How to access air suspension in AlfaOBD?

[Growy16]

Evening. I have a 2017 RAM Limited Gen 4 with air suspension. I'm in the UK so timelines will be a little misaligned but I wanted to ask for help with AlfaOBD. I purchased the OBD Link MX+ and have the app in both Android and IOS. My preferred is IOS. I have uploaded the designated RAM software and I can (could ) see the DTCs. I have cleared those but the 'Service Air Suspension' notice is still on the screen. Prior to this I replaced a split airbag, removed and tested the compressor and repaired damaged wiring on it, replaced it, purged the system and recharged the nitrogen system to 180psi. Following the recharge, after about 10 minutes I heard the compressor start and the bags inflated to what I assume was Entry/Exit as it lifted it about an inch off the bump stops (rear only). However, nothing else currently works. I purchased the OBD Link as I had read that I could use it to manage the air suspension, however, all I can find is diagnostics and, via that, as mentioned, DTCs. I can get information that with my Snap On reader! I messaged OBD support and all I got from them was that they support OBDLink, not AlfaOBD which just confused me more, especially when they said that I should email [email protected] for Alfa support! So, my question is; How do I access the parameters and controls for the air suspension through this medium in order that I can reset the system and get to use my truck again? Any and all help to get it off its knees and clear this screen would be very greatly appreciated. All the repairs are complete and I am simply frustrated that I cannot get the system working again. I realise that you may have covered this topic before but please bear with me....TIA

 

[Ken226]

Download AlfaOBD from the google play store on your phone.

Or the Windows version, if you have a bluetooth capable laptop that will connect to your OBD Link MX+.

Start AlfaOBD, connect to the OBD Link MX+, Then connect to the suspension module like so:



Under the "Active Diagnostics" tab, these are the options that I found:

 

[04fxdwgi]

^^^ #1
AlfaOBD is for Android or Windoze. No iOS support https://www.alfaobd.com/
Easy Peasy

 

[Growy16]

Thanks for the response @Ken226 AlfaOBD all downloaded and connected but I cannot get the car to lose the 'Service Air Suspension' fault showing on the dash. I have tried the in vehicle reset protocols I find on YouTube; holding up & down buttons together for 40 secs, that didn't work (in fact I ended up with DTCs for 'stuck buttons...'). Pressed the 'wheel alignment' tickbox via the on screen suspension settings, car adjusted but hasn't reset. Wiping the faults on Alfa does nothing, they just come back. Having checked the height sensors using the app I rewrote those to factory settings and that didn't work either. When I adjust the suspension manually via the onboard vehicle screen, it works, but the raise/lower buttons on the dash won't work and I cannot clear the SAS and connected ABS faults from the dash. I've spent a couple of hours today with it and I have run out of ideas to be honest. The car now seems to be driveable but it's just not right......

 

[Ken226]

Thanks for the response @Ken226 AlfaOBD all downloaded and connected but I cannot get the car to lose the 'Service Air Suspension' fault showing on the dash. I have tried the in vehicle reset protocols I find on YouTube; holding up & down buttons together for 40 secs, that didn't work (in fact I ended up with DTCs for 'stuck buttons...'). Pressed the 'wheel alignment' tickbox via the on screen suspension settings, car adjusted but hasn't reset. Wiping the faults on Alfa does nothing, they just come back. Having checked the height sensors using the app I rewrote those to factory settings and that didn't work either. When I adjust the suspension manually via the onboard vehicle screen, it works, but the raise/lower buttons on the dash won't work and I cannot clear the SAS and connected ABS faults from the dash. I've spent a couple of hours today with it and I have run out of ideas to be honest. The car now seems to be driveable but it's just not right......

What specific diagnostic trouble codes are set?

If the codes just come back after clearing them, then probably there is still something wrong with the system.

 

[Growy16]

Evening @Ken226 thanks for the response. The issue is that the codes really don’t point to anything. I have attached what I have below. I can now operate the system via the onscreen buttons, the physical dash buttons don’t work. In fact two of the DTCs say that the buttons are stuck! This is following me trying a reset by holding both buttons for 40 seconds. I watched a video where rewriting the sensor heights reset the system and cleared it. I rewrote mine to factory settings and it still won’t clear. It says it’s the ECU is in Plant Mode but when I try to take it out it comes back as ‘Failed’.

 

[Ken226]

Evening @Ken226 thanks for the response. The issue is that the codes really don’t point to anything. I have attached what I have below. I can now operate the system via the onscreen buttons, the physical dash buttons don’t work. In fact two of the DTCs say that the buttons are stuck! This is following me trying a reset by holding both buttons for 40 seconds. I watched a video where rewriting the sensor heights reset the system and cleared it. I rewrote mine to factory settings and it still won’t clear. It says it’s the ECU is in Plant Mode but when I try to take it out it comes back as ‘Failed’. View attachment 580033View attachment 580034View attachment 580035View attachment 580036View attachment 580037View attachment 580038View attachment 580039View attachment 580040View attachment 580041View attachment 580042View attachment 580043View attachment 580044View attachment 580045View attachment 580046View attachment 580047View attachment 580048View attachment 580049

I don't know much about the air suspension system, but a search for "stuck in plant mode", brings up a couple old threads:

Have you tried doing a "Height Check"?

Alfaobd stuck in plant mode help

So I was messing around with my air suspension and it got stuck in “in plant” mode. 2014 ram 1500. Can anyone help me out? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

www.ramforum.com

 

[Growy16]

I’ve tried every process. Checked the height sensors, said they were ok. If you check the pics you will see the report. Rewrote them to factory, still won’t clear. What I can’t figure is why it works from the screen but not from the actual buttons or automatically. The system is gassed and clearly working, but I cannot close out the fault.

 

[Ken226]

Checked the height sensors, said they were ok.

Since it says that the problem is intermittent, maybe there is something physically wrong with the ride height sensor(s), or connectors/wiring.

I have no idea how to test them, nor even what kind of sensor it uses.

 

[04fxdwgi]

With all those wonky codes coming in and you unable to reset, I would be looking real hard at the wiring harness for any damage, bad pins, corrosion, cleanliness and tightness.

Seems almost like the comms are lost / corrupted to the controller or the controller is out to lunch.

 

[Growy16]

I might tentatively agree @04fxdwgi but none of this has been an issue until now. I acknowledge that I ignored the N/S rear lean until I couldn't, which is my own fault, I should have sorted it before the SAS fault got thrown. Prior to that though, no issues and the truck has been out of commission since then so it's even less likely it's harness/wiring. I'm not saying for one second that you are wrong, just that I think it's unlikely as I would have anticipated experiencing some other problems prior to fail. I have spent all morning on it today, trying to figure it out. What I cannot grasp is why the vehicle will operate via manual directives from the screen (so the system IS working) when AlfaOBD insists that it can't instruct height changes as the system isn't enabled! Yet, if I turn the ignition OFF then run the height checks, the car lifts & drops accordingly (again suggesting that the system is actually ok) until it completes the test then realises that it's not getting any info from the ECU (!!) because the ignition is OFF. Ignition on, and Alfa again tells me the system is not enabled. so, I disable the air suspension system and check it's disabled by testing height sensors. That failed to test so, yes, disabled. Cycle the ignition back to RUN/MAR (which re-establishes the viability) check the height sensors, which now check ok so the system IS enabled despite Alfa telling me that it isn't. Another issue has been the inability to get the vehicle out of PLANT MODE. A response in the thread above suggested height sensor checks. I've done those numerous times and even rewritten the heights, but that's not cleared anything and, although there is a specific instruction within the app function to TAKE OUT OF PLANT MODE this always returns as FAILED FOR UNDEFINED REASON until, somewhere amongst all this button pressing Alfa was suddenly able to actually conduct the procedure, which it completed and instructing me to wipe code 2212. I wiped the code but the *****ng SAS warning was still there! You could argue that this supports your original proposition but then why does the system work via the screen and yet not via OBD? And why is Alfa telling me that things are not enabled when a quick check confirms that they are? If I can get the car to hold it's height at Aero Level then I am considering running it until I can find a RAM service location with experience of this suspension here in the UK that can offer a solution I will gladly pay for because it's doing my head in to be honest.

 

[RamDiver]

There, I fixed the massive block that I couldn't read this morning until I fixed it. I'm confident that other members struggle with mass blocks of words, too.


Growy16 posted...

I might tentatively agree @04fxdwgi but none of this has been an issue until now.

I acknowledge that I ignored the N/S rear lean until I couldn't, which is my own fault, I should have sorted it before the SAS fault got thrown. Prior to that though, no issues and the truck has been out of commission since then so it's even less likely it's harness/wiring.

I'm not saying for one second that you are wrong, just that I think it's unlikely as I would have anticipated experiencing some other problems prior to fail. I have spent all morning on it today, trying to figure it out.

What I cannot grasp is why the vehicle will operate via manual directives from the screen (so the system IS working) when AlfaOBD insists that it can't instruct height changes as the system isn't enabled!

Yet, if I turn the ignition OFF then run the height checks, the car lifts & drops accordingly (again suggesting that the system is actually ok) until it completes the test then realises that it's not getting any info from the ECU (!!) because the ignition is OFF.

Ignition on, and Alfa again tells me the system is not enabled. so, I disable the air suspension system and check it's disabled by testing height sensors. That failed to test so, yes, disabled. Cycle the ignition back to RUN/MAR (which re-establishes the viability) check the height sensors, which now check ok so the system IS enabled despite Alfa telling me that it isn't.

Another issue has been the inability to get the vehicle out of PLANT MODE. A response in the thread above suggested height sensor checks.

I've done those numerous times and even rewritten the heights, but that's not cleared anything and, although there is a specific instruction within the app function to TAKE OUT OF PLANT MODE this always returns as FAILED FOR UNDEFINED REASON until, somewhere amongst all this button pressing Alfa was suddenly able to actually conduct the procedure, which it completed and instructing me to wipe code 2212.

I wiped the code but the *****ng SAS warning was still there! You could argue that this supports your original proposition but then why does the system work via the screen and yet not via OBD? And why is Alfa telling me that things are not enabled when a quick check confirms that they are?

If I can get the car to hold it's height at Aero Level then I am considering running it until I can find a RAM service location with experience of this suspension here in the UK that can offer a solution I will gladly pay for because it's doing my head in to be honest.

.

 

[Growy16]

Hi @RamDiver . My apologies for that! I just started writing and didn't think. This is so frustrating it just poured out....!

 

[Ken226]

Hi @RamDiver . My apologies for that! I just started writing and didn't think. This is so frustrating it just poured out....!

Is this air suspension system something that can be tossed in the garbage, then disabled in the Body Computer/car configuration change menu?

Is this a system that you actually want/need?

I'm not sure that I've ever seen a post about one of these that indicated it actually works.

Does this disable it?



It looks like it has been done before:

Air Delete parts list

Hey guys, I hoping someone can help me. So i've searched a few forums, google, and Facebook groups and i cannot find a parts list (preferably with PNs) for a decent DIY air suspension delete set up. The ones that I have found are for 4x4 trucks. So i have a 2014 1500 5.7L Hemi RWD truck. even...

www.ramforum.com