2 problems

[40buickcoupe]

1. I have the 4 way pro and my display button 3 does not light up. The function seems to work but no light.

2. Just finished installing system and I still have small leaks somewhere. I have rechecked the connections there OK. I retighten fittings and checked hose ends and there cut straight. Any ideas? I set the air at 100 psi and the left front after 2 hours droped 1". I will check in the morning to see how the others are holding. Any ideas? Car has not been on the road yet just in the garage.

[britt@ridetech]

Preset #3 button illumination:
It's possible that the led's (there are 3 for each button) have failed. It would be the very first one I've ever seen where all 3 failed, but it is possible. If you want call in, get an RMA, and we'll replace it for you.
***Just for clarification, the #3 button will only light when Preset #3 is set or triggered. You set preset #3 by manually placing the vehicle where you want, then press and hold the Preset #3 button for more than 5 seconds. After 5 seconds it will start blinking to indicate the preset has been learned. You trigger preset #3 by holding the button between 0.5 and 3.0 seconds. It will illuminate and you let off the button. The vehicle will then travel to preset #3. If you press any button after preset triggering the preset button will go out as you are no longer at that preset destination.***

Leaks:
Since you stated only the Left Front deflated the leak is between the valves and the LF air spring.
The only good way to find leaks is to get a spray bottle with soapy water and spray everything. I start at the threads of the fittings. You must use teflon tape on all threads. If you do not add tape they will leak. (the material on the fittings is more of an anti-galling agent then a sealant. Always use high quality teflon tape.)
I then move on to the air lines at the fittings.
Last I check the valves and pressure sensors, and the bag itself.
If it lowers 1" in a couple of hours it should be easy to locate. You should hear a "hiss" with a leak that big. Try finding one that leaks 5psi over 10 hours!

If you have BigRed valves make sure the 0-rings between the valves are seated correctly.

[40buickcoupe]

The # 3 button does not light up at all. Maybe that function just does not work.

As for the leak I used teflon tape at every fitting I took the air line out of the fittings and put them back in. I may have a slow leak in some of the other corners as well.

I dont have the big reds I just have the 4 way on one valve block. The left front looses air the fastest. I got up today and it was all the way down on the LF.

Is it possible the valve block may need to be rebuilt or now O rings installed?

[40buickcoupe]

OK Britt what is going on here? I had the LF leaking down and today I went to look for the leak,

Here is what I did.
I recorded the air pressures LF 92psi RF95psi LR92psi RR 82psi

I recorded the readings today LF 1psi RF102 LR95 RR72 Im guessing some have changed a bit due to the car lisping to the left because the LF is all the way down. I turned power on to the system to raise the LF back to where it was so I could see if the numbers came back to the settings I had. This is what happened.

I have NO response out of the LF up button. I checked the others and I have all working on the down button and the only one working on the up button is the LR. That one I can go up and down and the rest there is no UP. I checked my presets and the only one working there is the LR also non of the others work. The car is full down and I can here the solanoids clicking for down so I know they work but nothing in the up direction except for the LR.

I checked all the grounds and they all look great there on the same post as the compressor. The compressor works fine. I checked the fuse and its OK. I unpluged the connectors to the coils and re-pluged them in still no go. In my earler message I said the #3 button does not work or light up is it possible there is something wrong with the display pannel?

Yesterday in the garrage everthing worked great except the #3 button. All pre-sets worked and all manual buttons worked. The car is in the build stage and has not been moved from the garage.

Im starting to get very frustrated can I expect these problems when Im on the road then cant get back from somewhere.

HELP please I have spent alot of money with you guys plus I still need to find and fix a leak

thanks Dennis

[britt@ridetech.com]

#1 problem: the car is in the build stages

I see a bunch of problems from cars like this. Not because the parts aren't' built correctly, but that they are built for a "complete" car.

For example, let's take your situation:
Valves worked yesterday, but not today. ECU must be bad, right? WRONG! What changed? Has the vehicle been started or driven? Since it's in the build stage I have to guess, no.

Erratic valve behavior is almost always caused by low voltage. The valves have to have a lot of power to pull open when under 150psi. This is over 10.5 Volts. If your battery is anywhere around 10-11V you'll see erratic valve activation. The control system will consume about 0.5V while switching; so if your battery is at 11V, when you hit the button the valves only see 10.5V, and they don't always work correctly.

How do you fix it? Well, in a complete car you don't see this problem as the electrical system is charged while you drive and enjoy the vehicle. A battery charger will help but I have seen cheap chargers do strange things (we have to run a lot of protection on the ECU as a cheap battery charger was found to destroy our prototype units when we were first designing this stuff!)

[40buickcoupe]

The battery was right at 12 volts. Car has not been driven. This car was complete and drivable before I put the air ride on. I was thinking it might be a low battery so I do have a charger on the system. The compressor works fine but perhaps it does not draw as much as the coils. Right now there is no air in the bags. I can here the coils click on the down buttons except the LR which works fine. I will let it charge up and try again. This is a very good battery I have in the car.

If that does not work what do you think the issue is?

[40buickcoupe]

Also I have a power cut off to the whole car while Im charging the system so the battery only sees the charge. Also I did disconnect the battery cables while charging. I sure hope this is the problem.

[britt@ridetech.com]

I'm not ruling out the idea that it could be a faulty ECU/display. However, with all the issues you've had I'd like to go through everything first just to make sure we aren't missing something.

The compressor will continue to run until the battery is VERY low (around 8V). It's not a good indication of battery voltage.
The coils for the valves have a spring inside that helps keep the valve closed. The electromagnet has to overcome the spring force and the air pressure from the bag/tank (if there is any pressure in the bag/tank). The coils draw less than 0.5A each.

Our computer can be left plugged in while charging. There is circuit protection, so I'm not worried about that.

When the valves do not work is the display doing anything unusual? Lights blinking, display blinking, etc. Is the compressor running?

If I were sitting in your garage at this moment I would start the car and let it run for a little while. Check to make sure the alternator is charging and everything in the car is working correctly. Then I'd inflate the air springs and take the car for a drive (if it's not snowing out). I'd be willing to bet the valves work while the car is running. So long as the leak isn't so bad that the bag will go empty in a few minutes you can always come back to the garage and find the leak.
Ultimately I'm trying to make sure everything in the vehicle is correct before I can properly advise on what to check next. (I don't' EVER trust a battery charger. I've seen too many chargers send "pulses". High is upwards of 19V while low is below 9V. Difficult to make things work correctly on that much change.)

[40buickcoupe]

I let the battery charge for a few hours and issue resolved. The battery was at 12 V before I charged it. Anyway Im glad it was that then something else. I also did the soap and the air line to fitting was leaking. I pulled it out and cut it and no more leak. I have the system sitting with 125 psi and I will monitor it and see how it does. I still think the #3 button is screwed up. I can go to that pre-set and it puts about 95psi in all corners but will not go to 125 where I set it.

Question on the ride height or #2 button. I set that one and it never comes back to the same setting? My fronts were up higher by 1" and the rears 1.5". Is that because the car is sitting and there is friction of coefficient between the tire and the ground?

Thanks for all the help cant wait to to take it for a drive but that wont be until April to much snow.

[britt@ridetech.com]

Good to hear about the low voltage. It's a normal issue, but nothing I can do to make it better. When the vehicle is driven normally there are no low voltage issues as the charging system is doing its job.

Preset#3:
Please correct me if I"m wrong but you have an E2 (air pressure only) and a 3 gallon tank, correct?
Our systems are designed to take the vehicle from lowered to ride height pressure or ride height to #3. If you try to go from low to #3 (all the way up. . .125psi) you will run out of air. The car will start to inflate, then stop moving, and you'll hear the valves "click". This is because the air springs and the tank are at the same pressure (normalized) so there is no air moving between the two. The system will stop reacting after 26 seconds. (the ECU knows it's not getting anywhere so it "times out").

Ride Height (preset #2):
Since you have an air pressure only system you have to look at the air pressure, not the vehicle height. Air pressure is not directly relational to suspension travel. It's close, but not exact (normally accurate within 0.5").
Example: Let's say you set the ride height to 100psi with a measurement of 25" between the ground and the fender lip. When you press the preset #2 button the ECU tries to get within +/-7psi of the destination (100psi). If we try to hit the preset destination pressure exactly it continues to shoot past the preset and will try to keep moving forever.

So, when you inflate the vehicle with the preset button the ECU will continue to inflate or deflate until the pressure is between 93-107psi. Your fender height may not be exactly where you set it. Here's why:

Now, let's think about the car. When you raise and lower the vehicle the double a-arm suspension pushes/pulls the front tires in and out. Depending on the friction between the tires and the floor surface this can create a "false load" on the air spring. I've had people put sand on the floor and try it again with better results.

This is why we have the LevelPro. It tells the ECU exactly where the suspension is at all times. This allows the ECU to compensate for changes in air pressure that are affected by external forces (suspension bind).

[40buickcoupe]

So is it a good idea after I inflate the system as Im ready to drive hit my pre-set #2 again so it comes closer to the pre-set values?

Also how much air will I loose over time as the car sits?

[britt@ridetech.com]

With an air pressure only system it's not a bad idea to hit the preset button again. It may or may not adjust the air pressure, based on where it landed on the first attempt (if it's within the +/-7psi window it will not move).

You can also press the Air Ride logo button once. This will turn on the "back to preset #2 at start feature (indicated by all inflate/deflate button backlights being on). Anytime the ignition is turned off then on it will automatically go back to Preset #2.

The air springs are like tires. So once the system is free of leaks it will only loose a pound or two a month.

[40buickcoupe]

Well I see my LF is still leaking I guess I got one of the leaks fixed. The car dropped 1.5" in 5 hours. I have not checked for the leak yet but it may be the same fitting to air line. Do you get many bad fittings? The leak was there before but I seen nothing wrong I did I just took it out cut off 1/4" and put it back in.

Also is it OK to leafe the car all the way down as long as its just sitting in the garage? I have it with NO air right now until I can get to the leak