allroad, air spring compressor works with direct power, but wont turn on otherwise

[macantley]

the air ride lights on the dash flash on for a second when the car is started, but thats the only lights they ever get, i checked the fuse under the dash and its good, i pulled the power connector from the compressor and it will run if i provide direct power. However i cannot seem to be able to get the compressor to come on under any other circumstances and not sure where to begin to look.

matthew

[m_haiser]

the air suspension system has its own ecu, I don't however know the location of it off the top of my head. I would say that is likely your culprit

[6spdwagen]

the air suspension system has its own ecu, I don't however know the location of it off the top of my head. I would say that is likely your culprit

Pose the question on the allroad FB page. There are a bunch of super knowledgeable guys over there.


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[PaperToast]

go get a vagcom scan done and report back
there might be codes stored for the susp. module

[macantley]

go get a vagcom scan done and report back
there might be codes stored for the susp. module

with a snap on scan tool it came up with three wiring faults for the front right, rear right and rear left level sensor and it came up with a relay fault code as well, some of my issues i know whats wrong (the air tubes are cut on the front bags, a previous owner did it thing) but i figured if the relay was bad that the light wouldnt even flicker on on the level sensor, but i could be wrong i suppose. id love to fix the air suspension but i fear its not worth the cost of repairs.

[chris86vw]

Pose the question on the allroad FB page. There are a bunch of super knowledgeable guys over there.

FB have ruined the wonderful resource that is forums because people are obsessed with immediate back and forth banter. Many of them are run by petulant douches that block and ban people they disagree with so it doesn't allow for open exchange of ideas. This website and others like it are a long term searchable format that will allow people to find relevant answers for years to come without having to ask repeatedly.



For example: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...control-module

The answer is already available on this very forum.


It is behind the driverside (left) trunk trim mounted on the shock tower. You can sort of see it if you take the left cover off where the airtank is but you can't really get it it without pulling the full trim off.

The light on right when you start the car is why the pump is not running, if the light is on solid that means that there is a fault in the system and it isn't running. What are the wiring faults exactly? have you checked to see if the module is reading the sensors moving through their ranges?

[TheYellowS4]

That’s a valid point, Chris.

[macantley]

FB have ruined the wonderful resource that is forums because people are obsessed with immediate back and forth banter. Many of them are run by petulant douches that block and ban people they disagree with so it doesn't allow for open exchange of ideas. This website and others like it are a long term searchable format that will allow people to find relevant answers for years to come without having to ask repeatedly.



For example: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...control-module

The answer is already available on this very forum.


It is behind the driverside (left) trunk trim mounted on the shock tower. You can sort of see it if you take the left cover off where the airtank is but you can't really get it it without pulling the full trim off.

The light on right when you start the car is why the pump is not running, if the light is on solid that means that there is a fault in the system and it isn't running. What are the wiring faults exactly? have you checked to see if the module is reading the sensors moving through their ranges?

the dash button lights only flash on for a split second then all go off and nothing turns them back on. I was getting 3 wiring/level sensor faults that were stored in the module, i cleared them and havent been able to see if they come back on. at this point i'm trying to figure out why the compressor doesnt even attempt to come on unless i hard wire it on. *IF* i can buy a parts a6 with good coil springs, or a parts allroad with coilover conversion then i'll just ditch the system, but at this point i'm leaving my options open.

[chris86vw]

the dash button lights only flash on for a split second then all go off and nothing turns them back on. I was getting 3 wiring/level sensor faults that were stored in the module, i cleared them and havent been able to see if they come back on. at this point i'm trying to figure out why the compressor doesnt even attempt to come on unless i hard wire it on. *IF* i can buy a parts a6 with good coil springs, or a parts allroad with coilover conversion then i'll just ditch the system, but at this point i'm leaving my options open.

sorry misread/projected my own current problem :)

I was thinking you meant the cluster not the buttons when you said dash.

The buttons not working when pressed if moving can be speed related. For example if are at level 2 and doing 60mph it won't let you raise it to level 3.


the wiring faults are why the pump is not running on its own. Does the light come on in the dash for the level suspension when you turn the key on? IF not and the previous owner cut a bunch of stuff there is a chance that light was disabled by them as well.

If the car can't tell what level it is, because wires are cut or damaged or a sensor was bad (would look the same as a broken wire) then it won't let it attempt to run the pump. Also if the engine is not running and the battery voltage is low the pump will not run (to save the battery). So depending on how you are trying to test that could be a factor.

If you can read the codes again and get a hold of VCDS or simlar that will read the level sensors that would be the best next move.. From there worry about the wiring.

[macantley]

sorry misread/projected my own current problem :)

I was thinking you meant the cluster not the buttons when you said dash.

The buttons not working when pressed if moving can be speed related. For example if are at level 2 and doing 60mph it won't let you raise it to level 3.


the wiring faults are why the pump is not running on its own. Does the light come on in the dash for the level suspension when you turn the key on? IF not and the previous owner cut a bunch of stuff there is a chance that light was disabled by them as well.

If the car can't tell what level it is, because wires are cut or damaged or a sensor was bad (would look the same as a broken wire) then it won't let it attempt to run the pump. Also if the engine is not running and the battery voltage is low the pump will not run (to save the battery). So depending on how you are trying to test that could be a factor.

If you can read the codes again and get a hold of VCDS or simlar that will read the level sensors that would be the best next move.. From there worry about the wiring.

i can borrow the snap on scan tool at work but not sure if it will give me the read outs of the level sensors or not, No lights come on the dash except for the headlight leveling light (i think thats what it is) the previous owner did a bunch of strange stuff to this allroad, it had sat for 2 years because of a bad tensioner pulley, I replaced that, and had to put a slave cylinder on it (what a pain in the ass that was) they cut the front air lines and melted them closed, installed redneck looking front airlines and attached them to the strut towers with a shradder valve so the fronts can be pumped up with an air compressor, however they bleed down after 2-3 hours, so i havent driven the car more than a few hundred feet because the rear is sitting on the ground as well. I'm starting to think that fixing the air ride with this many issues is a lost cause......

[6spdwagen]

FB have ruined the wonderful resource that is forums because people are obsessed with immediate back and forth banter. Many of them are run by petulant douches that block and ban people they disagree with so it doesn't allow for open exchange of ideas. This website and others like it are a long term searchable format that will allow people to find relevant answers for years to come without having to ask repeatedly.



For example: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...control-module

The answer is already available on this very forum.


It is behind the driverside (left) trunk trim mounted on the shock tower. You can sort of see it if you take the left cover off where the airtank is but you can't really get it it without pulling the full trim off.

The light on right when you start the car is why the pump is not running, if the light is on solid that means that there is a fault in the system and it isn't running. What are the wiring faults exactly? have you checked to see if the module is reading the sensors moving through their ranges?

I don’t disagree with you at all Chris, but I can tell you, when your hands are dirty, & the clock is ticking when you need to wrap up a job & you need an answer RIGHT now, The douches on the FB Page will (usually) roger up an acceptably accurate response.

I prefer to come to the searchable forums as well, but limiting one’s scope for personally ethical reasons is counter intuitive.


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[chris86vw]

I'm not sure why you dug this up to bump it 3 months later.. but thanks for reinforcing my point when you did that