FAQ: Automatic Leveling Control (ALC) Concerns

Well like I said earlier the setup says inside the instructions its a 25 PSI minimum and a 200 maximum.

With nothing much in trunk try 29" on Drivers side 28.5" ok within specs on passenger side and see what you think.

You can get the rest of the air rid parts reasonable from Ed Morad. I would fix it 100% if I was you -- once it's fixed right with new OR used parts, it probably won't quit again anytime soon.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

You can get the rest of the air rid parts reasonable from Ed Morad. I would fix it 100% if I was you -- once it's fixed right with new OR used parts, it probably won't quit again anytime soon.

Albertj

I agree. The problem is its just simply to cold here. Even in my Uncles garage with a space heater I was cold.

I intend to fix it properly once its spring time. As far as the compressor goes, i know many like Ed Morad. Im not saying hes bad, but I am going to say I can get the compressor cheaper elsewhere. I frequent www.car-part.com for pricing. I can get the compressor for $30

But I dont know whats up yet? Until spring time

I'm going to add my problem in this post since it's a very similar problem. If the mods think it should be a separate post, just split it and I'll continue in there, thanks!

Much like No-Lift's problem, my car has been pumping up max and staying there until I shut the car off, where it will slowly bleed down to a normal level (or maybe just all the way out).
I noticed the other night after starting my car, the pump just ran and ran, even after maxing out ride height, so I pulled my fuse under the rear seat to prevent my motor from burning out. Now I'm riding on the ground in the back, very little rear suspension at all, so I definitely need to repair this soon.
I assume this is caused by a faulty sensor, possibly sticking and thinking that it's perpetually underinflated. My concern is that it's "car stereo" related, after installing 3 12" subs, could it be possible that it's due to vibration damage? (or is it just wacky timing?)
Thanks, ya'll
-brady

Just Wacky timing.
The compressor has a solenoid type exhaust valve mounted in the compressor head that receives a signal from the leveler control to exhaust air and maintain a preset level height.
The exhaust solenoid discharges it's air from a port on top of comp. head. In my case the port was clogged with crap and aluminum corrosion. i found this after removing compressor assembly from car and hooking it up and testing it. That could be one reason it is filling and not coming back down. The other is the controller itself is bad. Either one are relatively easy to test from under the car.
The compressor is behind the right rear(pass side) wheel, mounted on a bracket in the rear fender area and the level control sensor is on the left side attached to body and left rear control arm.
With the key ON, disconnect the rod from the controller on driver's side and move arm up to simulate car is too low, should turn compressor on, move rod down and should hear solenoid in compressor click and air exhausting. Must be very quiet to hear exhaust air and also be aware there is a preset delay of a certain number of seconds (can't remember how many) So move rod and hold and wait for a reaction. There is also a timer built into controller that is supposed to stop compressor from running continuously in case there is a leak. Again I can't remember the exact amount of time, but I think anything more than a couple of minutes is too long.
You can have multiple problems so it's worth looking at both units. Also, by removing the compressor assembly it gives you access to replace a couple vacuum type hose on it that dry rot and need replacing periodically.

Rick, thank you very much for the quick bit of info. As soon as it's not 10 degrees out, I'll give that a little testing.
Thanks again,
-brady

Hey Rick,

That's good info about the clogged release sol. I still haven't gotten around to checking it out yet. I just disconnected the hoses and the fuse to the compressor and let it at that. I see a spring change to lower the car in the future and that is when I'll go after it. I do have the factory service manuals so I have to study them a little more.
As far as DJ's problem goes I don't think the rear end would be sagging without a load. The load in the trunk is causing the car to sag because without anybody in my car and no load-leveler the rear end is still a little higher than the front and with four people in it is only slightly down in the rear. The rear springs should hold the car level for most situations and carry the greatest load and the air shocks help when extra weight is added.

Mike

On our Rivi, the compressor just stopped working magically after I worked on the rear brakes/installed a radio. Not sure what happened or why yet.

We rode on the ground also, and damaged a shock in doing so.

ive since replaced the shocks and have it not hooked up to the compressor.

DONT PULL THAT 60A MAXI FUSE. I did and I noticed the voltage of the car was funny??? Instead of 14+ it was like 10.3 Volts...

just be aware.

And a side note, check www.car-part.com for the compressor. Theres a yard in circleville ohio for $30 and they do ship...

Ryan from Ohio wrote:

DONT PULL THAT 60A MAXI FUSE. I did and I noticed the voltage of the car was funny??? Instead of 14+ it was like 10.3 Volts..

Heh.. I pulled the 60A (marked ELC/ICS) next to the 30A (ICS) fuse and it powered off the dash... whoops

Til it warms up, I just pop the 30A back in enough to raise the rear up to drive around (it leaks off over a few hours).... talk about monkey engineering.... can't wait to get it fixed right.

HA... easy fix.. looks like a stick jumped up and bent the metal arm of the sensor and broke the plastic arm underneath, allowing the round part of the plastic that goes inside to spin free.. it was positioned in the "low" position, causing the pump to inflate.

A little epoxy on the arm and bent the metal part straight and it works great!!

Ryan from Ohio: glad you found the parts chaper than Ed Morad. A number of us shop from Morad 'cause he's consistent and quick. He is not, however, the only shop in the mall.

Albertj

Dj Brady wrote:

HA... easy fix.. looks like a stick jumped up and bent the metal arm of the sensor and broke the plastic arm underneath, allowing the round part of the plastic that goes inside to spin free.. it was positioned in the "low" position, causing the pump to inflate.

A little epoxy on the arm and bent the metal part straight and it works great!!

good find. You might want to get yourself a new arm, I can't imagine it's an expensive piece.

deekster_caddy wrote:

good find. You might want to get yourself a new arm, I can't imagine it's an expensive piece.

I think it'll be fine. the metal arm was only bent about 15 degrees off, it straightened back out just fine.


Thanks for the offer Mr Riviera, if I have any more issues with it, I may be in touch.

I'm sorry for asking this and maybe having it answered in this thread somewhere. Is there any way to disable the ELC and still have the rest of the stuff that is connected to the ELC fuse in the rear fuse block work? I'm thinking that the pump is running after I shut the car off and running the battery down. I've narrowed my issue with my battery draining over night to something that is connected to the ELC/IP fuse in the rear seat. I never hear the pump running, but I know it works because I can literally see the rear rise and lower when I park it. Anyway, I'm just trying to narrow down this parasitic drain issue.

You probably have an air leak somewhere between the pump and the shocks (maybe at the connections). This will causes the pump to run overtime, and eventually it will burn out. One solution is to disconnect and replace the pump with a new set of lines and air-fill valve. This way you can manually raise and lower the car - can remove the pump from the car altogether if you like.

the other thing to keep in mind is that the ELC is supposed to run a bit when the car is parked/off to normalize the pressure in the shocks.

If as Aaron says you have an air leak, this is a problem 'cause then the sucker will run a while.

Check and make sure it's not something simple, like an air line fitting is loose. The factory fittings work but if you lose one of those little spring clips you got problems. The aftermarket fittings are OK too but you may need to disassemble and put some Teflon tape on the threads to make sure they are airtight.

Also - are your air shocke OK? If the cases are bulging it's time to replace. Can do it in your driveway for under $100. Consider getting the parts from rockauto.com - Monroe or Delco shocks. The Monroe MA-s22s should come with an air line kit if they don't have factory -style fittings.

Albertj

I know on my '98 the ELC pump won't run if the key is off. What year is your car? please add it to your sig so we don't have to ask every time. Thanks!

The ELC compressor will not run when the key is off. At least it is not supposed to. The only thing that can be energized for a period of time after you turn key off is the exhaust solenoid on compressor head. So if you remove weight from the car i.e., passengers, luggage, groceries, etc. the system will exhaust enough air to level the car according to the setting of your control arm. If the pump is actually coming on and off while key is out of ignition then there is an electrical problem that needs to be found. also if the solenoid is sticking and continuing to exhaust air, it will only do so long enough for the shocks to empty.
I would start my troubleshooting with the relay, the source of power for the compressor.
Earlier Cadilac's, the compressor would work with key out of ignition. But not this system.
You mention you never hear the pump when it comes on yet you know it's working because you can see the car rise.
I don't know if it's just my pump but i can hear it running even with the engine running.
They are not the quietest pumps made.
If you had a wiring diagram for the system you would see just how simple it really is. I don't know how to copy my manual and post it on here otherwise i would.
I can fax you the wiring diagram if you want. PM me with your fax number.

Wow thanks guys for all the replies. I should say that my Riv is a 1998. I just replaced the rear air shocks with some Monroe replacements.

I can see the car rise, and if I get out of the car, afterwards I can hear what sounds like a drop of water hitting a frying pan or air brakes going off in the rear sometimes. Other times it doesn't do it and instead I can see the car rise.

I can't actually hear the pump ever come on. In my old Park Ave the pump was really loud and it would stay on after the car was off and key out. I didn't know that it was turned off completely in the riv.

I should also mention that I'm not sure if this is the problem with my battery drain. It seems as though it's got something to do with either the ELC or the Instrument panel cluster. I actually have a service manual for this vehicle, so I think I can find the diagrams. It's just a matter of reading them. I know some from tinkering but not trained on how to interpret them.

Does anyone know any common battery drain issues with the Riv?

None to my knowledge. I'm afraid your going to have to continue down the path you're going.

Hey Kyle - check the wiring from the ELC compressor (you will have to jack the car up and crawl under) back into the car.

See if for some reason the wires were spliced.

Albertj

If you turn the key to the on position without starting the engine, and then walk to the right rear of the car, you should hear the compressor run from 3-5 seconds after a 17-35 second delay. That should happen every time you start the engine.

The trouble shooting charts in the FSM are actually very extensive and good. You can easily troubleshoot the system with a multimeter. I did so successfully years ago when my ELC wasn't working and the back of the car was consistently low. That affected rear tire camber (-). The only problem I had was figuring out what exactly they wanted me to measure between. They would talk about pin numbers on various connectors and relays, and I needed to skip back and forth between pages(connector end views) to figure out what they were talking about. In the end, my problem was a single broken wire between the ELC relay, and the level sensor. Ran a new wire and the system works perfectly to this day. Select the trouble shooting chart that best describes your problem and take your time. Good Luck.

Putting that pump under the car so it is subjected to some of the harshest environments was a bad idea at best.
Mine is toast, so when I replaced the shocks, I routed the lines and the schrader valve up into the trunk and fill it manually.