Rear Air suspension and air valve

2006 MERCEDES BENZ R500
147,254 MILES • V6 • AUTOMATIC
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ERIKA CHANDLER
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My rear end air bag suspension went out and I replaced the bags but my car still won’t rise and the air compressor is heard when it comes on but I’m stumped on what else could be the issue
Dec 31, 2020 at 10:48 PM
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KASEKENNY
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If the air compressor comes on but the suspension does not raise then either you have a leak or the compressor has burned up. This is not uncommon when you have an issue with an airbag. Basically what happens is the bag fails and has a leak. The compressor does not know this but it continues to try and fill the bag. Clearly it is leaking and the air is escaping as soon as the compressor is putting it in so the compressor keeps running. This causes it to burn out and fail. It will still run but not build any pressure.

So if the system has no leaks then I suspect you have to replace the compressor at this point. I attached the process for this below. Let us know if you have questions.

Jan 9, 2021 at 2:59 PM
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ERIKA CHANDLER
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Okay, would my 3 way air valve have anything to do with it not rising?
Jan 9, 2021 at 3:06 PM
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KASEKENNY
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Most likely not as long as I understand the progression of this. Was it working properly and then it stop rising and you found an airbag issue? Were the bags leaking or were they replaced as a "guess" at what is wrong and it didn't change anything?

Normally what happens is when there is a leak in the bag or line is that the pump runs and runs trying to continually keep the vehicle at the correct ride height. By running this much it burns the pump up and then the issue is noticed because it is dropped down.

The airbag or leak is fixed but the pump keeps running because it can't build the pressure. So if the pump is running and there are no leaks then the compressor is most likely the issue.
Jan 10, 2021 at 3:44 PM