have a 89 mk7 just replaced both rear air bags& sensors. Did the fill procedure twice still can"t get air to the bags. Also tried manual fill thru the dryer& compressor still no joy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This thing is driving me nuts!!!!
Fill proceedure? I dunno what that is, but I'll assume it's not the Diagnostics testing..
The system is pretty simple.. The height sensor senses a low condition, the pump goes on, the main solenoid opens, and the appropriate air bag solenoid(s) open, allowing air to pass, and the bags pump up.
If the pump is running (and actually pumping air) but the bags don't fill, the solenoids probably aren't opening.
If the pump is not going on, the height sensors could be disconnected, or they just don't think the car is low...
Of course there could be a serious leak or something, but lets assume that you have that covered..
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To narrow things down, try running the air spring Diagnostics Tests:
Turn ON the air suspension switch. The switch has a short pigtail wire sticking out. Un-ground that wire. (disconnect it and let it hang free)
Install a battery charger (recommended.. these test take time and draw juice and drain the battery).
Turn the ignition on (to RUN) for
about 10 seconds, and turn it off.
Driver door is open and all other doors are shut.
Get out and go to the trunk and
ground the pigtail.
Get in the driverseat (leave the door
open) and turn the key to RUN. (
Don't start the car. Don't step on the brake.. don't do anything except turn the key..)
At this point, if you did it right, the Warning lamp will blink about twice per second. That means it's in the diagnostics mode.
Close the door to initiate TEST #1. The warning lamp will blink once... then pause... then blink once.. It means you're entering
test #1. (Test #1 makes the rear go up.)
If you open the door and close it, the system will go to the next test, TEST #2. (front RH suspension) The warning lamp will then be blinking twice.. and pause.. and twice.. meaning it's doing test #2 .. etc..
Open and close the door once to progress to the next test.. there are 10 tests in all... nine actually.. but you'll probably find the trouble before then..
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#1 Rear suspension pumps up and rear end rises. (here, the pump runs, and the vent solenoid is open, and the rear solenoids are open)
#2 Right Hand (RH) front (it raises that corner..)
#3 LH front (Raises that Left front corner)
#4 Compressor is cycled on and off.
#5 Vent solenoid is opened/closed, once per second. (This solenoid is the main solenoid, and is inside the compressor assembly. You should hear it clicking open and closed from the driver seat. Have someone stand near it to hear or feel it clicking)
Since ONLY the vent solenoid is open, and the wheel solenoids are still CLOSED, the car
shouldn't drop..
#6 LH Front solenoid opens and Closes (once per second) and the main Vent solenoid opens. The LH front drops.
#7 RH Front solenoid opens and Vent solenoid opens. The RH front drops.
#8 RH Rear solenoid opens once per sec, and Vent opens.. that corner drops.
#9 LH Rear solenoid opens and Vent opens.. That corner drops.
"Test #10" turns it off.. Hit the brake, OR turning the ignition switch to off OR disconnecting the pigtail (unground it) should turn Diagnostics off and everything goes back to normal running conditions..
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So far, so good.