Range Rover EAS has typically been an expensive system to maintain. Certainly we can offer a kit to replace the entire system using normal coil springs. Many really like and use the system, however, or bought a Range Rover simply in order to have its advantages. We offer this page for those folks, and less familiar mechanics, as well as to point out that as time has passed, many of the typical faults these systems encounter can either be overcome, or worked around. Many improved parts are now available, and information, such as found here, is available, and so the costs of operating the system have come down.
The details below refer primarily to [P38a] New Range Rover (96-02) and not Range Rover Classic (93-95), though the systems are similar. Discovery II EAS ("SLABS": Self Leveling Anit Lock Brake System - integrated EAS and ABS) is entirely different. Few Classics remain with their EAS intact, and Disco EAS is fairly simple and trouble-free, but please feel free to email us with specific questions for any Rover system not covered herein.
* Air Pumps:
Rebuilt in-house by hand, for P38a, $359 exchange with $200 variable core charge (refund assumes your core has not been run over by a truck, burnt up in a fire, dismantled, or otherwise made un-rebuildable. Partial refunds available on our discretion.). For Classic pumps we rebuild your core with 3 day turnaround, same price, no core charge. One year warranty. Our rebuilds all include the rear bushing and brush box upgrades.
* Air pump piston seals:
$27.65 each. Requires special tools to replace.
* Air pump thermal breakers:
$18.95 each. Not the original part! Can be fitted to the outside of the pump in about 10 minutes, or inside like the original one in about an hour. Works just as well either way. Requires solder.
* Air pump piston bearing:
$24.95 each. Requires special tools to replace.
* EAS inlet air filter.
$1.95 each.
* EAS pump mounts.
$20.65 each. OEM
* Air springs (air bags) with clamps to prevent 'seating' (more accurately ... un-seating) issues. No more unseated bags.
* Air springs for higher ride height settings (requires Testbook or Autologic to calibrate).
* Seals for air pipe. 4mm, 6mm, 8mm
* Seals for valve block (send samples), all are available.
* Air pipe by the foot. 6mm, 8mm
* Coil spring conversion kit ... if you're really fed up. Call 520-294-3572 for prices and options, or email Falconworks Parts.
Typically, EAS faults fall into 5 areas:
1) Leaks. Air leaks overwork the pump and eventually seat fault codes, or damage the pump, or both. If the truck starts going down overnight, check for leaks using a spray bottle with soapy water in it. If no external leaks, and the problem is one or two corners of the truck, internal valve block leaks are possible: check the suspect solenoid plunger for a cracked seal. These are easily replaced. Always check all line connections, all bags, and the outside of the valve block when a leak is known to exist. Find and fix the leak.
2) Unseated bags. Tyre store's chassis lifts. Either the truck has been put on a chassis lift and pulled the springs off their seats, and/or the springs are too old and crusty and keep removing themselves when not under pressure (fully down). Clamped-end bags fix all unseating problems.
3) Pump faults.
a) on deadhead pressure test, the pump should make 175psi in a few seconds (system cutout pressure is 148psi). Test this directly on the blue outlet hose. If not, it likely needs a new piston seal. DO NOT replace the pressure switch because Autologic told you to do so! Test it. They never go bad.
b) if the pump should ever 'short-cycle' - run for a few seconds and then stop - the fault is in the motor. The EAS ECU will not run the pump long if the load on it is too high. There is no Autologic or Testbook code for this fault. Remove the EAS relay and short across pins 30/51 and 87 in the main fuse box to prove the point and make the pump run so long as you like. If now OK, the brush-end bushing in the motor has come loose and needs expert attention. You can remove the brusholder by drilling the four stakings at .089" and chamfering. Tap the holes to #4x40. Repair the bushing mount and fully stake. Clean and oil the bushing and felt wick. Check the brush holder for cracked solder joints and repair as required. Refit the brush box with new 4x40 screws.
c) all codes are cleared and the computer won't run the pump, but the relay bypass in (b) above does run it. Check the relay, we've seen one of those fail. We've also seen the fuse box fail: see our main page under Rover Problem Solvers, P38a fuse box. But generally the fault will be the thermal breaker in the pump. This grounds the orange wire when the pump is NOT overheated. If grounding the orange wire (NOT to the pump body, but to a known good earth) makes the pump run, just replace the breaker. These usually fail when someone applies power to it while trying to hotwire the pump run.
4) Lack of maintenance. Periodic maintenance is required each 30k miles at minimum, and more often in unusually dusty or wet conditions, and includes:
5) Electrical.
Falconworks in Tucson is a Range Rover repair facility with an engineering, fabrication, and machine shop, and also a dealer for various Land Rover suspension and driveline components. We do not sell online at this time. Call 520-294-3572 for orders or questions, or email us. We accept VISA and MasterCard.
a) Simply clear codes after you have done repairs or modifications.
b) Run diagnostics far more valid that you will likely get at the Dealer, who uses the same tool!
c) Repair any aspect of the Land Rover including EAS (except paint, body, upholstery)
d) Calibrate ride heights to suit your needs.
Electronic Air Suspension faults fall into five basic categories.
Category 1 faults:
Disabled normally. The system is normally disabled under certain circumstances such as open doors or brakes applied. Check owner's handbook for details. However, if a fault is the cause it is usually that a door switch is indicating an open door (look for dome lights on, and Message Center warning) when its actually closed. Fix the switch or replace the latch. No amount of door adjustment will address this problem.
Category 2 faults:
These categorically lie on the switched side of the EAS pump relay and are open circuit. Here the EAS ECU believes the pump is running since, by all inputs, it should be. It believes pressure will eventually build and does not fault. Typically:
- Bad pump relay
- No power to pump relay (fuse or fuse box open circuit)
- Burnt-up connector(s) at pump
- Open circuit pump (no continuity between black and green wires)
Category 3 faults:
These are intermittent faults which have not been persistent enough to convince the EAS ECU to set a "hard code" and disable the system for its own sake. These are known as "soft codes." Occasionally they will go away on the next ignition cycle. Once the system is repaired these will also go away by themselves. If you have soft codes and fix the truck quickly enough, then proprietary computer interface will not be necessary. Although insidious intermittancies could be culprit, typically these are caused by:
- Small air leaks which cause the pump to run too long and repeatedly thermally cycle off.
- Weak pump which thermally cycles because it takes it too long to replenish air in normal operation.
- Erratic height sensor or poor connections to one
Category 4 faults:
These involve hard codes and cannot be cleared, even after repairs, without Testbook or Autologic: proprietary interfaces. You may as well have the system scanned on the computer and see what is in memory. Often we see what are generally bogus codes (stuck solenoids, bad height sensors and pressure switches, to name a few), but they still need to be cleared from memory before the system can work again. There are no tricks for turning off the 35MPH MAX warning with the fault in memory in the ECU and the ECU connected. Typically here you are looking for massive air leaks or other obvious problems:
- Unseated air bags (springs)
- Ruptured or massively cracked bags
- Air pipes broken or utterly un-sealed at junctions
- Height sensor control lever utterly torn from its joints or badly bent
- Cut or disconnected wiring or damaged (from abuse) pin connectors
Category 5 faults:
Here the ECU will not talk to the diagnostic computer. Once we saw leaky heater core "O" ring seals leak enough coolant onto the OBDII diagnostic port that it corroded the connectors and we couldn't interface, but generally this is more simple. There is some beat-the-system trick being touted on the net where you short pins on the EAS ECU connector to air the system up even when Rover has hard codes, and it works if the system is air-tight, but we have seen any number of burnt delay relays as as a consequence, and the occasional ECU. If you are a user of Autologic or Testbook and cannot interface, we advise checking power and earth at the EAS ECU, and power at the Delay Relay, and if OK, substitute a Delay Relay. The no-comms fault is typically:
- Burnt out fuse (24, 33, 44)
- Fuse box internal faults
- Delay relay (common)
- EAS ECU (we've only seen this one from 'natural' causes when it was genuinely submerged)
- ECU connector block missing the side packing strips that keep the terminals fully in
We do not recommend shorting pins (electrical connections) together. While you can fake out the system, you can also often burn out expensive bits. If the system has big enough leaks you're going home on the bump stops (fully down) any which way. The safest thing to do is find a garage with a compressed air blower nozzle and floor jack (the most basic shop-stuff on the planet):
Disconnect the multipin connector to the valve block, at the front RH corner inside the plastic EAS pump box (LHR corner of the engine bay). You can leave the other one, with only 3 wires which goes to the cylindrical pump, connected. While there, also note the numbered ports with hoses, on the outside of the box and facing the engine, and locate #1, #2, #3, and #4. To remove air hoses at connections simply push and hold the small brass collar all the way AWAY from the hose, and simultaneously pull the hose out. To refit the hose just push it in until it stops.
Here it is. This is THE NOT RECOMMENDED procedure. It can air up a system which has hard codes ONLY if it also holds air AND has a working pump AND has a fully functional valve block (solenoid valves and amplifier). It does not and can not reset the ECU. Any mistakes will fry expensive things quickly. Never put bared wire or implements into the connectors as they (the connectors) deform very easily: use ONLY properly formed male connectors of the correct width!!!! If a tech later needs to try to locate a bad or intermittent connection from a bent pin connector it could take days of labor, and you'll be converting to coil springs BEFORE he/she is done! Do Not short any pins ever when the ECU is connected!
© Falconworks1990-2007