I bought 2014 Ram 1500 recently and spent $3300 to have the air suspension fixed. Fault was “Service suspension immediately” Compressor, valve body, and right rear airbag (air shock) were replaced. Truck was down for five days. Repair shop could not complete calibration for ride height and towed it to a dealership. When I took possession of the truck it did have suspension… however the compressor ran a lot, and the passenger side of the truck was 1” lower than the driver side.
That’s what led me to this forum. I learned that AlfaOBD paired with OBDLinkMX+ could give me dealership calibration.
First I sprayed all connections with soapy water and discovered that my new air bag was leaking from its fitting. Wrenched down the fitting, and the compressor stopped running constantly. However, the truck still leaned to the passenger side by 1” . I bought the aforementioned equipment and waited for shipping.
Meanwhile, I looked through all threads pertaining to AlfaOBD and Air Suspension. Nobody wants to deal with air suspension long term, and it’s typically deleted.
Here’s what I know today.
If you are going to use AlfaOBD, get to know it. I watched dozens of videos of guys running it on android ( looks nothing like running it on windows) Focus on what you are trying to do, not how it looks. Very first thing you do is create a restore file, or two, or three. Don’t modify anything until you have created the hexadecimal file and copy and pasted the “English” version.
Ok, now to the main coarse. Start by using UConnect (big screen in the middle of the console where there used to be a gear stick and an ashtray) push settings, then suspension, finally Alighnment Mode.
Plug in OBDLinkMX+ to the one port (under the steering wheel, left of the hood release) then fire up AlfaOBD on your preferred platform.
The truck must be in MAR POSITION, or Run, with no ignition.
Check for codes first. If codes lead to a sensor, etc- deal with that first. If no codes, choose the ASCM (in my case this showed as “suspension”) Next choose “Write Height Values” .
Now it’s time to measure.
For the front suspension- Measure the distance from the ground to the center of your wheel(hub/spindle) then measure the distance from the ground to the rear bolt of the A arm. Record this.
For rear suspension - Measure the distance from the ground to the center of your wheel(hub/spindle) then measure the distance from the ground to the front bolt of the control arm. Record this.
On all wheels subtract the distance form the from the A-arm (front) or control arm (rear) from the spindle/hub height of your wheels
Take measurements at all four wheels. Then, convert your inches into millimeters.
Back to AlfaOBD. Put in the numbers you have measured at each corresponding wheel. Make sure to clear codes now. What just happened will create codes (just a byproduct of two or three computers taking turns being Karen).
At this point unplug the OBDLinkMX+ and start the truck. Take the truck out of alignment mode (use the UConnect screen like last time) Bottom it out (entry/exit) then top it out (off-road 2)
Factory spec on the front suspension is 72mm, rear is 68mm (at least mine is, ds/dk 160 wheelbase) Don’t worry much about that… these trucks are aging. Measure what your truck is doing.
When I completed this process my truck sat level… but an inch higher than I wanted. So I removed 25mm (1”) from “Write height values”’ on all four wheels. Still level, just lower.
Big shout out to everyone who put together the AlfaOBD threads, invaluable info there!
That’s what led me to this forum. I learned that AlfaOBD paired with OBDLinkMX+ could give me dealership calibration.
First I sprayed all connections with soapy water and discovered that my new air bag was leaking from its fitting. Wrenched down the fitting, and the compressor stopped running constantly. However, the truck still leaned to the passenger side by 1” . I bought the aforementioned equipment and waited for shipping.
Meanwhile, I looked through all threads pertaining to AlfaOBD and Air Suspension. Nobody wants to deal with air suspension long term, and it’s typically deleted.
Here’s what I know today.
If you are going to use AlfaOBD, get to know it. I watched dozens of videos of guys running it on android ( looks nothing like running it on windows) Focus on what you are trying to do, not how it looks. Very first thing you do is create a restore file, or two, or three. Don’t modify anything until you have created the hexadecimal file and copy and pasted the “English” version.
Ok, now to the main coarse. Start by using UConnect (big screen in the middle of the console where there used to be a gear stick and an ashtray) push settings, then suspension, finally Alighnment Mode.
Plug in OBDLinkMX+ to the one port (under the steering wheel, left of the hood release) then fire up AlfaOBD on your preferred platform.
The truck must be in MAR POSITION, or Run, with no ignition.
Check for codes first. If codes lead to a sensor, etc- deal with that first. If no codes, choose the ASCM (in my case this showed as “suspension”) Next choose “Write Height Values” .
Now it’s time to measure.
For the front suspension- Measure the distance from the ground to the center of your wheel(hub/spindle) then measure the distance from the ground to the rear bolt of the A arm. Record this.
For rear suspension - Measure the distance from the ground to the center of your wheel(hub/spindle) then measure the distance from the ground to the front bolt of the control arm. Record this.
On all wheels subtract the distance form the from the A-arm (front) or control arm (rear) from the spindle/hub height of your wheels
Take measurements at all four wheels. Then, convert your inches into millimeters.
Back to AlfaOBD. Put in the numbers you have measured at each corresponding wheel. Make sure to clear codes now. What just happened will create codes (just a byproduct of two or three computers taking turns being Karen).
At this point unplug the OBDLinkMX+ and start the truck. Take the truck out of alignment mode (use the UConnect screen like last time) Bottom it out (entry/exit) then top it out (off-road 2)
Factory spec on the front suspension is 72mm, rear is 68mm (at least mine is, ds/dk 160 wheelbase) Don’t worry much about that… these trucks are aging. Measure what your truck is doing.
When I completed this process my truck sat level… but an inch higher than I wanted. So I removed 25mm (1”) from “Write height values”’ on all four wheels. Still level, just lower.
Big shout out to everyone who put together the AlfaOBD threads, invaluable info there!
I'm bookmarking this page and saving it in my "RAM 1500" folder, for when my own air suspension starts acting up. I'd be hoping to do all the work myself.
