Air suspension not working, sporadic errors.

[Gtech]

@Gtech - do you know if the relay is what powers the compressor, or does the compressor get its on/off signals from the ECM? Wondering if perhaps at some point the relay got stuck closed and maybe that is what started this whole mess (with the eventual destruction of the compressor).

SAS module controls the relay and the relay is powering the air suspension compressor:

About the relay you could be right, if you open the relay you can check the contacts, some shops only sell air compressors+relay for this particular reason

 

[Doanster1]

About the relay you could be right, if you open the relay you can check the contacts, some shops only sell air compressors+relay for this particular reason

Yup, hence why I have like three brand new extras now. LMK if you want one, @ayavner

 

[ayavner]

Hey @Doanster1 I wouldn't turn down a spare relay for testing! I'll PM you. Paypal ok for cost and shipping?

BTW this is the forum when it is at its absolute best! I started this with only the basic understanding I brought from my various Jags/Land Rovers and with all your help, I feel like I am coming up to speed. @Gtech - that wiring diagram was absolutely the missing link for me to understand the flow!

The software of course is a black box to me, but that's not an area of talent for me (despite 25+ years in IT...)

One thing I have noticed, is some of the models have 2 or 3 (or 4?) fuseboxes, whereas I just have the one long one - so my fuse and relay #'s are a bit different - in my case K112 and F154 - but the specs and the logic is the same! Wish they could keep things like fuse numbers the same from year to year...

 

[Gtech]

Yes the issue is Tesla made a lot of changes for Model S in only a few years so there are a few fuse box variants, you have one of the newer styles

 

[ayavner]

So I am at the service center now and had a good thorough chat with the tech, so I think we have an understanding this time. The car made the 60+ mile drive without issue with the manual airing up I did, but I did disable the automatic lowering at speed so as not to tempt fate. :-D

Now let's see if they can also finally get my USB port to work and re-enable my Slacker.... but those are secondary at this point!!

 

[ayavner]

update - confirmed as we thought that the pump is seized. The air struts and lines appear OK, they will check the valve block once the compressor is back in and running.

 

[Doanster1]

update - confirmed as we thought that the pump is seized. The air struts and lines appear OK, they will check the valve block once the compressor is back in and running.

Nice. $775 part and a couple hundred in labor. Valve block is cheap, but labor drives total cost up so if they’ll leave it be, you’ll save $400 or so.

 

[ayavner]

Yeah, fingers crossed. I made it pretty clear that I favor a methodical approach. At the moment my hypothesis is that if the valve block were leaking, it would not have held after I pumped it up. I'm happy to be proven wrong with data.

Must be my lucky day - I actually even got a loaner car today!! identical blue 2015 p85d, but hey!

 

[ayavner]

OK - done and dusted. They confirmed that the original compressor not only had seized but was the source of the leak in the first place (as suspected). They checked all 4 struts, the hoses, and connections to and from everything, the valve block, etc and declared it all sound. They also tested it pretty thoroughly to make sure it wasn't going to sag after a few hours etc. I'm (cautiously) satisfied, and they knocked it out of the park on this one. Hour ride home and no error lights!

 

[CherryLaneCat]

OK - done and dusted. They confirmed that the original compressor not only had seized but was the source of the leak in the first place (as suspected). They checked all 4 struts, the hoses, and connections to and from everything, the valve block, etc and declared it all sound. They also tested it pretty thoroughly to make sure it wasn't going to sag after a few hours etc. I'm (cautiously) satisfied, and they knocked it out of the park on this one. Hour ride home and no error lights!

Glad your sorted— only just seen this post. Having recently “ been rooked” by Tesla for a suspension fault ( out of warranty ). It was a faulty frh airbag but the compressor had got very noisy, and to be fair to them they recommended a new one. I had the parts returned ( long story) but the interesting part was that strip down on the compressor, the motor was wringing wet I don’t know how it had kept going. ( hadn’t been thro’ a flood). This had washed out the grease in the big end and was on the verge of collapse. Anyway put a new bearing in and it’s OK ( but not pressure tested) cost approx £4 now I have a spare. Also played with the suspension unit another story. Regards for Olde England

 

[kevinkyan]

2017 X 90D just came up with the same problem. This post has been extremely helpful!
Wanted to add that you can get a 40A fuse replacement from autozone for $5.
Sometimes the fuse will look slightly different with two "40"s written on it but it should work regardless.

 

[ayavner]

Wanted to add that you can get a 40A fuse replacement from autozone for $5.

Thanks! That's exactly what I did!

 

[Stu Gold]

Hey TMC brain trust,

So - this started a couple of weeks ago (before my MCU2 upgrade, maybe irrelevant but its a data point). When driving, an "air suspension adjustment unavailable" error would flash, followed by a red dummy light on the display. A note would go in the Notifications log, but it would always be historical - ie, time stamped in the past but saying "no active alerts". Anyway, intermittent and didn't really seem to affect anything so I had them look at it at the SC during my recent visit to upgrade the MCU.

The technician spent a good portion of the day troubleshooting, and was unable to find anything. My impression was if an alert is logged, there should be a corresponding source to the alert - a specific sensor or similar?

Anyway - nothing to see here, went ahead with the MCU2 upgrade.

After I got home with the newly-upgraded MCU, the car made this awful buzzing noise that in hindsight sounded exactly like a small compressor running its little heart out. So I am guessing it gave up the ghost after running that way for 6+ hours (no idea - I went to bed).

So where it sits now is I am unable to adjust the ride height - even though the picture of the car in the display moves up and down with the slider, nothing happens physically. At this time the car appears to be on its lowest setting, which means around here I can ground myself on a pebble...

I am not sure how it would have gone from irritating to inoperable in one day with the MCU upgrade being the only "change". I set up another SC call, but I am a bit irritated to have to take it all the way there for the exact thing I asked them to look at last time. Preaching to the choir I am sure.

As I write this, coincidentally, I just got invited to update to 2022.24.8 - I wonder if they are pushing that in the hopes it will help? Unlikely but we'll see!

Does anyone else have a similar experience with the adjustable suspension to share?

Been having that issue with my 2020 mod s. Rebooting clears the warning. MY ride height etc. work fine. Took it to the service center and they said the system is fine and that it was a false error message.

 

[Hank42]

.....

Other than that - does anyone know if there is a "service port" to allow an external compressor to help at least get the car up so it is moveable?....

.

Finding your post saved me - I filled up my reservoir tank with 140PSI and got my cars ass off the ground high enough to jack it. Thanks for the hint!