Air suspension fault

[leopoldo651]

Hi everyone

I just purchased a XJ6 (2003) and often after a few minutes driving the "Air Suspension Fault" warning comes on the dashboard. I read somewhere this could be an issue with the battery.

Does anyone know what it could really be and how I can get it fixed?

Thanks in advance


Leo

[davidr]

Hi Leo - I have moved this to the X350 forum as that is the right one for your 2003 XJ6.
The most common issue with air suspension is the piston ring in the pump wearing so that it takes longer to come up to pressure than the system thinks it should and so prompts a "reservoir implausibility error" and the air suspension fault message on the dashboard. The car will continue to drive normally which I assume is what you are experiencing.
There is plenty of information on this and other forums on how to fix it. If you know one end of a spanner from another then it's a reasonably easy and cheap fix. You will need a kit that costs around £25 to replace the piston ring.
As for the battery, it does need to be in tip top condition on these cars Or you will get all sorts of erroneous error messages. If the car is new to you and you are not sure of the status of the battery my advice would be to invest in a good quality new one. Don't go cheap on this - it's a false economy.
Hope that helps

[davidr]

Leo - here is a link to a thread on here about rebuilding the air pump

viewtopic.php?f=290&t=11144

Regards
David

[leopoldo651]

Thank you! I think I will go for a new battery for sure.

Do you think a electronic diagnostic tool would help me identify if the battery needs changing?

Also... with other cars I had when the battery is changed you end up getting all sorts of problems to reset the car computer etc... engine locks, etc

Do you think with this jaguar would be the same? In other words... is changing the battery one could do by themselves or is it better to take it to a garage?

[davidr]

The only issue will be the radio code. You will need to make sure that you have the 4-digit code before you disconnect the old battery so you can enter it again when the new one is installed. There may (if you're lucky!) be a card in the document wallet with the code on or it may be written in the service record somewhere. Alternatively You can get the code from your Jaguar dealer (at a cost!) of from one of the online services.

[davidr]

Sorry Leo - forgot to answer your question on a diagnostic tool. I don't think that will help you analyse the battery condition. What you need is a drop tester. What this does is to draw a significant current off the battery (simulating operating the starter motor) and then measures the voltage drop. It's that voltage drop that, if it is too much, will cause the various electronic modules to either record a fault or abort their start up tests.
So whilst your battery may have enough to happily spin the starter motor it can cause these electronic issues if its capacity has reduced over time.
Having said all that, a good diagnostic code reader is, in my opinion, an essential for anyone who wants to maintain their own car.
Hope that helps

[ptjs1]

Leo,

A good chance that the odd code throw is a dodgy height sensor or its wiring connection ather than anything else

In my experience, x350s are quite good when connecting and disconnecting batteries.

You'll probably lose your trip computer data, but there's a good chance you'll hold satnav, radio, door lock fobs, seats and mirrors.

In fact a battery disconnect on an x350 is a great way to reset spurious error codes.

As regards testing the battery, you can do a voltage drop test if you have an appropriate tester. But failing that, leave the car locked for 2 days, unlock it and check the static voltage, measured directly on the battery. If its under 12.5, you might want to think about a change.

Good luck

Paul

[JimMann]

Hi There, welcome to Jaguar motoring. Be prepared for a great ride and lots of fun, but at a cost and knowing where to turn for help - which you seem to have already located - to keep those costs at a reasonable level.

The battery in these cars should (preferably) be 5 years old, or less, and if you are unsure of the history of the battery in the new (to you) X350, then as David R says, change it for a good one. The other thing about the batteries, is that the 'sleeping drain' on the car can be quite alarming to newbies, so a good investment if you are not using the car every day and there can be 'extended' periods when it doesn't turn a wheel, i.e. more than a week between outings or lots of short journeys only, is a battery charger of the SMART variety, such as the Ring Automotive, version RSC 612. Look up the article in the August 2020 edition of the magazine, Page 70 for a review. Note the magazines are available online at the JEC website if you don't have the back issue mentioned.

One helpful feature of the Ring RSC 612 is a Memory function, i.e. it has a function, explained in its manual, that allows you to connect and switch on the Smart Charger whilst you disconnect / change the car's battery. In that manner the car then holds all of the stored information that was / is previously there in the memory such as the radio Code and trip mileage.

Hopefully you get sorted out with these initial glitches that are coming to you with the new car, but if you tell us where you are based (county / town) then there is every chance that someone on the Forum can recommend a decent specialist who you can trust with taking care of your new pride and joy, especially if by your own admission - you don't know much about cars!

Jim