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The only place for a coil spring is up Zebedee's arse
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Coils to bags it is....
Looking for assistance or advice from anyone who may have done this job or have links to same that could be of use.
So far I’ve checked compressor and it’s perfect. Looks like, from mx records I have, that previous owner had a new one installed in 2015 about 3 months prior to changing the vehicle to coils.
Relay was disconnected under hood, the 3 plugs in EAS box were disconnected as too were the plugs at back of center dash. The drier is good and the air storage tank is rust free. All hoses “appear” to be in good condition and looks like previous mechanic who removed bags just used a snips to cup hose lines at the entry point to bags.
Looking for a good point to start this project.
I have connected the plugs inside the EAS and replaced the relay in fuse box. I haven’t connected to plugs to the driver controller switch behind the dashboard.
Question. Should the compressor work without me connecting the plug to the back of the driver control switch in dashboard?
Assuming the compressor works, what should I expect to happen once it starts?
Will the air tank fill and then bleed the air out through the 4 lines or will the tank just pressurize?
As mentioned earlier.... any suggestions as to what steps to take next? I’m trying to avoid the vehicle being on jacks for a month and looking for “If I could do it again, I would do this” advice..

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The compressor won't run unless the ECU turns it on, which needs the engine running and no "hard faults" stored. Making up the EAS Unlock Suite cable and getting the software installed would be a good thing right now.

Once the compressor is running it'll just fill the tank until the pressure switch tells it to stop. It won't attempt to level the vehicle until all the doors are shut, and if it's been sitting with the doors open for a while it'll go to sleep and need you to poke the height selector switch to set it going again.

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Do you have the all the height sensors in place/ working? I'm guessing you can/ should hook everything up first and then use the relay as the fail-safe (ie either in or out ) to let the EAS fill up the tank and go from there/ see what happens. Hopefully someone will come along who's done it, although that may be more likely on rr.net as any coilers here are called out as heretics :o)

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Read the thread wrong and nearly choked, thought it said bags to coils, lol,, directly I saw who posted I knew I’d read it wrong,, excuse,, in pain at the minute, went ass over tit this morning when out with the dog, both wrists feel like I’ve broke them ( I haven’t)

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Again Chris? You definitely need to stay in your P38 more

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I probably didn’t clarify where things are with this project.
She’s currently sitting on coils. The compressor is new, so I’m assuming it works fine. The air pipes are all present and in correct locations. I’ve plugged the relay back in as well as cleaned and reconnected the three plugs inside the EAS compartment. The wires are connected to the ECU. All the height sensors are in place.
I know that the electrical plugs that goes into the height adjuster switch as well as the height display switch in cabin are currently disconnected.
My question is, will I need to connect the above mentioned respective plugs into the back of their switches in order for the compressor to work?
Just setting myself up to pull the bandaid off in one big tug but also trying to avoid a rabbits hole....
What’s an EAS Unlock Suite?

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Well, my compressor will work as soon as i turn on the ignition if there's insufficient pressure in the tank, so the compressor works to fill the tank. Then it's the tank drives the change in ride heights. So I'm guessing you very likely don't need those other bits plugged in if you just want to test the compressor, unless the ECU looks for all appendages to be properly connected at start-up. Maybe check on Nano too to see if it spits out any faults at ignition II ?

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More reading on the EAS unlock here > https://www.rswsolutions.com/index.php/range-rover-p38a

I think if you have a Nanocom or similar though that you wouldn't need it? Its used to reset the errors on the EAS system as it will lockout until you clear the errors (and fix the cause of the original errors)

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You don't want V4, that's the one that costs money, the free version is here http://www.rswsolutions.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=56 along with the cable as described here http://www.rswsolutions.com/index.php/p38a-eas-unlock-videos. But if you've got a Nano you won't need either as it can clear the faults for you.

If the dash comes up and shows EAS Manual, there will be a bypass harness somewhere. It might be the one that money is charged for which is a harness, usually using blue wires, that plugs into the BeCM and will be found by the fuse panel, it might be a couple of jumpers in the plug that should go to the EAS ECU under the LF front seat. Whichever it is, remove it. You'll need everything plugged in for it to try to work but remember that if the coils are still there and the height sensors are working, then it might be at the correct height anyway so it won't open any of the valves to try to inflate the air springs. Let the compressor run for 10 minutes or so, after which time it should cut out, then try selecting the highest setting. That should cause it to open the valves and blow all the air out.

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romanrob wrote:

Again Chris? You definitely need to stay in your P38 more

I’m thinking about buying a sumo suit, at least that way I’ll bounce, lol

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Good intel....
When I plugged all the above in and started the vehicle the compressor did not start. That’s why I asked the question regarding me needing to plug the connectors in that are disconnected for the height selector switch in the dash.
I’ll remove the center console tomorrow and connect the plugs to the EAS control switch and the height settings button and hopefully that will get the compressor to work.
There is no EAS Manual dash indication.

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What does the dash say then? It would either say EAS Manual (only initially when you first start it) or EAS Fault 35 MPH Max. Check that the EAS ECU is plugged in too.

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It says EAS MANUAL on start up..... had to go check. I guess I was so used to seeing it that it become common place.
I will check the plugs into the bottom of the ECU tomorrow.
My fear is by attacking this project that I will make a perfectly running vehicle into a ball of yarn and start chasing down a rabbit hole.
The only reason I want to change to bags is to get the vehicle back to as original as possible...... don’t want this to become a thread pulling from a sweater incident......

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If anyone can sort it, it’s you, I wouldn’t hesitate at buying a p38 from you, cos I know it would be 100% spot on, I’d say have some pipe spare, just in case, otherwise the only other thing I can think of is the valve block, anyone near you with a test rig ? Just to give you piece of mind on drive pack etc

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Why not swap the driver pack (or just the whole valve block/compressor if you like) from the coiled car into one of your running cars before going any further. It should give you some peace of mind that the most complex bit is working.

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EAS Manual will be caused by either a loom plugged in the BeCM (usually using a bundle of blue wires and a power feed taken from one of the BeCM inputs) or a pair of jumpers at the plug for the EAS ECU.

It's fairly easy to test a valve block and driver pack and, at the same time, check for any internal leaks. There's two connectors involved, one from the rest of the car and one between the driver pack and valve block. With the driver pack connected to the valve block, you can test from the other connector. This will test both the driver pack and solenoids. Put 12V onto pins 12 and 13 (both with red wires) and ground on pins 10 and 11 (both with black wires). You can then apply 12V to pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 one at a time and each one will cause one of the solenoids to open so you will hear it click. If you use a short length of air line into the 4 outlets that would feed the air springs and pressurise from there (I use one of the push on Schrader valves and a tyre pump), it should hold pressure until you operate the relevant solenoid. You can't check the inlet, exhaust and diaphragm valves this way unless you have a bit of 8mm air line and matching Schrader valve (which I haven't got).

As long as you make sure the electrical and pneumatic side of things is working before you remove the coil springs and fit the air springs, you won't turn the car into a 2 tonne doorstop. I recently un-converted a late model LWB Classic from coils back to air. Stripped and rebuilt the compressor, replaced the O rings in the valve block and tested it on the bench as above, replaced the leaking O rings that the owner of the car had managed to damage when putting it back together, fitted everything to the car and connected up the air lines. Using EASUnlock we could check that we were getting sensible readings from the height sensors by jacking the car up and seeing if the readings changed. We could then let the compressor run to build up pressure in the reservoir and again, with EASUnlock, open each corner valve in turn and check that air came out of the lines. We then fitted a Schrader valve in place of each air spring, pressurised the system and left it overnight. The following day we could check to see if the valves all had pressure behind them and, as they had, then and only then did we take the coil springs off and fit the air springs.