Second air ride suspension compressor

[HummerJim]

$3800 for a new compressor? That's why they call them stealerships! I think dealers see a Hummer with the air suspension and use the shotgun approach. It's not that complicated, sensors tell the pump to inflate one of the air bags. Bad, muddy or corroded sensors or a broken or cracked air line seem to be the most common problem areas with the air suspension. If you fix it yourself I'd go to another dealer to reset your DIC warning. I found an old thread here where they said they reset the DIC by disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes, but Humtech would know best. That's one reason why so many people have gone to springs in the rear.

[wrangedog]

Thanks for the reply, i did try disconnecting the battery. It did appear to clear the DIC warning however the compressor never came on and after a minute or two the "check air suspension" warning reappeared. Odd thing was that with the battery disconnected i did not have to reprogram my radio, or reset the clock.

[wrangedog]

HummerJim gave me an idea and i checked the ground going from the compressor to the chassis. as i started to loosen it, the compressors tried to come on. i disconnected the power to the compressor and cleaned the chassis with a wire wheel. still nothing, but it did get my hopes high. i just disconnected the battery again to see if clearing the warning makes a difference now.

[wrangedog]

OK, reattached battery, as soon as i attached positive it sounded for a second like the compressor started. but only lasted a second. started the engine and no warning, but compressor still not working. after a minute or so the warning came back on.
i am wondering if there can be a short somewhere because when i started to remove the ground i saw sparks and the compressors sounded like they were going to run. does anyone know if there is a way to test this, or if maybe this could be a symptom of a ride height sensor? thanks to anyone that can help.

[Easy Ed]

Just a thought, yours is a 2003 as is mine, pulled mine out because I got tired of the problems I was having, when I pulled it all out I found a "air inlet filter" tucked up in the rear drivers side fender well that was rusted up and it turned out that it restricted air going into the compressor so it would shut down the compressor after a couple minutes of running, then next time I would start the truck and it would do the same all over again. May not be your problem but if the compressor cannot get air to push into the bags it will shut down.

12th post down in the link below.

http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=24471

Good luck and if HUMTECH does read this he will try to help you out also.

Ed

[wrangedog]

Thanks for the input Easy ED, with this new compressor i replaced the air inlet line and the filter after seeing your post on the subject, and since i had not replaced it with the last compressor. Funny thing is i took my old one apart and it looks brand new, i'm almost worried it wasn't working.

[wrangedog]

*UPDATE*
Took truck to a second dealer, they diagnosed the problem as faulty left ride height sensor $148.00 (the same one the other dealer replaced 4 years ago), and the harness for that sensor $120.45, $235.90 for labor plus $40.35 tax for a total of $544.70. Add that to air lines, compressor and control module for $1,651.42 for a total of $2,195.77. Odd it was the sensor on the same side that was initially sagging. On a side note I attached 12 volts to the compressor that the first dealer said was burnt out and it seems fine.