ARB dual compressor/rear airbag question, Ed Martin built (1 Viewer)

[spaber05]

Hi all,

I did a bit of searching but couldn't find much. I have a new-to-me, Ed Martin built 2021, and I've got the ARB compressor hooked up to a set of rear bags and a quick release chuck under the hood. Recently, despite the switch being in the "off" position, the compressor kicks on for very short bursts (2-3 seconds). Sometimes it does this 5-6 times over the course of a 3 hr. drive, other times it's more frequent.

Any ideas? My thought is that there's a leak somewhere and it's constantly trying to keep the airbags inflated. I have it set to 10 psi, no load in the rear cargo area. Should I just grab some soapy water and work my way around? Any input appreciated, just want to make sure I'm not missing anything else obvious.

Thanks!

 

[prharper]

Hi all,

I did a bit of searching but couldn't find much. I have a new-to-me, Ed Martin built 2021, and I've got the ARB compressor hooked up to a set of rear bags and a quick release chuck under the hood. Recently, despite the switch being in the "off" position, the compressor kicks on for very short bursts (2-3 seconds). Sometimes it does this 5-6 times over the course of a 3 hr. drive, other times it's more frequent.

Any ideas? My thought is that there's a leak somewhere and it's constantly trying to keep the airbags inflated. I have it set to 10 psi, no load in the rear cargo area. Should I just grab some soapy water and work my way around? Any input appreciated, just want to make sure I'm not missing anything else obvious.

Thanks!

Congrats on getting an Ed Martin build, Eric is a good dude.

I don't have any experience with using the ARB compressor w air bags (or lockers). However, does the ARB compressor need to be always powered on? I have my ARB connected to a Switch Pro and only use (powered on) when airing things up. I did forget to turn the switch off once or twice and the compressor would kick in after awhile for a second or two, hard to overlook that noise.

 

[lx200inAR]

I would think your bags have a solenoid to control when they draw air from your compressor and would guess they only draw compressed air when using the controls (based on your description you have some sort of automated control for the bags).. Probably the pump running in short bursts is the pressure switch turning on the compressor because the lines between the compressor and wherever that solenoid is are not maintaining the pressure required to keep the airlines at whatever the pressure rating Of the switch is. You could take the soap bottle around, or just turn off the compressor when you aren’t using it as stated above.

 

[spaber05]

@lx200inAR and @prharper - to answer both your questions, it would appear that all of this is happening despite the push-button switch on the dash being off AND the control for the pressure in the bags being off, so it seems the compressor operates entirely on it's own if there is demand for pressure.

 

[lx200inAR]

@lx200inAR and @prharper - to answer both your questions, it would appear that all of this is happening despite the push-button switch on the dash being off AND the control for the pressure in the bags being off, so it seems the compressor operates entirely on it's own if there is demand for pressure.

I'd be concerned that my compressor switch doesn't turn off my compressor.

Most people who have a semi automated OBA system have a main on/off switch that cuts power to the compressor (via relay) and a pressure switch in the system that shuts it off when pressure is too high. "Demand" occurs when the pressure the pressure switch sees is below whatever the pressure switch rating is. I believe the ARB switch is 70/100psi. So if you turn on the system and nothing is connected to it, the compressor will fill the air lines up to 100psi and shut off. Once you connect something to the system, the lines in the pressure will drop as the compressed air inflates the connected device. Once the ARB pressure switch sees less than 70psi (this will be a matter of less than a second probably if you connected a tire to your system) it will turn on the compressor and start pumping air. It will pump until it sees 100 psi again, which typically doesn't occur until you disconnect whatever is being aired up, so that only the lines are seeing pressure again.

What I suspect is happening is your lines are not holding pressure and the pressure in the lines drops to 70psi and every once in a while, the compressor has to pump the lines back up to the 100psi to satisfy the pressure switch. Obviously, it doesn't matter if your lines are sitting between 70-100psi when you aren't using compressed air, so as long as the system can pump up things when it's needed, there's no reason to have the compressor on all the time and no reason to chase down the small leak.

Sorry for the long winded response, just giving you some ammo to tshoot with.

 

[Sandroad]

If it was mine, I’d skip the soapy water and focus on why the compressor runs at all when the switch is off, especially if that is a new behavior as you seem to imply. I would expect the on/off switch to cut power. I’d be looking at the switch, any relays, and wiring shorts.

 

[Fisher23]

2 things,
Sounds like your compressor is on when the engine is running all the time. Could be the relay stuck on?
Likely there is a leak.

I have an ARB compressor.

 

[desmocruiser]

Eric is a great guy, give him a call or drop him an email I am confident he will go over the operation with you, which should help diagnose, his customer service and knowledge of his builds are excellent.

 

[spaber05]

2 things,
Sounds like your compressor is on when the engine is running all the time. Could be the relay stuck on?
Likely there is a leak.

I have an ARB compressor.

Not technically "on" all the time while engine is on, but running periodically for short bursts to (possibly) top off a line that's low on pressure.

I was under the assumption that when the switch was off, there was no power whatsoever to the compressor but it appears that's not the case here either by design or fault in the system.

I didn't want to bother Eric with something seemingly trivial but I might shoot him a message.

@lx200inAR - thoughts very much appreciated, I think you're onto something. I'm not too concerned with my lines holding a constant 70-100 as long as I have good pressure when needed on occasion. I should probably just focus on being able to fully cut power to the compressor.

 

[Fisher23]

Not technically "on" all the time while engine is on, but running periodically for short bursts to (possibly) top off a line that's low on pressure.

I was under the assumption that when the switch was off, there was no power whatsoever to the compressor but it appears that's not the case here either by design or fault in the system.
as long as I have good pressure when needed on occasion. I should probably just focus on being able to fully cut power to the compressor.

By "on" I mean the power to the compressor is turned "on". SO what I meant was it seems that your compressor is turned "on" when the engine is running vs being turned on and off by the switch. Now this may have been wired this way for your convenience.

On Mine I have it wired normal so that the switch controls the power to the compressor. ARB wires are all colored so you can test the power line with a multi meter and see if it has 12 volts. Does the compressor seem to run for a short time every time you start the vehicle?

The problem is the actual compressor (when it has power) will turn on when the pressure drops. So the compressor cycling on and off indicates a small leak.

 

[desmocruiser]

I would still work on resolving the potential leak so it would not leak when I really needed the airbags, plus that maybe an easier and more valuable repair than rewiring and redesigning the system if your system is designed to maintain the bags at a certain pressure and runs anytime temperature/air pressure changes or there is a leak (my guess), cutting power to the compressor would simply circumvent that system.

The other and simple setup is to run airlines at the rear of the vehicle to a valve to add/remove air and check pressure the old fashioned way.

 

[desmocruiser]

Also, you might find your build on one of Eric’s YouTube videos, he did a bunch of them.

One of the airbag set ups was operated by wireless remote control, I ran across it when doing some research on adding air bags to my build.

To eliminate potential complications, I am going old school with a simple air valve mounted by the driver’s side rear mud guard.

 

[Fisher23]

To eliminate potential complications, I am going old school with a simple air valve mounted by the driver’s side rear mud guard.

Do you have a pic of this?

I've only seen the one where the air valves are under the tail gate bridge.

 

[grinchy]

I had a weird startup sound for a few days. I’d bumped my compressor on switch with my knee, and it was cycling to pressure whenever I’d start the car.

If your compressor is running at all when it’s ‘off’, it’s not off.

The arb dual has two big power lines, one for each pump, and a small web of wires for switching (lockers, tires, etc). That web can have pressure switches, manual switches etc wires on it to control various things. Somewhere there is a switch on the control wires that is on under some set of conditions.

 

[WCDAVE]

Also, you might find your build on one of Eric’s YouTube videos, he did a bunch of them.

One of the airbag set ups was operated by wireless remote control, I ran across it when doing some research on adding air bags to my build.

To eliminate potential complications, I am going old school with a simple air valve mounted by the driver’s side rear mud guard.

View attachment 3493340

THIS - the whole point of the airbags is to be able to adjust pressure/lift based on load, so if you are not able to manually inflate/deflate them, there is likely a remote to do that for you. If the compressor has a pressure switch (can't imagine your application doesn't) and it is cycling there is a leak. Also, be sure each one is controlled separately or at least each with its own ability to maintain pressure independent of the other. If they are T'd together, you can run into an issue when cornering where the outboard bag is compressed and transfers pressure to the inboard bag making it difficult or impossible for the springs to level you out - this is dangerous in higher speed cornering like entering an off ramp or an evasive maneuver. I almost learned this lesson the hard way with mine when trying to shift lanes quickly to make an exit.

 

[desmocruiser]

Do you have a pic of this?

I've only seen the one where the air valves are under the tail gate bridge.

I don’t have any pictures.

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten any further than ordering the bags and new springs and place them on a shelf.

I had a lengthy discussion with Cruiser Outfitters when I purchased the new springs and airbags. One of the guys there has his set up that way and it seemed to be the most simple and straightforward forward route, although tucked well underneath the center rear could be a viable option, however this build has a 40 gallon LRA tank and that takes up some of the space.

I am hoping to tidy up everything on this 200 over the Winter.

 

[Fisher23]

I don’t have any pictures.

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten any further than ordering the bags and new springs and place them on a shelf.

This is that other thread on it.

Leveling rig for Car Camping / RTT

This was brought up in another thread and thought there's enough to discuss that it deserves its own - Many of us car camp or use Roof Top Tents and I think many would agree it's worth the time and effort to have a level rig to sleep in. Some have had the pleasure of playing the rock leveling...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[82SC]

My system consists of

Arb dual
Arb Linx with pressure control valve and solenoids
Firestone airbags

Do you know the exact components of yours?
If you look at the back of your compressor look for a silver tube the size of a jimmy dean sausage with solenoids that look like this

If you do have these components then the info below may be useful.

For my system I set my pressure via the arb linx and the solenoid manages the pressure. It will turn the compressor on and off as needed to maintain pressure.

Mine will intermittently turn on and off but only when I recently set a new pressure. Then the system adjusts as you drive around to be at the pressure you set. Then it won’t turn on and off again unless I change the load in the rear significantly or again set a new pressure.

Your system sounds different but it also sounds like you don’t know the exact details of your install either. But in case you have a pressure sensing system installed it maybe trying to maintain the set pressure. And if you have a leak it will continue to cycle the compressor on and off to maintain it.

 

[Fisher23]

My system consists of

Arb dual
Arb Linx with pressure control valve and solenoids
Firestone airbags

Do you know the exact components of yours?
If you look at the back of your compressor look for a silver tube the size of a jimmy dean sausage with solenoids that look like this

View attachment 3494061

If you do have these components then the info below may be useful.

For my system I set my pressure via the arb linx and the solenoid manages the pressure. It will turn the compressor on and off as needed to maintain pressure.

Mine will intermittently turn on and off but only when I recently set a new pressure. Then the system adjusts as you drive around to be at the pressure you set. Then it won’t turn on and off again unless I change the load in the rear significantly or again set a new pressure.

Your system sounds different but it also sounds like you don’t know the exact details of your install either. But in case you have a pressure sensing system installed it maybe trying to maintain the set pressure. And if you have a leak it will continue to cycle the compressor on and off to maintain it.

Would you know the part number for that pressure controller?