Can use some help on confusing Airmatic issue diagnosis
#51
Senior Member
I doesn’t appear that the opposite front wheel is too high, but I will say both fronts seem higher than the rear.
I just went outside to mess with it again. I took out everything in the car, and tried to find the most level ground. Pulled the battery for 10 minutes and tried it again....
seems like both rear tires are about even, and the fronts are still higher. I tried different settings with the suspension and nothing
changes the height of the vehicle.
here are some photos. Looking at the *** end of the car, it appears to be horizontally even. Which is new, so that’s a positive sign. The front remains higher, and the few mm difference in height in the rear might be due to the fact it has two different brand tires with an even amount of tread (previous owner of the wheels did that, I’m OCD about matching tires). At least the “vehicle too low” warning has gone away, so I’m hopeful.
Left Rear
Right rear
Right front
Left front
I just went outside to mess with it again. I took out everything in the car, and tried to find the most level ground. Pulled the battery for 10 minutes and tried it again....
seems like both rear tires are about even, and the fronts are still higher. I tried different settings with the suspension and nothing
changes the height of the vehicle.
here are some photos. Looking at the *** end of the car, it appears to be horizontally even. Which is new, so that’s a positive sign. The front remains higher, and the few mm difference in height in the rear might be due to the fact it has two different brand tires with an even amount of tread (previous owner of the wheels did that, I’m OCD about matching tires). At least the “vehicle too low” warning has gone away, so I’m hopeful.
Left Rear
Right rear
Right front
Left front
#52
Super Member
Yes, before changing the bags The same thing would happen. The car the raise. Left rear just doesn’t get as high as it should, it’s flush with the top of the wheel (stock 18’s) and the right rear is at the top of the tire. When I start the car (with old bags or new bags) I would be able to see the rear raising but it would stop once the top of the wheel is exposed, and it will hold that position.
Last edited by MSG 55G; 01-12-2019 at 08:04 PM.
#53
Senior Member
I just posted photos of how the car sits with the new bags. Looking at the side of the car, the gap between the tire and the fender in the front (both sides) is still more than the gap in the rear. Though both fronts are sitting even and both rears are pretty much even.
The issue I was crying about last night seems to have fixed it’s self.
The issue I was crying about last night seems to have fixed it’s self.
#54
Senior Member
The red “car too low” warning has gone away. But I still have this warning, whenever I try to change the suspension setting
I have the headlights pulled, they’re bi-xenon adaptive. Any possibility of that effecting the suspension? I know it’s a long shot, but nothing surprises me now
#55
MBWorld Fanatic!
Spray some lube into the rubber boots of the tiny ball joints of the rear height sensor linkage, I think it's sticky. mine dried out and did that once. It's in the middle attached to the sway bar. Almost in the middle, offset a couple inches. I used a high quality motorcycle chain lube. Should be good for another ten years.
#57
Senior Member
yes, I’ve gone through every suspension setting and the suspension stays in the same position. The screen does give the “vehicle rising” message. I don’t hear the pump kick on when I try to raise it, nor do I see a change in the height.
#58
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'99 and '05 E55 AMG
What are the inclination angles on the front control arms and rear axles? Front should be +3.1 to +4.1*. Rear axles should be -0.9 to -1.5*. Ride height calibration of sensors seems to be required as your photos appear to show the front around +5* and the rear around -3*. STAR will both calibrate ride height plus allow you to read out pressures in all air springs. I've posted on this before. If you do not have STAR, you are riding into battle blindfolded.
#59
Senior Member
What are the inclination angles on the front control arms and rear axles? Front should be +3.1 to +4.1*. Rear axles should be -0.9 to -1.5*. Ride height calibration of sensors seems to be required as your photos appear to show the front around +5* and the rear around -3*. STAR will both calibrate ride height plus allow you to read out pressures in all air springs. I've posted on this before. If you do not have STAR, you are riding into battle blindfolded.
Would a possible symptom of requiring calibration be Ride height not changing when I cycle through the different settings?
#60
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'99 and '05 E55 AMG
-soft rebound, soft compression (Comfort mode)
-soft rebound, firm compression (Sport 1 mode)
-firm rebound, soft compression (Sport 2 mode)
-firm rebound, firm compression (Sport 2 mode and the system defaults to this when braking)
The above does not apply to the aftermarket Arnott shock assemblies on the front of the car as the Arnotts are manufactured without the computer-controlled valving of the OEM front shock assemblies.
Ride height will auto adjust when the car's systems "wake up" if they are out of the specified ride height. That ride height, however, is determined by the voltages of the sensors located on each front upper control arm and the rear anti-sway bar (3 sensors total). If the sensors are mis-calibrated, the ride height will be totally screwed up. After swapping my stock air springs for Arnotts, I had to reset the inclination angles front and rear and then recalibrate all three sensors to the revised angles. Like your car, the rear of my car was actually lower than the front of the car plus one of the fronts was lower than the other front side.
In front, positive means the inboard end is higher than the outboard end of the control arm; use the nubs on the control arm with your digital inclinometer. +3.1* is lowest ride height, +4.1* is highest ride height. Sensors' voltages should fall between the max/min values shown in STAR, ride height on each side should be approximately the same, and the pressures in the air springs should be approximately the same. Enter the measured inclination angles and save the values. Don't sweat a 1/4" or so difference; Airmatic has greater variations than that while driving (+/- 10mm).
In the rear, negative means the inboard end is lower than the outboard end; lay your digital inclinometer directly on the axle shaft. -1.5* is lowest ride height, -0.9* is highest ride height. Sensor voltage should fall between the max/min values shown in STAR, ride height on each side should be approximately the same, and the pressures in the air springs should be approximately the same. Again, enter the measured inclination angles and save the values.
Last edited by bbirdwell; 01-13-2019 at 07:57 PM.