EAS/Three Amigos Problem
 

Hello, am new to forum. Have 2000 rover. Had leaky suspension so replaced all air bags, and o-rings in valve blocks. Now will not air up (stays aired up until it has to changes modes, ie, back to stanard from highway). Compressor runs, but will system will only work if I manually fill the reservoir. I do have a problem with the three amigos, they will light when the brake is first activated. Also very squeeky brakes, but pads are good. Traction seems to overheat randomly when first started, and vibration in drive train seems to be wheel bearing going out (but that started after the suspension issues). Not really sure what to do next. any suggestions? Are these random issues? Thanks in advance for help. Local dealer seems to feel that replacing parts will eventually fix it, would like to be a bit more systematic...

First off, welcome.

The three amigos that you are referring to as I am assuming it is a 00' Range Rover and not a Discovery is the start up sequence of the ABS system. They should light for a few seconds and then once the system reached full pressure I believe it is they will turn off. Mine stay on for about 3-5 seconds after starting.

The EAS issue is a little harder to diagnose. I would think that there is still a leak somewhere from the valve block to the tank. When you manually air it up you are putting the air in the tank and then it will fill the bags. When you transfer levels then the valve block is letting air out and if it does not stop it will drop all the way and then the compressor runs to try to fill and it does not. You may look at replacing the air lines as well since over time they can crack and leak air too. You could even have an o ring that is seated properly that is leaking.

I would double check the work previously done and then just start the process of elimination. We will help out as much as we can on the forum so keep coming back with what the results were.

thanks rob, it is a rover, and it will stay aired up if it sits for a few days, so don't think that it is the airlines. I already went throught that issue!! I read that a fault in the abs could cause my problems, but wasn't sure how to trouble shoot it. the 3 lights come on when the vehicle does it's diagnostic and then go out. They also flash again when the brake pedal is pushed down, they stay on for a few seconds and then go out. i am assuming that they aren't supposed to come on in this scenario, and was hoping that something in this system was triggering the problem with the eas. the only things that haven't been replaced on the eas are the computer, height sensors and pressure switch...

The 3 lights should not be showing up when you press the pedal, they should only be there when you start the car. I do not know enough about the ABS system to be able to diagnose it. I am still not sure how it would affect the EAS but hey it is a Rover so anything is possible I guess.

So if you fill the tank and the bags, then drive it when you get on the freeway and it drops to freeway mode it will drop to the bump stops? Or can you use the lockout and continue to drive it like normal? How are you manually airing it up?

When I fill the tank, it lifts to standard height and drives around fine, once it goes to highway mode it drives fine but can't lift back up to standard. It will throw an eas fault after awhile, the dealer told me that the compressor was timing out and throwing the code, and recommended replacing the compressor because it likely had an internal leak. So I replaced the compressor and have the same issue...
To manually fill, I installed a tire fill valve in the reservoir drain plug.
I was looking at the land rover enthusiast site and they have common fixes for different issues. It was saying that the abs system can shut the eas down when the abs system faults. That was why I was thinking that maybe it had something to do with the abs system, they were saying that a few times the eas computer had been replaced and it turned out to be the brake pedal switch, so I've replaced that but still same problem...

Okay I see what you mean. Obviously there is an issue with it filling back up the bags, it could be a solenoid problem not actuating. The compressor will time out and throw the fault but usually when that happens it will drop all the way down to the bump stops. Then you need to reset the EAS with the software from RSW or something like that. I guess if you can figure out what is wrong with the ABS then you can see if it is related to the EAS.

Sorry I am not much more help on this one. Good luck.

It sounds like you have two unrelated problems. The issue with the lights coming on when you brake is most likely the accumulator. It is about $200 and an hour to replace. The EAS problem I can't help with because my Rover was converted to coils before I bought it. It does sound like the compressor is either shot or there is a leak in the line from the compressor to the valve block or the valve block needs to be rebuilt.

thanks rob, it may be that because I have a code clear device (the amigo, I think it's called) that it can keep going..
as far as the abs thanks for the idea, I'll get on the accumulator. the compressor is brand new and does the exact same thing that the old compressor did, and it holds air when left on its own, so don't think that is the problem. I was wondering if it was a pressure sensor or eas ecm...