2004 Prado Grande Air Suspension Problem

[Dazz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dazz]

I have placed order with Airbagit from the US. they have a direct replacement- tell me order will be 5-7 days (Lets see) and the price including fast freight is half the price of the australian airbagman. (which I was very tempted- but conisder the costs and possible need to replace compressor or sensors).
Will post follow up as to how things turn out.

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

Dazz. I'd be very interested in a little feedback over the coming months. Mine will need to be replaced one day and Airbag man seem the only viable alternative to the OEM's.?? AFAIK you do not heed to change the compressor or the sensors if one goes with airbag man. It just sits differently on the mounts so you have to grind things to make it sit OK! Height control still works with the original compressor. Hey, if Airbagit can do the same job at half the price they can have my patronage too. If would be good to compare the two side by side to see the difference in quality and rubber etc!!

[kav Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close kav]

Keep us posted guys . Interested to see how this works out

[Dazz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dazz]

macaroon1, the airbagit "bags" are supposed to be a direct replacement with no modification as per airbag man. (1) x thumbs up.
Airbagit are about half the price (2) x thumbs up.
apparently Airbagit are the manufacturers of their products and have been doing so for 20+ years - hopefully this equates to quality - Thumbs position yet to be decided...
Airbagit works with OEM compressor etc. same as airbagman.
-So far all communication with their staff has been great, quick response to emails and follow ups every day. Can make payment via Paypal which is simple.
I will follow up with review once I get delivery and install.
Thanks.

[Dazz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dazz]

NEWS FLASH;
previously my air suspension compressor refused to run in car. I checked it with a manual 12v source and it would run. The Height control from within the vehicle would not change from "N". All fuses were checked, checked the switch, checked all connection, tried disconnecting battery in an attempt to reset the ToyPuter.. no avail...
This morning I tried to see if there were and fault codes by bridging terminals "4" and "13" in the "Diagnosis Connector". I got not flashes. turned off ignition and tried again- this time check engine lights flashed on/off with no pause for app. 20 seconds. turned off the ignition and disconnected the bridge wire.
Turned the ignition on Normally and to my amazement I heard the Air suspension compressor start for the first time in weeks.
turned it off again and restarted- again could hear the compressor running, I checked the height control switch and it finally changed from "N" to Hi and Lo..
I can only assume that somehow I have "reset/ or Tricked" the Toyputer into thinking everything is groovey once again.

I am one happy chappy as I was estimating the costs of compressor, sensor replacments, Toyota diagnosis service centre costs etc. (All on top of the aig bag replacements).
Fingers crossed.

Just another note- the Haynes manual says if you have a "1GR-FE" (Petrol) engine produced after august 2004 or models with "1KD-FTV" (Diesels),.. This bridging method can result in DAMAGE to your PCM (Toyputer)!!!
Lucky I have a V6 2003 grande...

[Clackers Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Clackers]

Watching with great interest Dazz!

[Dazz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dazz]

Here's where I'm at;
Received the airbags and installed them in under (1)hour- no big deal as they are just like OEM's except they come with a clever "quick coupling" connector for the air line- which eliminates the need for the special tool to disconnect the airlines (BTW I use a set of tweezers to disconnect the air lines from air bags).

Turned ignition on and pump ran- but did NOT infalte airbags./ pump ran for app. 30 seconds and then stopped.
-Tried this a number of times and pump does not run every time (not getting power feed from controller)?
-Tried filling airbags with remote air compressor via airline near air tank (under LHS rear)- managed to pump them up.
- Jumped in turned ignition ON and no compressor...?
Turned off- went for drive- Turned off and on again- now compressor runs again...???
Runs for some 20 seconds and stops- (Critically though it IS NOT inflating the airbags!!!)
.
So I have a Faut in the system- which is not completing the "loop" to open the solenoids and inflate/ adjust the airbags.

I'm now left scratching my head as to what's wrong with the system- been looking for a scan tool -seems imposible to find something which works with the 120 series 2003 Prado (Anyone got one?)..
have carried out a manual flash code and i'm only getting a "99" which is a key code imobiliser fault which I think happened as the battery ran almost flat from sitting for so long.

BTW the height control switch works intimittently as the compressor.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Clackers Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Clackers]

Hey Dazz, sorry to hear your having so much trouble. If the compressor is running and the bags aren't inflating can you hear the exhaust valve opening at the same time? Can you try and swap out the Suspension ECU? Seems like an ECU issue to me or a suspect AIRSUS Relay.

On the Scan tool side of things..I think ########## uses something like this

http://www.happy-shopping.com.au/pro...o-2012.12.html

[Guest Close Guest]

Sure there isn't a leak somewhere?

[Dazz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dazz]

Clackers and amts,
no other leaks- checked heights since manual inflate of the airbags yesterday and did a drive also. still measuring the same height- so airgabs back to solenoids are good and holding pressure.
-Clackers , I will check and listen for the exhaust valve opening while the compressor is running. (When it runs/ if it runs again), ....this arvo I started the car- no compressor and height control stuck on H will not change.
Attempting a reset of the ECU via a "negative battery disconnect". will leave it over night to remove any residual.

Thanks guys- will look into the scan tool also-

[Guest Close Guest]

Are the connections under the transmission tunnel still in place? i.e. the areas around the height control switch?

[Dazz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dazz]

I pulled out the height switch from the centre console and checked connections just under the switch- all seems good. removed and reconnected.
The height control works intermittently and is in direct correlation to the compressor working.
When the compressor is working/ running I can change height control.
But when the compressor doesn't run- I can't change height control.

The entire system appears to go into a "shutdown" of some sort.

BTW; the attempt at resetting the system has had no effect- left negative terminal disconnected overnight. No change to air suspension.

[Snobbig Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Snobbig]

Hi Dazz, have you managed to sort out the issue with your air suspension? and if so, how? I am having a similar issue with my 2005 Grande 4000 V6

Also refering to the below note posted in an earlier thread, does anyone know how to bridge the fuses on a "1GR-FE" petrol engine to get the fault codes and clear them.

"Just another note- the Haynes manual says if you have a "1GR-FE" (Petrol) engine produced after august 2004 or models with "1KD-FTV" (Diesels),.. This bridging method can result in DAMAGE to your PCM (Toyputer)!!!

Another PP'r mentioned clearing the codes from the ECU by removing the fuse labeled "ECD" from the fuse box in the engine bay. Anybody know which one this is?

Looking forward to a response.

Thanks
William

[Guest Close Guest]

See here http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ension-problem

[Snobbig Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Snobbig]

amts

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Hope this helps with solving my issue as it sounds the same.

William