Hello,

This seems like a really common issue but I'm not sure if this has been covered exactly before.

I have a MY2006 X350. After a couple of minutes after starting in the morning, I get the air suspension fault light and warning. However my rear offside wheel is riding very high, front offside also raised but not extremely. Both nearside are fine.

I have the Jaguar data tool and software and have tried to level my suspension (after toggling from.delivery mode back to normal mode to clear the fault) and it seems to just constantly raise the rear offside wheel, never finishing the cycle. It usually doesn't get to the point where I can enter the current ride height.

I guess my compressor is cooked due to the timing of the air suspension fault, however would this cause the ride height issue? Could my ride height sensor be at fault (too?). If so, I guess it's time to rebuild the compressor. If not, how would I go about troubleshooting this further, please?

Your help would be very welcome, please help me get this back to normal!

 

Do you mean the SDD? Not sure what a Jaguar data tool is?
What is the error code?
Have you rebuilt the compressor with BagpipingAndy's kit?
Air Compressor Rebuild Kit
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Hello, yes, SDD, I couldn't remember the name when I wrote this.

I will re-run and get the code this week (it was a few weeks since I ran this and have certainly forgotten).

I have not touched my compressor.

 

The only release for excess air in the system is the vent solenoid in the compressor, which may be rusted shut from water intrusion. It's also possible that the valves in the valve body on the reservoir under the spare tire are rusted and unable to release air from the strut.

The system should vent the strut into the reservoir, and vent the reservoir via the compressor vent solenoid. The compressor solenoid lets air out of the reservoir, the individual valves in the valve body allow air to flow to or from the strut from the reservoir.

 

The BagpipingAndy piston kit can't possibly do much for you. That's for too little air, not too much.
Ride height sensor or some valve seized or leaking would be my guess, in which case the post above mine seems relevant.

If you do have a fault, trying to "recalibrate" whilst faulty would seem like trying to push a car uphill to me.

I suspect the valve block in the trunk doesn't take enough credit for faults. The compressor contains (a valve), I'd at least view it's overall condition since it's prone to the atmosphere.
I'm just guessing. I'm also terrified, because I would like to keep air suspension if possible. And people keep posting these horror stories

(I have a BagpipingAndy kit in my trunk. As though I'm gonna do it on the roadside LOL)
(the real reason I keep all my Jag bits in the trunk, is that my wife might think they are junk and throw them out)

 

This seems very relevant thank you!

​I neglected to mention that if I deflate the system with the SDD it will happily drop the rear. With your understanding of the system, what could this mean?

I will have a look at the reservoir - thanks!

 

Thank you - I have read so many of these horror stories that I thought how could it not be the compressor somehow.

My thought process that it could be the compressor being worn is that it starts off fine (after a long timme off, like overnight) however 2 minutes or so later, it will go in to fault. When this issue is explained it's always been that the system didn't get to pressure in time. Can this timing of the issue be down to anything else? Maybe I'm looking for this issue and it could be something else. If I leave the car stationary once started after being left, will it try to pump the pressure up and flag a fault if it fails to come up to pressure? Trying to reduce the variables in a useful way!

 

The compressor should start shortly after you start the car (without moving and in spite of what anything else says).
If your air accumulator was already full, of course the compressor might not need to start.
(My car can raise once just on unlock and using the air reservoir. Coz my car goes down, not up)
You have too much air not too little (at least in one corner). Has to be a valve somewhere (if not a height sensor).
At a wild pinch, could be a logic error. Only thing you could do there would be to disconnect the battery, in order to reset the myriad of computers. A long shot I admit, but easy.

When parked/locked, the computer does check the suspension occasionally, but it will only let air out to level things, never up.

I should say that, although the compressor performance doesn't appear to be your fault, it does need reconditioning anyway after a certain unspecified time. If you have it out or something.

 

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Chris, thank you - I'm certainly leaning towards a valve.

I will see about looking at the data logging element of the SDD and see what the car thinks the ride height and pressures are at, too (just read that this is possible!).

Cheers

 

Had a bit of a look early this morning, I'll go through what I did and hopefully it makes some sense.

Car was not run for 3 days prior to this.

Right side (driver side) still very high.

Stored errors c2780 and c2302.

Went in to the logging function and logged the ride height sensors. All within about 10mm of 0, apart from left rear which was reading about negative 100mm (looked absolutely fine, normal ride height)

Started the car, ran it for a good 5 minutes while poking around in SDD. No dash fault that I'd imagine would have come from a low pressure in the reservoir.

Using SDD, deflated rear suspension, went down to the stops. Deflated front, no movement.

Cycled ignition, rear didn't come up, toggled delivery/customer mode and cycles ignition, came up to the right height and all ride height sensors within 10-20mm of 0.

I'll show you the logging window at this point (no errors on dash, ride height OK)

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My question is, is that pressure right?

I then drove it around without fault for a few minutes. Pressure levelled off at 2 bar.

Please tell me what you think and what you'd look at with SDD/eyes and hands and I'll take a look! Unfortunately I don't know if what I'm seeing is good or bad and ultimately what it implies.

Cheers,

Tom

 

Further to the above, as I left it after the above it was error free. Drive it to work and going over a bad bump it went in to suspension error. May be coincidence but I feel it's done this before.

I will get it out of error as above then log as I drive to see if a sensor is intermittent.

Interested to hear what a usual pressure should be regarding the images in my last post if anyone knows!

Cheers

 

Pretty much 100% as I suspected!
Post what those errors mean?
Yes you will need to rebuild the compressor whether you think so or not. Your just beginning your journey into the air suspension world - Welcome!

I have spent dozens of hours on this and with many more involving SDD. I suggest you start reading the hundreds of threads already posted on your errors to get a feel for what your facing.
It's a never ending downward spiral and you will either get rid of the car or do what most of us who decided to keep the car did. Swap to the spring suspension and leave all your troubles behind!
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Thanks, I think.

I can't remember what they mean off the top of my head - I usually Google them up as needed

Now I have given myself a crash course in SDD I feel quite confident feeling this one out.

Agreed about the rebuild, will get a kit on order.

Shame to lose the air system, it rides so well when it works. I'll stick at it a bit longer.

 

I would read that as the rear left is too low, not the front right is too high. Low rear left could jack the right front up, though.

And 2 bar is extremely low pressure.

c2780 means the ASM needs to be configured/calibrated, as I understand it. Can't do that while you get c2302, though.
c2302 is level plausibility error, meaning the ASM isn't seeing the response it should see after running the compressor, i.e. reservoir pressure is not going up enough. You said the compressor runs for a couple of minutes and then you get an air suspension fault on the dash. Classic compressor issue. It's not pressurizing the reservoir and the ASM gives up, throws the error and the light, and won't retry until the car is shut off and restarted.

 

Thanks for that! Appreciate your information on the pressure, too.

I'll get the kit on order and see how we get on

 

Bagpipingandy kit inbound.

Will rebuild in the next couple of weeks and report back.

Thanks to everyone so far 👍

 

While in that compressor, dig all the way in to the dryer and replace or recondition the desiccant beads as necessary. As I've mentioned a number of times, I simply gave up on my air system because the dryer chamber in my compressor was actually a water tank. It wasn't just wet, there was standing water! Knowing that there was water there meant that water was everywhere throughout my system. There is no way to remove water from beyond the compressor. It will collect in the reservoir and in the strut bladders, and get redistributed with every air movement through the system, rusting every valve it comes to rest on.

Once the dryer stuff is out, you can inspect the vent solenoid valve and make sure it's free of rust. If all you do is the cylinder kit, then you're not really checking most of what needs to be checked in the compressor...

 

Appreciate it and noted, thanks!

 

That is a very good point! You can replace the desiccate beads but I bake them in the oven for a few hours to dry them out. You most likely will find them saturated and holding water. At least the few I have taken apart were.

Here is a picture of the piston ring we have been talking about replacing.



Good luck and keep posting! We may be able to help.
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Thanks for the pics and tip on dessicant!

Yes I'll keep posting for sure - if my case can help someone else then all the better.