Electronic Level Control - F11 - Driving me crazy!

[Old Trout]

I have had a persistent problem with my EHC on the 2011 since the nearside air unit was replaced. It has been driving me crazy. Any ideas? It seems there is not way out of this one other than dropping a lot of money on the trial and error replacement of parts.

These are my observations: -

BMW EHC Failure Warning Light comes on - no apparent issues, car at right height, no obvious leaking or hiss.

Restart car, no light, no warnings.

A week later, rear nearside suspension collapses, loud hissing, NO WARNING LIGHT.

Car taken to BMW dealer where unit is replaced after about six week wait!

Following replacement - there is a persistent EHC warning light.

BMW Dealer checks car, charges £140 to reset light, no obvious problem.

EHC warning light continues to come on.

Either 2-5 minutes into journey (ride height not achieved), or randomly during a journey.

Two errors can come up - Comfort compromised OR EHC Failure - Cornering Compromised.

This can happen every journey for a week; or nothing for a week. Totally random.

Ride height is running too high, especially near side. The near side sensor seems to be working as it is providing a reading when the car is bounced up and down.

Sensors are fully lubricated and free both sides.

The errors are only being recorded NEARSIDE.

GREEN Relay showed signs of sooting and has been replaced with a brand new item.


+++++++

Any ideas or observations would be appreciated.

Also, have your sourced the pump/valve assembly from somewhere other than BMW? There seem to be some ebay options which are £1,000 cheaper than BMW!!

Thank you!

Edited by Old Trout on Monday 12th September 09:52

[JakeT]

Is the Other air suspension unit in the rear slowly leaking, causing issues?

[Old Trout]

Both air units look immaculate, no noise, no delimitation or any wear marks to indicate even a slow leak.

[philmots]

99.999999% sure it will be the solenoid valve attached to the pump.

Had the same issues with my E61 (as well as the seized links)

When you say the unit has been replaced, what unit? The pump?

The pump is completely numb, it's just on and off and as long as it's pumping it should be fine, the solenoid controls the air distribution side to side, up and down from messages it receives from the module that the sensor feed into.

http://www.air-suspension-shop.com/BMW-5-series-F1...

It's easy to fit DIY on the E61, can't comment on yours. The warning shouldn't need resetting when it's all up and running correctly.

[philmots]

I've noticed you're in York too, I'd stay away from main dealers.

There's Autohaus Diagnostic near Haxby who I've used and have been happy with, or my place of choice in Leeds is The BMW Workshop, Anthony there knows his stuff.

[SuffolkIan]

I had similar problems with mine, I'd suggest the solenoid valve is u/s, OE item can be bought online for less than £100. Also whatever you do replace the relay that controls the air compressor, found under the boot floor with the battery. These fail and then trash the compressor, you might also want to relocate it to a position higher up in the well it lives in, I found the battery well in mine with an inch of water in it.

The solenoid is found under the rear of the car just behind the bumper, ther is a removable panel in the undertray and the compressor/ solenoid is under there.

Should you need to replace the other air spring can I suggest you order a pair from Arnott, they are made using high quality Continental rubber and are far superior to the OE ones.

Having now replaced the springs and solenoid/ compressor I can confirm there is nothing hard about any of it, I am certain I could replace the lot now in under 2 hours.

Good Luck

Ian

Edited by SuffolkIan on Monday 12th September 20:44

[SuffolkIan]

Forgot to say, have you taken the car for a long journey? Mine did not settle down until it had a journey of around a 100 miles, the specialist I use said when I spoke to them that they can often take unto 500 miles before the levels sort themselves out, he also confirmed there is no ride height reset.

There are a couple of German sites that sell Wabco OE parts, not much cheaper than BMW but they actually have them available and were no problem to deal with. BMW quoted me £360 for the compressor, couldn't tell me when they could supply one though, same story with springs!

Ian

Edited by SuffolkIan on Monday 12th September 20:51

[Old Trout]

That is brilliant thank you for all the input.

I have given up using BMW Main Dealer and am using Autohaus in York who have been great.

I will let you know what happens.

[Old Trout]

Ian - the green relay has already been replaced. Also the car has been on some long journeys recently (350 each way to Scotland).

[offalis]

Hi, did anyone every get a solution to this issue, I have a F11 2012 520D RHD dropping on the RHS too, I have replaced both air springs, the solenoid relay unit and the issue is exactly the same. Can drop during driving but if I stop the engine and restart it will rise again for a while. Checked leaks by swapping the feeds around at the solenoid and the RHS stays up so no issue with pipes.

I see on the scan tool that a front ride height sensor right has failed or is not installed.

Anyone know if this might be the issue ? Or would it need a new EHC .

Cheers

Dave

[Tramlines]

Just wanted to say thanks to you guys, came out to find my f11 3.0d with the rear very low and a warning.
Did some digging on here and found out about the compressor etc, worked backwards and checked my relay which was wet through! Replaced relay from Halfords (needs must on a Sunday) part No HEF558 £8 which worked a treat and went straight back up. Much appreciated you saved me a lot of time and money! If you own a F11 do check the relay isn't sitting in water

Edited by Tramlines on Monday 7th January 16:02