Hi all,

I'll try to make this as brief as I can. I was getting the "Air Suspension Faulty - Workshop" error relatively frequently, often right after I'd hear a "pshhh" sound from the area of the compressor. The self-leveling and highway lowering would still work when this error was on, though. But I read on here and other forums about replacing the piston ring and gasket in the compressor, so I did that. Put everything back together and yes - put the truck back down on the ground (I blame the YouTube video I was watching for not making it clear that I shouldn't do that!). But when I turned it on while on the ground, after about 20 seconds the red "AIR SUSPENSION" warning came on. I never heard the compressor kick on, and the truck definitely wouldn't raise up. It was all the way down. I did move the truck just into the driveway and back into the garage so I could get my other car in for the night.

I put it back up on jack stands and took the compressor back out. While doing so a little bit of air came out of the hoses again, which I thought was odd because I never heard it turn on. I took it apart and put the old piston ring back in just in case the new one was somehow defective or too small to get any compression, and put it back in in the truck. I no longer get the red "AIR SUSPENSION" warning, but I still don't hear the compressor turn on. And if I touch it I don't feel it vibrating, so I just don't think it's working now. And if I try to raise the suspension from inside with the selector level, it always just says "Pressure Accumulator Charging." I've let it sit running for 10 minutes and it always just says that. And I still can't hear the compressor turning on. I've replaced the 40A fuse under the seat as well as the relay under the dash, and neither had any effect. I'm stumped and terrified. I just can't see what I could have done except potentially puncture the airbags, but it seems like I'd at least hear the compressor turn on. To be honest I'm not even sure how loud it is that I'd hear it... I don't know what my next step should be aside from towing it to a shop or the dealership and losing my a$$. (FYI it's a 2003 Turbo)

I'd love and be grateful for any insight or ideas.

Cheers!
Greg - Las Vegas

 

Hi
Sounds to me that you need to re calibrate the suspension so find someone with either Porsche or Audi/VW VSCD software.
You can then check every part of the air suspension to make sure its OK if all good recalibrate and save job done.
I had similar problem when my bodyshop jacked the truck up with the ignition on! it resulted in looking like a hotrod car
back end highest setting and front lowest.

 

Awesome - thanks so much! *thumbs up* I'll definitely get on that and pray that it fixes it. I'll let you know.

GT

 

 

Ugh no fix yet. A local German-car mechanic came to the house just now to hook his computer up, and he wasn't able to get it to communicate with the compressor at all. As if it wasn't even there. He suggested just replacing the compressor now. It's as if by simply removing the compressor, it died. It's likely the original, so maybe it was just so old and "worn" it just died from being jostled? So frustrating! So I'll order a new compressor.... now to decide how much I want to spend on one.

 

I belive there is a relay controlling the compressor. If its bad, compressor wont work. Check that first. Manual will tell you which relay it is.

 

Your german mechanic couldnt communicate because he didnt know what he was doing.
Why not diagnose the problem without throwing parts @ it? This methodology is going to leave you a very unhappy owner.
Ever thought about applying 12v to the compressor directly and working backwards?. If you dont have the capability to fix small stuff like this, this vehicle is going to kill you.

 

I'll post this as a separate post, too, because I think it might help a fair number of others that try to rebuild their compressors.

The air suspension ended up needing to basically be "primed" by using an external compressor to start filing the system with air, and then and the truck's computer recognized that the compressor was there and it kicked in and started working. The mechanic I took it to discovered that after a few hours of trial and error. I'm pretty sure my "mistake" was setting the truck all the way down (off the jack stands) before turning it on and seeing if the compressor would turn on. I think you're supposed to let it down just enough for it to be at "normal ride height" but still on jacks, so 100% of the weight isn't on the suspension. At least I think that's the lesson to be learned. I'd never have come up with pumping air into the system with another compressor. I'm not even sure how he did it, and he said he's never had to do it with the VW or Mercs. Go figure.

Be careful out there!

 

Since this is a closed nitrogen system, it would make sense to have it at a specific pressure for all components including compressor and shocks, to work right.
service manual states system pressure must be between 16bar to 17bar or just under 249psi.


Ooo yeah, scrolled up 25 pages, found out causes. Lol

what went broken on your system? Symptoms and fix? Thanks for sharing.

 

The 955 and 957 did not use a closed system - which is probably the reason they're troublesome, and the 958 system (which does use a sealed nitrogen system) isn't.

Just a FWIW.. I believe his is a '03..

 

LOL because I was tracking some other threads in the 970 section so when I clicked thread link in me email, it took me to this 955 section. My fault for not reading.
On the 970 forums there are multiple threads for air suspension help. I think mostly due to leaking from bellows, or connections. I see many people not checking their system pressure, so when the nitro leaks out, there is not enough pressure in the system to provide to fill shocks up. Many compressors get burned out per folks posting. I plan to get me a setup for nitro fill, just have to check see if Durametric will support playing with the valve block, so that each shock, and reservoir, can be opened and pressure filled to proper levels. If you know more details on refill process, do share.
Thanks.