Rear level sensors
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Richlands, NC
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My Ride: 2008 535xi Touring
Rear level sensors
Gents,
Looking for a little help with my new purchase. '08 E61, 72k miles.
The dealership I bought it from had issues with the right rear suspension. They had it at a indy mechanic when I first went to take a look at it. "Fixed it" and when I drove it I didn't get any errors, so I brought it home. FWIW, the dealership is willing to help with the parts cost to actually fix it.
The indy mechanic put in a used sensor on that side, but I started getting errors driving to work. The car would pump itself up to max ride height. When I took the wheel off, I found a used sensor with the numbers etched off mounted with extra washers on the bracket. So to fix it, I ordered brackets, sensors and hardware for both sides.
The error went away and it seemed to settle down. Today I took it to the dealership for an alignment and to update the software. Turns out that my bluetooth antenna is bad, so I didn't need an update, but I told them about the sensors and asked them to do a calibration. When I got the keys back, the right rear wheel was slammed into the wheel well.
Put it back on the machine and figured out that the right sensor is reading backwards. Up is down and down is up, so the car thinks the wheel is too high and slams it all the way down. The left side works as advertised.
The sensors are the same part number. No indications that the wiring has been modified. Brackets are installed according to BMW instructions. They can't be flipped or mounted differently because the connector won't go back on. The connector only fits one way, so no chance that the pins have been flipped in the connector.
The dealership thinks the sensor is bad and is willing to replace it for free since I bought the parts from another dealership. I drove it home with the sensor disconnected and it maintained ride height.
So I'm curious if any of you guys know how the system works and if you can point me in the right direction. I'm not convinced that changing the sensor will fix the problem. The module has to know that the sensor resistance inputs are flipped.
Appreciate your guys' thoughts.
Looking for a little help with my new purchase. '08 E61, 72k miles.
The dealership I bought it from had issues with the right rear suspension. They had it at a indy mechanic when I first went to take a look at it. "Fixed it" and when I drove it I didn't get any errors, so I brought it home. FWIW, the dealership is willing to help with the parts cost to actually fix it.
The indy mechanic put in a used sensor on that side, but I started getting errors driving to work. The car would pump itself up to max ride height. When I took the wheel off, I found a used sensor with the numbers etched off mounted with extra washers on the bracket. So to fix it, I ordered brackets, sensors and hardware for both sides.
The error went away and it seemed to settle down. Today I took it to the dealership for an alignment and to update the software. Turns out that my bluetooth antenna is bad, so I didn't need an update, but I told them about the sensors and asked them to do a calibration. When I got the keys back, the right rear wheel was slammed into the wheel well.
Put it back on the machine and figured out that the right sensor is reading backwards. Up is down and down is up, so the car thinks the wheel is too high and slams it all the way down. The left side works as advertised.
The sensors are the same part number. No indications that the wiring has been modified. Brackets are installed according to BMW instructions. They can't be flipped or mounted differently because the connector won't go back on. The connector only fits one way, so no chance that the pins have been flipped in the connector.
The dealership thinks the sensor is bad and is willing to replace it for free since I bought the parts from another dealership. I drove it home with the sensor disconnected and it maintained ride height.
So I'm curious if any of you guys know how the system works and if you can point me in the right direction. I'm not convinced that changing the sensor will fix the problem. The module has to know that the sensor resistance inputs are flipped.
Appreciate your guys' thoughts.
#2
New Members
I've had issues with my rear suspension as well. One of the sensors was bad and the suspension kept staying lifted on max. Took it into my Indy mechanic and they replaced the sensor.
My new issues are that sometimes the suspension settles in too low and I end up scraping the top of the tires over hard bumps. My workaround is to manually raise it using the EDIABAS software.
My new issues are that sometimes the suspension settles in too low and I end up scraping the top of the tires over hard bumps. My workaround is to manually raise it using the EDIABAS software.
#3
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Greenville SC
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My Ride: E61
Model Year: 2008
Engine: N54
Gents,
Looking for a little help with my new purchase. '08 E61, 72k miles.
The dealership I bought it from had issues with the right rear suspension. They had it at a indy mechanic when I first went to take a look at it. "Fixed it" and when I drove it I didn't get any errors, so I brought it home. FWIW, the dealership is willing to help with the parts cost to actually fix it.
The indy mechanic put in a used sensor on that side, but I started getting errors driving to work. The car would pump itself up to max ride height. When I took the wheel off, I found a used sensor with the numbers etched off mounted with extra washers on the bracket. So to fix it, I ordered brackets, sensors and hardware for both sides.
The error went away and it seemed to settle down. Today I took it to the dealership for an alignment and to update the software. Turns out that my bluetooth antenna is bad, so I didn't need an update, but I told them about the sensors and asked them to do a calibration. When I got the keys back, the right rear wheel was slammed into the wheel well.
Put it back on the machine and figured out that the right sensor is reading backwards. Up is down and down is up, so the car thinks the wheel is too high and slams it all the way down. The left side works as advertised.
The sensors are the same part number. No indications that the wiring has been modified. Brackets are installed according to BMW instructions. They can't be flipped or mounted differently because the connector won't go back on. The connector only fits one way, so no chance that the pins have been flipped in the connector.
The dealership thinks the sensor is bad and is willing to replace it for free since I bought the parts from another dealership. I drove it home with the sensor disconnected and it maintained ride height.
So I'm curious if any of you guys know how the system works and if you can point me in the right direction. I'm not convinced that changing the sensor will fix the problem. The module has to know that the sensor resistance inputs are flipped.
Appreciate your guys' thoughts.
Looking for a little help with my new purchase. '08 E61, 72k miles.
The dealership I bought it from had issues with the right rear suspension. They had it at a indy mechanic when I first went to take a look at it. "Fixed it" and when I drove it I didn't get any errors, so I brought it home. FWIW, the dealership is willing to help with the parts cost to actually fix it.
The indy mechanic put in a used sensor on that side, but I started getting errors driving to work. The car would pump itself up to max ride height. When I took the wheel off, I found a used sensor with the numbers etched off mounted with extra washers on the bracket. So to fix it, I ordered brackets, sensors and hardware for both sides.
The error went away and it seemed to settle down. Today I took it to the dealership for an alignment and to update the software. Turns out that my bluetooth antenna is bad, so I didn't need an update, but I told them about the sensors and asked them to do a calibration. When I got the keys back, the right rear wheel was slammed into the wheel well.
Put it back on the machine and figured out that the right sensor is reading backwards. Up is down and down is up, so the car thinks the wheel is too high and slams it all the way down. The left side works as advertised.
The sensors are the same part number. No indications that the wiring has been modified. Brackets are installed according to BMW instructions. They can't be flipped or mounted differently because the connector won't go back on. The connector only fits one way, so no chance that the pins have been flipped in the connector.
The dealership thinks the sensor is bad and is willing to replace it for free since I bought the parts from another dealership. I drove it home with the sensor disconnected and it maintained ride height.
So I'm curious if any of you guys know how the system works and if you can point me in the right direction. I'm not convinced that changing the sensor will fix the problem. The module has to know that the sensor resistance inputs are flipped.
Appreciate your guys' thoughts.
my spare tire well flooded and took out my ride height ECU. I replaced the ECU with a used module, and the car was fine for one drive, then the right rear corner would randomly keep exhausting. I hooked up INPA and low and behold the RR sensor reads backwards. I bought a used replacemnt sensor, since the left and right sensors have different parts numbers i didnt try swapping first to see if the issue followed the sensor. Now with the new sensor in the value still reads backwards.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
/J
#4
New Members
On the off chance you're still registered in this forum, what was the fix for your backwards sensor?
my spare tire well flooded and took out my ride height ECU. I replaced the ECU with a used module, and the car was fine for one drive, then the right rear corner would randomly keep exhausting. I hooked up INPA and low and behold the RR sensor reads backwards. I bought a used replacemnt sensor, since the left and right sensors have different parts numbers i didnt try swapping first to see if the issue followed the sensor. Now with the new sensor in the value still reads backwards.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
/J
my spare tire well flooded and took out my ride height ECU. I replaced the ECU with a used module, and the car was fine for one drive, then the right rear corner would randomly keep exhausting. I hooked up INPA and low and behold the RR sensor reads backwards. I bought a used replacemnt sensor, since the left and right sensors have different parts numbers i didnt try swapping first to see if the issue followed the sensor. Now with the new sensor in the value still reads backwards.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
/J
#5
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Greenville SC
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My Ride: E61
Model Year: 2008
Engine: N54
I think it is a programming issue. I have the exact same problem right now, I was sent an E70 EHC module that was advertised as an E61, and also ended up with an E65 module. The E70 reads the sensors correctly, I can manually adjust the ride height and put it into "transport" mode just fine but it won't program to the car for normal operation. The E65 I thought I had programmed correctly, except the right sensor values are inverted. I'm going to keep poking at it, but hopefully someone here has it figured out!
The beat-up one is mine from my '08 E61. The other is from an '06 or '07 E66. According to the label the firmware should be identical. I dont know if that includes EEPROM values which could be where one of the sensor input values get inverted.
The saga continues...
#6
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The beat-up one is mine from my '08 E61. The other is from an '06 or '07 E66. According to the label the firmware should be identical. I dont know if that includes EEPROM values which could be where one of the sensor input values get inverted.
The saga continues...
The saga continues...
If you have INPA it's super quick to check both modules.
#7
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Greenville SC
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My Ride: E61
Model Year: 2008
Engine: N54
The part numbers definitely coincide with the proper EHC on my E61. Are you certain the "beat-up one" is original to the car? The fact that it has been opened could mean the board was swapped out, although it's highly unlikely.
If you have INPA it's super quick to check both modules.
If you have INPA it's super quick to check both modules.
I do have INPA, which is how im testing the module in the car and reading inverted sign values from the passenger side rear sensor.
#8
New Members
yep, im sure. It was opened by me when i cleaned the corrosion off the board to try and resurrect it. Which was unsuccessful, hence the replacement used ECM.
I do have INPA, which is how im testing the module in the car and reading inverted sign values from the passenger side rear sensor.
I do have INPA, which is how im testing the module in the car and reading inverted sign values from the passenger side rear sensor.
#9
New Members
Were any of you getting any codes (ie from Carly) on your suspension?
I have had a recurring code 006F51:
not received or message HEIGHT STAND AIR SPRING wrong message length: CAN message / air spring / not received or message HEIGHT STAND AIR SPRING (ID 0x212) wrong message length: PT-Can / not receive message HEIGHT STAND AIR SPRING or wrong message length ---: CAN message / air spring (DSC: Embassy (EHC, 212) is missing)
Behavior is normal other than that. Plan to look at the sensors and connectors when I remove summer tires. Anyone have a picture, RealOEM link, or anything on the sensor location? I am not sure what I am looking for.
EDIT:
Found the Real OEM entry: https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=33_1285
Also this X5 post with some pics: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1488785
I have had a recurring code 006F51:
not received or message HEIGHT STAND AIR SPRING wrong message length: CAN message / air spring / not received or message HEIGHT STAND AIR SPRING (ID 0x212) wrong message length: PT-Can / not receive message HEIGHT STAND AIR SPRING or wrong message length ---: CAN message / air spring (DSC: Embassy (EHC, 212) is missing)
Behavior is normal other than that. Plan to look at the sensors and connectors when I remove summer tires. Anyone have a picture, RealOEM link, or anything on the sensor location? I am not sure what I am looking for.
EDIT:
Found the Real OEM entry: https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=33_1285
Also this X5 post with some pics: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1488785
Last edited by Sixracer; 11-03-2020 at 12:28 PM.
#10
New Members
The rear ride height sensors are located right next to the airbags, connected to the control arm.