Good point Chris. A common modification is to replace the timer relay under the LH front seat with a standard 4 pin one. The thinking behind this is that the timer relay will wake up every few hours and check the relative heights of each corner. It then drops 3 corners to match the lowest one so if you have a leak on one corner then the car will end up on the bumpstops. By fitting a standard relay the EAS system is only powered when the ignition is on so preventing it dropping all corners (just the one with the leak). However, the connection for diagnostics goes via the timer relay so if it has been swapped for a 4 pin then you never will get diagnostics to connect. The timer relay is a double height, black relay which you should be able to see if you look forward from the LH rear footwell. It's under the seat nearest the outside edge.

Agreed that it isn't a good idea to replace air springs in singles, you should at least replace them as pairs on the same axle. At £50 a corner from Island, they aren't expensive and if changing them for the first time, the first side won't take long and the other side will take half as long as the first.

Agreed. Changing one bag is false economy. If its been done though its good evidence that whoever was looking after the car in the past didn't really know what they were doing!

Mine had one front bag changed shortly before I got it. On the advice of a fairly local expert I let it ride. Within 3,000 miles all the rest had gone and had to be changed. Other front bag went bang after about 1,500 miles. All on its ownsome with the car stood on the drive! So much for fairly local experts assessment that it was good for "several thousand miles" more. Apparently the guy was so good that people used to bring cars over from the Netherlands for him to wreck, sorry, service. Shoulda smelt a rodent when he offered me a car via a "sometimes" reliable mate who said the guy was good and that the car was a good deal. Erm. Not.

8 years on I think I've finally chased all the "stupid mechanic" mistakes out of mine but would be unsurprised if there are still some lurking. Why does the P38 attract the sort of mechanic that would find a Trabant technologically challenging.

Clive

Gilbertd wrote:

Yes, there's an a missing, it should have said what sort of area in case someone has experience locally..

When you say it rise and inch or so, do you mean from the position it was left in? It will always drop very slightly as the air in the system cools down, so rising slightly as soon as you start it is correct. Unless you are getting the constant stream in the two boxes as shown on the video, then it isn't connected. Some USB-serial adapters work fine (usually ones using the FTDI chipset) while others can be very flaky. Have you installed the drivers for the adapter? What operating system is your computer running? What Com port is it setting itself up as? Ignition does need to be on or engine running.

It rises an inch or so when i restart it after a few hours or a day, which from what you said sounds like normal.

I installed the drivers for the USB, as the OBD lead connects to the USB lead via the 9 pin adaptor, I presume that is what you mean? No driver for the adaptor specifically came with the CD. If this means that there is something better that I can buy i am happy to do so, I don't want to be wasting time with dodgy equipment. neither do i want to be wasting my money.

The laptop is 11 years old & runs Windows Vista Home basic. It is using COMMS port 4 or 5 [depending on which USB port on laptop I used, I tried both to see if it would make a difference, which it didn't], but shows as something like USB [plus something else which i cannot remember] All the others just said Comms & a number, so i presumed the USB one was correct. Plus i had the ignition on.

As I think this is the UK site do you have recommendations for any independents nearby who I might use in the future?

I will try & locate the relay & check the pins over the next few days.

Where is the best info on changing the bags? I have downloaded RAVE & just had a quick look. It doesn't look like too difficult a job, although the YOUTUBE video intimates that disconnecting & reconnecting the pipes can be tricky? Do you have to depressurise the system? If yes, do you do it via the EAS unlock software?

Also do i presume that if the EAS system comes up with no faults, but the 35 max warning keeps coming on, even after resetting [that is presuming that the EAS etc is installed OK] , that there is likely to be a fault which needs checking out by a RR garage, because the fault will only get worse & potentially more expensive?

Many thanks
Happy new Year

John

Forgot to ask where is the best place for spares etc. You mention Island?

I tend to swap between Island 4x4 and LRDirect depending on who has the best price and what I want is in stock at the time. Disconnecting the pipes is simple enough, push the collect in and pull the pipe out, harder if there is pressure in the system but not impossible. RAVE recommends trimming a couple of mm off the end and chamfering with a pencil sharpener so any groove where the O rings sat is no longer where the O rings will be and there's no danger of damaging the O rings in the new air springs. I always give them a squirt of my Fairy Liquid/Water mix too before fitting, it allows them to slide in easier and will also show bubbles if there is a leak.

Not specifically for EAS, but Rimmer Bros tend to be quite good for stuff thats sometimes a bit more difficult to find as well.

Hi
On the basis that my OBD to 9 pin, to 9 hole to USB is not connecting correctly, is it possible to buy a lead that is OBD to USB?

Is the lead you are using a specific EAS lead or a OBD lead? EAS uses different pins to OBD so you have to have a lead made for the job. The first video on this page http://www.rswsolutions.com/index.php/p38a-eas-unlock-videos shows how to make your own and which pins you need to use. USB to serial adapters are a bit of a bodge but if you have one using the FTDI chipset, it will usually work. Have a look at the Properties and see what chipset it is using. You can't go directly from USB to RS232 as the voltages are different. One thing I have found is that I had to change the baud rate for the serial connection from the default 9600 to 4800 for a serial cable to connect.

Well as i bought the cable with the CD rom I presumed that it would be the correct one for the car. The cable he is making up in the vid is the cable i have.

The computer is running an Interon celeron [R] CPU 560 @ 2.13ghz.

I am going to have a look & see if i have a 4 or 5 pin block first, & then retry the connection to the car.

For 10 days the car was fine then suddenly it has started again - intermittent faults are a pain!

So it looks like a 5 pin [6 actually, but i think 1 is a guide].

Same connection problems as last time & i do not have the time know how to start making cables up!

So i need to find someone near who can have a look at this & find the fault, & if possible tell me if my cable is any good & why i cannot get a connection.

There seems to be a shortage of people who know what they are doing with these cars in South Yorks!

Starting to get fed up with this.

Surely it must be possible to buy a cable that is OBD to USB?

Not being sure of the connection means that I cannot even get to stage 1 in finding out the fault.

" Surely it must be possible to buy a cable that is OBD to USB? "

No, it isn't... As already indicated OBD uses 12V - USB uses 5V.

The software expects (ie. was written) for a Serial Interface. If you don't have one on your PC you have to use a Serial/USB adaptor as per the link etc also posted in #28.

Don't understand the 4 or 5 pin block comment, what is it you are referring to? You'll have the OBD plug to 9 pin serial plug. That connects to the serial to USB adapter which goes into your computer. As long as you have the drivers for it loaded, then it will connect and show up in Device Manager as a Comm Port If you look at the Properties for that Comm port you should see what it has set itself as (COM port number, probably 3 or something like that). If it has set itself as something silly like 13, change it to the first available lowest number and note what it is. Then look into the Properties further and somewhere (maybe under Advanced) you should find the port properties. One of these will be for baud rate which will probably be set at 9600 baud, change that to 4800 baud. Then try to use the cable to connect to the EAS system. Ignition needs to be on (with or without engine running) and you need to set the Comm port that you previously noted in the software..

Guessing he still means the 'DB9F' (Serial) connector Richard (?)

John: Not sure where your CD/Cable/adapter is from but see e-bay item 113941252453 as it should be the same (?)

-the cable 'simply' goes from ODB to DB9F which plugs into the (blue) Serial/USB adapter/cable.

Yes, it can all be a bit 'hit and miss' as far as the PC assigning a USB for the comms (ie. the adapter) is concerned......

Maybe he isn't selling them anymore, but 2 years ago I bought the cable, and software, from RSW Solutions. So far, everything that I've needed a code reader for has been covered by RSW.

If you bought it, I assume you got the V4 software that covers other systems as well as the EAS. He's using the free V2 that only does EAS.

Vicar wrote:

So it looks like a 5 pin [6 actually, but i think 1 is a guide].

Same connection problems as last time & i do not have the time know how to start making cables up!

So i need to find someone near who can have a look at this & find the fault, & if possible tell me if my cable is any good & why i cannot get a connection.

There seems to be a shortage of people who know what they are doing with these cars in South Yorks!

Starting to get fed up with this.

If its any help, I'm in Sheffield next week (Tuesday and Wednesday) I can put the nano in the car to at least check the connection so you then know if your looking at a problem with the cable or the car, and see what Nano says is wrong with it. Can't guarantee a time or if Sheffield is close to where you are, Tuesday afternoon would be the likely easiest option, I'm supposed to be done by 3pm that day. At least then you'd rule out some of the unknown bits. I don't really know anything about the EAS side of things though, as have never had to deal with it.

Yes, V4. I finally got a. Nanocom Evo, but so far V4 has done everything I've needed.

Been busy with work so not had the time to follow up on the RR. My apologies for my lack of response.

I bought the cable & software from RSW solutions. I think it just covers the EAS, so from what has been said that is V2.

When I connect it shows up in a comms port [4 or 5 i think?]

I shall try your idea below.....
'Then look into the Properties further and somewhere (maybe under Advanced) you should find the port properties. One of these will be for baud rate which will probably be set at 9600 baud, change that to 4800 baud. Then try to use the cable to connect to the EAS system. Ignition needs to be on (with or without engine running) and you need to set the Comm port that you previously noted in the software.'.

..when I get the car back, it is currently having the crankshaft oil seal replaced.

The EAS is permanently not happy at the moment, all 4 lights on the dash & the car is sitting low.

Pull the cover that the obd port sits in and check the wires for corrosion and water ingress. They have been known to cause those problems.

It's only held in with 2 scrivets