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Air Ride Light On 97 Continental

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Posted by: lakers14fan

Hi,
The air ride light comes on sometimes in my parent's 97. I have a mint 92 Mark VII LSC SE with 48K on it and I know that the 97 Continentals have only the rear air ride and not the 4 wheel air spring ride. The car seems to be level, although the leveler does seem noisier and stays on longer,so I suspect a leak. Would it hurt the car to turn off the air ride switch in the trunk, as the car has 146K on it and my folks don't want to put any more money into the car. I haven't seen any questions about the air ride on 97 or newer Continentals. They bought a beautiful 2001 low mileage Continental on ebay and had it shipped from Florida to CA. I had to get the Mark when I saw it on ebay and it was shipped from Virginia to CA. Thanks for any help you can give me. The Mark VII club has been a great source of info.for me.
My Best,
John,
Fresno,CA.

Posted by: purelux

Turning it off will effectivly remove your springs. It will no longer fill, vent or dry the system. You could turn it off after it has aired up but if it has a leak it will leak out anyways. If driven on "flat springs" you will most likely also ruin those expensive shocks the continental rides on. I would either get 2 new air springs and possibly compressor/dryer and solenoids from www.arnottindustries.com or strutmasters. Arnott has lifetime warranty on all the above mentioned componets. Or you could get a spring coil conversion. Either way I wouldn't drive it with the system off. Also remenber if there is a leak it could let moisture in which may overwelm the dryer and eventually cause compressor failure.

Posted by: MichiganTeddyBear

driving the car with the A/S off is a perfectly good way to test for leaky air springs. let the car get aired up to ride height, then shut it off. that will effectively turn them air springs into coils (assuming they dont leak). if you drop a corner with the switch off, then you know you have a leaky air spring.

Driving the car with the A/S off wont hurt it any, as long as the car stays at its designed height (ie, no leaks). you do loose the load leveling, and any other benefits of the A/S (adjustable shock damping, ect), but it wont cause any damage as long as the springs stay filled.

Posted by: purelux

True but what I was getting at is it sounds like there is a leak. If there isn't I agree that a/s off should be ok. However even if there isn't moisture, gunk/corosion will start forming due to moisture, & dryrot may set in the rubber bladders since it isn't being vented & dried.

Posted by: MichiganTeddyBear

Quote:

Originally Posted by purelux

True but what I was getting at is it sounds like there is a leak. If there isn't I agree that a/s off should be ok. However even if there isn't moisture, gunk/corosion will start forming due to moisture, & dryrot may set in the rubber bladders since it isn't being vented & dried.

oh yea, I agree with you, if the compressor is running more than normal, you either have a leak, or a weak compressor (usually results from having a leak!).

in theory, there should be very little if any moisture inside the system (due to the dryer). but of course, theory is called theory for a reason, its rarely what is whats really going on.

Posted by: purelux

Also figure in much like with air conditioners that only so much moisture can be absorbed by the, well whatever gel-like stuff they use to dry the air. Before it loses its efficency and depends on mechanical means, if any exist to do more/all of the drying. Also on the back of those cars the horizontal dampners right by the wheels help quite a bit the ride&handling. As well as may cause a clunk if they have worn out and or leaked and just wiped off. Ours were and drove us crazy for 2 years until finally replacing them after checking the usual suspension componets. Then audio/amp tray, speakers, rear light etc... in vain. fordpartsonline has them and they aren't difficult to change or dealer$ as well.

Posted by: lakers14fan

Thanks guys for the info. It helps to know more about this system.