airbags getting minimal air

[Loren Harris]

When I retract the levelers on my 2001 Beaver Patriot Thunder they do release almost all the way up far from the pads they rest on for leveling but after they go up as far as possible (pistons still out about 3 inches) I will start the coach and watch the air rise up on the guage with both green and orange needles (front and rear tanks) to around 110 to 120 lbs and they stop there. The two left front airbags will not air up all the way so since it has been this way for a long time I assumed the airbags were bad. So I replaced the two left front airbags and it still does the same thing. I have checked many times for leaks and leaks and leaks everywhere I see airlines and connections etc. under the coach but can't find any or hear any as quiet as it is where I am. I watch the guage for hours and don't see it going down but the next morning the coach is down even more on the left front side. I know those two airbags on the left front were getting air but they were not getting as much as the others as I could hit them with a rubber hammer and could tell plus the base of the airbags were not as visible like the others on the coach. I can tell that the other six airbags were inflated all the way and the bases of those airbags were very visible.  I am usually pretty good about figuring these problems with the mechanical and electronics but this has me baffled as many times I have tried to figure it out. This is the information I have to offer in case anyone can help me. I am thinking that maybe it is one of the junction blocks or solenoids shutting off early for those two airbags if that is how it works I do not know. Thanks. Loren Harris.

[Gerald Farris]

Loren,
The most likely cause for your issue is a ride height sensor, probable one of the rear ones, and most likely just an adjustment. A word of caution, if you adjust and/or replace a ride height sensor yourself, only do it with adequate safety stands. A mistake in the adjustment/replacement procedure can cause the coach to lower onto you causing serious injury. Also if you are checking for leaks, you should use a spray bottle of soapy water because air leaks are very rarely large enough to hear under any conditions.

Gerald
   

[Loren Harris]

Thanks for the reply I do use soapy water to check for leaks. Now, I have adjusted the ride height sensors front and rear back and forth etc but yes it does make a difference but still there is not much air in the airbags on the two left fronts. They just don't get enough air like the others from the very start of the engine so how can the sensors affect that? It must be that airline block restricting the air to fully air up those two bags. I wonder if you know how those blocks and solenoids work because I think that something is cutting off the air to those two airbags after giving them only a minimal amount of air from the start.

[Gerald Farris]

Loren,
The ride height valves are electric solenoids that open or close an air passage to inflate or deflate the air bags to maintain the right ride height. The height sensor sends the open or close signal to the solenoid. However, there is a time delay in the process to prevent overworking the system on rough roads.

Since the ride height sensors are adjusted by moving the adjustment until the proper ride height is reached, your height sensors can not be properly adjusted if the LF suspension has never inflated. You need to determine if the ride height sensor is sending the proper signal to the solenoid or if the solenoid is bad. Things can get a little more complicated if you have an air leveling system to add into the mix. You might be able to swap the rear sensors to see if the LF inflates, but be careful and use safety stands.

Gerald

[Loren Harris]

Thanks Gerald. I appreciate your help. I will eventually track down this problem and respond back whenever I get done. Thanks again for your time to reply to me.

[Loren Harris]

Ok, I found one of the fittings on the air tank for the front leaking a little, not much although. So I fixed that and adjusted the right rear height sensor since it was too high. Therefore it fixed the left front problem and now everything is level. That was yesterday and also I did check everything I could think of for the 6th time in the past couple weeks for air leaks and so that was good. Now I went to the RV in storage this morning and the whole left side of the RV was leaning very badly almost looked like it was tipping over. I did not level the RV yesterday and only left it with the airbags raised up. Why could the thing leak air so badly to make it lean left like this? I cannot understand and someone has an idea please let me know. I will be checking again in the meantime. Thanks, Loren Harris.

[Jerry Emert]

Check your hydraulic jacks.  I've felt dumb every time because I panic but mine have come down a couple times now.  Every time I come find the coach at that weird angle and discover after the initial panic that a jack was down.  Manual system so I put it up and all is fine until the next time I panic.
Jerry

[Gerald Farris]

Loren,
Unless one or more jacks are down as Jerry states, you have an air leak. The leak can be at an air bag, an air line fitting, one of the valves, an air line (unlikely), or one of the solenoids. The leak will be in connection with the low side, but not necessary the lowest point. If the RF is your lowest point, the air leak may be in the RR.

Normally, a suspension air leak that takes 3 or 4 days to be noticeable is not worth the time and effort that is involved in locating and repairing, and most of the time is normally spent in locating it. However, if the suspension leaks down badly overnight, it should be repaired if possible.

Gerald