I just drove home ten miles from Les Schwab with four new tires and all four corners seem to have collapsed, i.e. I can't get my fingers between the tops of the tires and my fenders with my car sitting in my garage. The car rode like a tank all the way home. How long before Airmatic will pump the car up?

 

It should go up automatically after it has been on a lift with the wheels hanging. If you press the raise button what happens?

 

If I press the raise button the red light below it blinks and the icon on the dash says raising but nothing happens. Everything worked perfectly before I took it in for new tires.
Is it possible the Airmatic Pump was allowed to run the entire time the vehicle was on the lift and it failed because of that?

 

No. it doesn't work that way. I believe your compressor is dead. It might have been for a while, but some trucks just hold air for several weeks. Once the truck was on the lift the system tried to maintain height by releasing air which when the truck was on the ground again couldn't pump back up.

Compressor can be diagnosed very quickly via star/ das

 

Could this be a compressor relay issue?

 

Is replacing the compressor a DIY job?
Is it only MB dealers that can diagnose with /das?

 

Plenty threads on airmatic suspension discussed recently. I would check the relay(watch an Arnott suspension replacement DIY on YouTube for placement.). Hit the raise button and listen for the pump to activate.

The compressor is located between the passenger headlight and wheel well. I just replaced mine with a Arnott unit. The air compressor reservoir is a bit larger and made out of metal instead of plastic.

10mm socket with extensions and a small flathead takes the wheel well liner off. 3 X 10mm nuts connect the air compressor to the car. Turn the wheel outward for more working space.

Other folks have just taken the bracket holding the air compressor and valve block off. 4 wheels down suggests a bad valve block. I had a bad air compressor and my suspension held air because the valve block is working to retain air in the air springs.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/x164...4577?_k=eaz4kd

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/x164...5113?_k=v157ph

 

when I hit the raise vehicle button the red light below it blinks red but the pump does not come on.

 

Do you get an "airmatic malfunction" display on your dash? There are multiple components that make up the air suspension. You may need access to to das/star to figure out which component needs replacement.

 

If your compressor is dead i have a oem one that inhave as a spare i replaced mine unnecessarily

 

Wait a minute, perhaps the tire shop inadvertently did something. I am quite certain you don't just "lower" a GL with the airmatic like a normal car. My local tire shop lowers mine very, very slowly.

 

I took the car to an independant shop for a diagnosis. They said the relay was good but the compressor was toast. They suggested that the tire shop left the car on the lift with the compressor running which caused it to fail. It made sense to me so I went back to the tire shop and explained that the suspension was working great when I brought the car in for new tires and when I got it back from them I had no suspension. When I told them the repair shop wanted over $1200 to R&R the compressor with a new one I said I would prefer to order an Arnott one with a lifetime warranty and do the R&R myself costing only about $500. They agreed to reimburse me when I came back with a receipt. I thought that was very good of them. I'll do the install on Monday at the latest and hope the airbags were not damaged during my short trips to and from the shops.

 

Doesn't the air compressor only run when the car is turned on? Why would the tire store leave car on when on the lift? $1200 is a little high. I just had compressor and relays replaced for $800 at my local shop.

 

The compressor won't run with the vehicle lifted. The suspension is extended, so it will vent air to try to lower the truck. When you put it back on the ground it will be too low and won't be able to pump back up.

It sounds like you had a failed compressor and just never subjected the truck to enough load change to cause it to have problems. Not really the tire shops fault here, but if you get them to pay for it, better for you.

 

Lol. It doesn't work that way. The compressor pumps only when the ride height is less than target for specific speed. On the lift with fully extended suspension the compressor will not pump but airmatic will instruct valve block to release air until target height is achieved (which on a lift is never so all air is released).

 

Yup the compressor only runs when the suspension is 20mm out if spec from any given corner. thats the givin parameters for the compressor to kick in on the system

 

I installed a new Arnott compressor, turned the key on, started the vehicle and nothing. The red light under the Airmatic button was solid red, and the suspension remained collapsed...not a happy camper. So, for no good reason I pushed the button on the dash with an icon showing a car on a bumpy road and the compressor started working and the car raised to normal level and it now stays there....a very happy camper and the tire store agreed to reimburse me the $500 for the failed pump. As a good will gesture I'm going to just ask them for a $500 voucher for my next set of tires instead of cash.

 

Glad you got it sorted. That's nice of you to not punish them too badly.

 

that is a nice gesture since seeing that you basically got $500 worth of tires for free