignition activity, it activates Preliminary Mode, in which it prepares to adjust as luggage or passengers are loaded into the car. Lifting if necessary, is done from the reservoir only, until the engine is started, and during Preliminary Mode lowering corrections to vehicle level are permitted via the exhaust valve.
If your exhaust valve never hisses, the perhaps it is seized and is not opening when it is supposed to.
If you are willing to measure the height of your car at each wheel, from the floor to the inner top of each wheel arch, I’d be happy to do the same so we can compare the measurements to see if they provide a clue about your system’s behavior.
The only other variable I can pinpoint so far, and it may just be coincidence, is that I have not received the ASF message when driving solo. I drove to my mother's yesterday (about 2 miles out of town). No ASF message-- she got into the car and as we headed out, I received the message. She is the only passenger I have had in the car since replacing the seal.
Cheers,
Don
#40
I went out and started the car and let it idle for at least 2 minutes before I drove it. I then proceeded to drive about 10 miles and did not receive the ASF message. I am confused about opening the driver's door/hissing after it has sat overnight. After driving the car today, I parked the car and opened the door, I did not hear any hissing. Is that what you mean Xag? I also did not hear any hissing when I initially started the car, opened the door and listened. I will continue for the next few days to let the car idle 2 minutes before driving and report my findings.
Your car measures the height at each wheel and then either raises or lowers the car when needed. During the night when nothing is happening this system doesn't do anything because it's asleep. If your suspension would be leaking (loosing air from one of the shocks) opening the door in the morning is the trigger the car gets to get out of sleep mode. If, at that point, it notices the car is not level it will let out air to level the car.
What I'm trying to determine is if there's also something wrong with the suspension itself or not. This because you hinted at replacing it with coil overs if major things are wrong. It would be a shame to spend money on something that isn't a problem.
If you start the car and you listen at the left front fender you may hear the compressor starting after a short while (say 30 seconds). If you hear the compressor run wait for it to stop (2 minutes max) and you will hear the hiss I'm talking about. At that point the compressor is venting out any moisture in the system, this is normal behavior.
What happens when you wait a while before driving off is that you give the compressor a bit more time to fill the suspension thus avoiding the message.
The only other variable I can pinpoint so far, and it may just be coincidence, is that I have not received the ASF message when driving solo. I drove to my mother's yesterday (about 2 miles out of town). No ASF message-- she got into the car and as we headed out, I received the message. She is the only passenger I have had in the car since replacing the seal.
Guus