KelvinPop

hi there im just new in here, i recently bought my w220 2003 s430 about 3 weeks ago, everything is running fine but i just have one question about airmatic suspensions. i cant seem to find the answer in the forum.

Anyway, my w220 rises up when i turn the car off and lock the car. The car goes up by 1 or sometimes up to 3 inches after about 20 minutes. Car drops down to normal height once i unlock the car and remains normal in height if i lock it again aslong as i dont start the engine.

The airmatic buttons seem to be working fine, Now is this normal for w220 to rise up when you turn the engine off and lock the car?

vmystikilv

The airmatic control module needs to be set. Requires star machine.

corkshoppe

te car should drop a little when you get out and when you got in and turn the key it will go up, but get it reset, like previous post, wellcome to a great car and some and some headache.

KelvinPop

ok thank u guys, will go to the dealer today! hope its nothing serious!

vmystikilv

Let me know how much they charge, I just live with it, I ordered a new module when my was bad, and when I installed it everything worked perfectly but the issue you describe. That's how I found out that they have to be set at the dealer. Almost any module on this car has to some way or sort requires a vacation to the dealer. It kind of annoys me

neeraj152

Hi
My mercedes s 500 2003 has leakage in both rear suspension. Thinking of converting it to spring suspension from arnott industries. If someone had already coverted it. Than pls let me know if its good and most important how the ride quality is or should i convert it to arnotts air suspension. If i have to convert it to air suspension, then i would like to know how arnott's suspension are means are they durable. I read about arnott's limited lifetime warranty but they are no giving lifetime warranty

Nk

KelvinPop

Hi i ended up going to mb specialist but they couldnt figure out what the problem is. They said there is nothing to reset and they just turned off the key dependent settings. They didnt charge me anything. I hope that solves the issue but anyway any other options if it doesnt work?? I really hate seeing my mb high!

KelvinPop

Im thinkibg of doing this too if my strut fails in the future. Il comvert to springs but i hope they have a lowering one hehe

vmystikilv

I would never go back to him, the airmatic control module needs to be calibrated with a STAR system. It was probably bad and got replaced. If he doesn't know what you are talking about I would run far away from that mechanic.

KelvinPop

They plugged the star machine tho but since i have lowering links they didnt change the voltage but they raised and lowered the car so i am not sure if that would solve the issue..

KelvinPop

just an update my car is still rising up so i might just have to go to a dealer to get this done

KelvinPop

Okay so got the my airmatic reset but it still going up when engine is off! This is getting frustrating! Any one know what it could be?

vmystikilv

I could be wrong, but I'm still sure it's needs to be calibrated, not just reset. There's a screen that shows the height level of all 4 wheels and they must be set to the correct height level after the airmatic control module has been replaced. The only reason I'm sure of this is because my dealer told me this would happen when I replaced the module and that I would have to come back to them to get it calibrated or I would experience what you and I are going through now. I've seen the star screen were this option needs to be done. It's not just a reset.

vmystikilv

A bit of history , I bought the car with a slow leak. Figured I would have more than a half a year to fix it. Will I didn't. Two weeks later , flat on the ground. Fixed the leak with replacing the top grommet piece of the strut (didn't even know it could screw out) and replaced the Sam unit and airmatic control module. Car worked but was warned by Mercedes it wouldn't set right after parking for awhile and that it would either raise or lower it self fully until I brought it in to them to calibrate the module . Sure enough, that's what's been happening and someone else lives with it to on another board...

KelvinPop

He actually calibrated it since all the numbers were all over the place causing it to rise up. Now there are equal on each sides.

So only problem i could think of is air leaking from the reservoir to the struts when engine is off and the reason why its not rising again when i unluck the car is bacause the reservoir tank is empty that is why it stays down. And when i strt it again it happens because the pump has filled the reservoir with air again.

So valve block problem? Could this be a faulty module? Or just some electrical issue?

KelvinPop

The only reason why im thinkin its an electrical problem is because there was a water leak from my headlight washer pump i have fixed that now but before that water was leaking bad, and i believe the pump and valve block is located underneath it. So maybe its possible?

vmystikilv

I have a new pump , airmatic control module, and Sam unit. When I replaced those 3 it started. And, like you, if I unlock it, it lowers. I guess I need to check if it rises slowly or quickly. Ive never seen it rise so I wondering if this is something that happens slowly or at some point of being still just instantly rises

KelvinPop

Yeah its really annoying. Mine happens slowly i tried to watch it happen but it took about 2-3 hours and i didnt really notice it happening coz it was very slow

bigbaby

I have a 03 also and had problems with my susp. I had the arnott converstion done and it rides fine

vmystikilv

I'm not getting rid of my suspension. It doesn't leak and rides perfect. The only problem we both have is after the car has been off for 2-3 hours, It rises up. Eventually I'll get around to fixing it but I have done so much to the car in restoring it , and since it's not really a problem , just an annoyance , I'd figured I'd fix it later when it's due for its service and I'll bring it to mercedes and just have them calibrate it. My issue is now this guy is saying calibration didn't work. That is kinda worrying me because I thought this would be a simple trip to the dealer as they told me they would charge 1 hour of labor to do it. If I had ABC yeah I would convert without question just because I don't want my car to go up in flames of glory. Nothing to do with how expensive it is or such. But airmatic, with the price of the conversion , it's cheaper to fix the airmatic if you know what your doing

KelvinPop

Yeah I agree with you but yours could only be calibration who knows. My indi said to me that the only worse case scenario is replacing the valve block which can cost about 1k here in nz. But they have to have a look at it because it may jus be some wires or one of the hoses placed the wrong way. So il just see how it goes..

KelvinPop

Can you lower the argot conversion?

KelvinPop

Can you lower the arnot conversion?

vmystikilv

I hope it just calibration. Going to schedule the procedure next week. But I don't know , I set my alarm for 20 min intervals and figured that it is a slow rise, just as yours. Going to start diagnosing and looking into it. I need something to do anyways.

vmystikilv

If lowering is your goal you might as well keep the airmatic , much much simpler and there is a super cheap and easy way and a more expensive but still easy way.