My new to me XJ8 threw an ASF, quickly followed by a VTL. The front dropped, I limped home. There were no loud noises, the fuses associated all read good, I switched R1 and R4 (no lift). I replaced the piston ring on the compressor, compressor cycles on, there is pressure @ the tank ( I cracked the supply line).

The air shocks all appear to be intact, all hoses appear to be tight. At this point, all 4 corners are slammed. The car will not raise in park, I raised the rear wheels and put it in drive (fronts blocked). The rears lowered to the point there was contact with the floor. I lowered the left rear and it was at the correct height. I lowered the right and both sides were in the wheel wells.

I have a Foxwell 520 on the way, but wondered if this sounded familiar to anyone. I could not find a post with these conditions, so I thought I would lay out the particulars while I await the scan tool.

TIA, John

 

In my situation, 2004 XJ8 - only the back is low and the compressor doesn't start.
- I've switched R1 with R2...
- F12 get +12V....If I measure the voltage at the power connect on top of the compressor it read 12V for the first 2 min after engine start and zero after that

 

The compressor only runs for 120 seconds at a time.

Try moving the vehicle. It's seems to address the problem; at least for me. I think my problem began after U jacked the front wheel up to check the speed sensor.

 

This looks like an older thread but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway. Our 04 has the same condition as OP. No lift at all. I too checked the fuse and relay, they appear good. I removed the compressor and tested it. I -erroneously- determined it was faulty. Ordered and received a new compressor and installed it to no effect. I was "dismayed." I went to the hardware store and got the brass fittings to try blocking off one line at a time. This procedure is mentioned in the stickies thread Air suspension and ECATS system summary. All this said I will add that I just got the car last week with this condition and have never dealt with air suspension before. The previous owner said it has done this intermittently over the last couple of years and now will not correct itself. Ill keep us posted...

 

Not sure what became of OP here, but I think I may have found the problem for my car. Right front strut unit has a blown outwards hole in the boot with oil spray on frame rail adjacent to it. I heard an air leak last time i test ran it and have ordered replacement front strut units assuming this to be the problem.

 

Yep - a straight up major leak like that kind of jumps out at ya, doesn't it? Not sure you need to replace both if that is indeed the issue, since in my experience the air struts either work or not, they don't seem to lose functionality like a conventional shock or strut. Still if one went, and in the interest of not having to go through the work twice, its a good approach.

My current X350, an 07 VDP survived its first winter without incident. The previous car would get a bit leaky when temps went below freezing, though I could usually get it to fill and sit correctly by warming up the engine. to conduct heat to the right front strut. Temos in the teens really put it out of business, but as soon as it warmed up, it worked fine again. At one point I had a metallic cooler bag such as people use in the summer for picnics spread across the top of the strut, and the right side engine cover, hoping to insulate that area. Did it work? Lets say yes, it did help, but I don't think it's documented in the shop manual. Desperate times, calling for desperate... well, you know what I mean.

If at all possible, try and retain the OEM setup, as long as it is financially feasible. The end result of swapping out to Arnott and other branded coil-over setups yields mixed results. I remain a bit skeptical of the move. Jaguar used an acceptable solution, but probably not enough testing for long term durability, but in fairness Mercedes owners with air suspensions go through all the same failures, at least anecdotally. In any case you lose automatic ride leveling, and CATS even if it was not nearly as aggressive restricting body motion as one would hope.

You also give up the "Auto Lowering" for aero effect. At 100 MPH for more than ten seconds, there is a 15mm front drop first, then rear). It raises again (rear first, then front) if the speed drops below 88 mph for more than six seconds. a) I wish they had set it for lower speeds than 100, at least here in the US where there are no legal places to utilize it and/or b) I wish they had included a manual override, right on the shift console near the "sport" and "Traction Control" buttons. Someone on the forums was looking into finding a way to do it. Not to mention, you could lower the car when parked, or slow cruising down a smooth road. I never saw anyone make it happen, though there is a great thread by Cambo on lowering the car overall, by plugging in false measurements and fooling the calibration system: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ur-x350-75369/

Lastly (bet you never thought I would end this, lol) I LOVE that they used 88 MPH as the number to reset the car height after lowering at 100 MPH.

Doesn't have quite the impact of the original, does it?

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I saw the 88 mph but it didn't register.. I have never really considered slowing down to "serious ****" unless ice was involved .... I have the struts in hand and plan to install tomorrow....

 

I installed my new front strut units today and now the car does indeed lift. it was very rewarding seeing success like that. Drove the car and after about 2 miles (and immediately after crossing a set of railroad tracks) the fault indicator came back on. The car stayed up and level though so not an entire waste. Can anyone say if there is a procedure to remove the code?- assuming that there is not actually a problem of course.

 

Which code do you have?

 

I suppose that "code" was the wrong word to use. The readout said "suspension fault" and "dsc not available." However, there is also a bad wheel speed sensor and I think the dsc fault would be with that. I moved the car around in the driveway today and the "alert" did not show up.... maybe since the system had been completely de-pressurized the compressor did not raise the car enough for its satisfaction. I am cautiously optimistic.

 

Drove it to work today- about 14 miles total - suspension fault did not reappear. Still cautiously optimistic.....

 

Sounds like you are 'good to go'

 

I bought the car from d0lph1n (he listed it in the marketplace and hey- we were close!) I have been considering an X350 for awhile now, and this is the right one for me.
I am working through the issues- one thing I suspected is that the ELECTRIC motor is actually worn out on the pump. It has the rebuild kit, but it does not have the power to lift the car. (or blowby) I sourced used pump and it is pumping, but I am still getting a C2303 error- Does anyone know where to buy the connectors for the air lines? Jag wants $30 each! I would replace them all as a maintenance item if they were a reasonable price....

 

I saw another thread that suggested testing individual lines with 1/4 brass caps at the valve block. I was able to get those from Lowe's for myself, maybe you can use 1/4" compression fittings??

 

You can get the pipe fittings from Bapiping Andy who makes them.

A forum member who makes and sells a comp. refurb. kit

The original fittings are made by Voss.

https://www.vossusa.com/en/vossusa/fittings

 

Excellent- thank you!

After 3 used pumps, finally got one that does the job- car sitting level now and compressor only runs for a short bit when it does. New tires, drop links and she is running fine. Now to attack the light chatter noise from the front when going over little bumps, I noticed no brake pad goo on the fronts, so am thinking that is the issue.