Exploding Air Springs
Discussion
Returned from holiday last week to a flat battery on my Disco 2. Recharged it and started the engine. The rear suspension decided to fully extend on one side only. I drove the vehicle very slowly for 50 yards or so to see if this would help sort it out. Unfortunately, one of the air springs exploded, tearing itself to shreds and completely leaving its mounts!
The car has now very helpfully illuminated several warning lights for the ABS, SLS (self levelling suspension), HDC (Hill descent), and TCS (traction control). Shame there aren't lights for 'a severe list to starboard' and 'neighbours scared to hell'. Land Rover please note.
Reading the tech manual, it seems that all four of these systems are controlled by one ECU, the SLABS. I suspect this ecu is faulty. Has anyone had a similar experience and know what the problem was?
The car has now very helpfully illuminated several warning lights for the ABS, SLS (self levelling suspension), HDC (Hill descent), and TCS (traction control). Shame there aren't lights for 'a severe list to starboard' and 'neighbours scared to hell'. Land Rover please note.
Reading the tech manual, it seems that all four of these systems are controlled by one ECU, the SLABS. I suspect this ecu is faulty. Has anyone had a similar experience and know what the problem was?
Hi, exploding air springs are almost certainly the result of a stuck solenoid on the air suspension system.
This could have been caused by a voltage spike when you connected the charger to your flat battery.
I would suggest you take the car to a good indie who can check the solenoids before fitting a new one.
It could be a faulty ecu, but check any fault codes first, the clue could be stored there.
Hope this helps
Cheers Roy
This could have been caused by a voltage spike when you connected the charger to your flat battery.
I would suggest you take the car to a good indie who can check the solenoids before fitting a new one.
It could be a faulty ecu, but check any fault codes first, the clue could be stored there.
Hope this helps
Cheers Roy
Roy, Thanks for the advice. I thought about a stuck solenoid but couldn't think why this would cause the spring to be over-inflated in the first place. For this to happen I felt the ECU must have ignored the signal from the ride height sensor and kept the compressor running. Couple this to the ABS warning lights and I'm still thinking the SLABS ECU is the likely culprit. Will check the solenoid before fitting the new ECU and spring. Difficult to test the old ECU as it's now sitting in my workshop. Jumped the gun there! Best wishes, Neil.
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