Air Suspension Deflate

[Plankton]

I have a 2017 Rebel with the air bags. I've noticed that after letting my truck sit for a day or so the front end drops all the way down. Just the front. There's no codes or anything and fills back up after starting it up and everything is as it should be as far as I can tell. It's happened twice, once when I was gone for a week last August, and then just this week when I was gone for two days. I was thinking of putting it in Jack Mode to turn the compressor off next time I leave for any length of time.

Anyone have any info or have been in this scenario and know whats going on?

 

[Bandit517]

The air suspension on these are prone to leaks. Either the bag, the fitting at the strut, or the distribution block. Best bet would be to mix up some soapy water and spray the lines and fittings to find the leak. Once the leaks are fixed have the system vacuumed and refilled. These are nitrogen filled to combat moisture. Mine is currently out of nitrogen but still works during the warmer months but freezes in the winter.

 

[tron67j]

If the entire front end is level on each side after losing air, I would start the soapy water trick at the joint connection prior to where the hoses split off to each side. It is improbable, but not impossible, that there are two leaks (one in each separate hose line) losing air at the same volume.

 

[rule18]

I have a 2017 Rebel with the air bags. I've noticed that after letting my truck sit for a day or so the front end drops all the way down. Just the front. There's no codes or anything and fills back up after starting it up and everything is as it should be as far as I can tell. It's happened twice, once when I was gone for a week last August, and then just this week when I was gone for two days. I was thinking of putting it in Jack Mode to turn the compressor off next time I leave for any length of time.

Anyone have any info or have been in this scenario and know whats going on?

Yep, this exact thing happened to my 2017 a few months back. It usually took 48 hours of non-use for the bags to completely deflate. The dealer replaced all the smaller components and then ultimately replaced both front airbags and then recharged the nitrogen system. Luckily I have an extended warranty, my entire bill was $100 (deductable). Service advisor said it would have cost north of $2k.

 

[Bandit517]

I forgot to add in my post that you can also swap out the air ride for conventional coil springs if you didn't feel like hassling with the the troublesome air suspension. You can buy all the non-air ride components and turn off the air ride with AlfaOBD.

 

[Plankton]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll hit it with the soapy water first chance I get.

 

[tobyd]

@Plankton Any progress here? I have the same problem.

 

[Plankton]

No, I haven't had a chance to get to it since it's been so cold. It was -5F here this morning and I didn't start or drive it since Monday, so sure enough the front end had dropped.

 

[tobyd]

I just had mine fixed today, but I fear it's going to be temporary. The dealer said the fuse was blown because the compressor was running too long. So why was it running too long? No answer. They checked the N2 pressure in both tanks and it was fine, they reflashed the suspension computer, and called it good.

I suspect the compressor was running too long because there was air, and thus moisture, in the system. It happened on a weird misty ice-storm day, and there was an 1/8" of ice on everything. Unfortunately after having a few 50+ degree days in a row it didn't come back -- shame on me for not checking the fuse.

Moisture in the system means a leak, which is bad / expensive.

Having read a bunch here, including this excellent post (see the attachment in the first post), I'll try a few things on my own first if it ever happens again.

 

[Plankton]

I just had mine fixed today, but I fear it's going to be temporary. The dealer said the fuse was blown because the compressor was running too long. So why was it running too long? No answer. They checked the N2 pressure in both tanks and it was fine, they reflashed the suspension computer, and called it good.

I suspect the compressor was running too long because there was air, and thus moisture, in the system. It happened on a weird misty ice-storm day, and there was an 1/8" of ice on everything. Unfortunately after having a few 50+ degree days in a row it didn't come back -- shame on me for not checking the fuse.

Moisture in the system means a leak, which is bad / expensive.

Having read a bunch here, including this excellent post (see the attachment in the first post), I'll try a few things on my own first if it ever happens again.

Thanks for that. I'm subbed to that thread so I can find it when I get some time. I've been kicking around a few ideas of what to do and one of them is to just trade it in for a TRX. I'll ride it out for now and see if I can get to finding out exactly whats going first though. Just need it to be a little warmer. I could pull it into the shop at work but we've been pretty slammed with jobs that pay the bills and all the bays are filled up.

 

[Curt Gobbell]

If you are having issues with your factory air suspension, read this and see if it helps

How I solved my Air Suspension Problem

My truck (2014 with factory air suspension) would randomly lower both rear corners evenly to the bump stops Usually happened at night It would correct itself after I started the truck Frequency of occurrence was 1-2 times per week It would look like this :( So, over a several week period I...

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