well now that I have replaced my rear air shocks on my Park Ave I see I have a problem. For some reason the compressor seesm to work fine but the shocks do NOT release the air after remoing a load . Everytime you start the car the compressor comes on for a second after about 15 seconds but after 10 or 15 starts the back end is too high.

I tried adjusting the rod but whatever is supposed to release the air ain't working.


Now I have the fuse out, any ideas ??

There is not a check valve or anything. There is a solenoid in the head of the compressor that releases pressure to lower the shocks. Look for 2 wires (Orange & white) going into the head from the top. Those are the solenoid wires. One should have +12v (Orange) from the same fuse that runs the compressor and the other (white) gets a ground directly from the sensor. So I guess that would be a good place to start.

Check to see if you have 12v on the orange wire. If so, ground the white wire at the sensor and see if the solenoid works and releases pressure. That will check out the wiring all the way to the front. Of course, if it works, it is either the sensor or the loss of its ground at the black wire. BTW, it uses the same ground point as the inflate switch circuit in the trunk if you have one.

All this is for a Bonneville, so I have to guess yours is the same. Let us know back what you find.

Actually, I just had this problem (along with every single ELC problem you can have).

first thing, check the release coil inside the compressor, all you need to do is unplug the compressor harness, it is the 4 wire one, then apply 12v to the 2 white wires polarity does not matter, and it ought to release (you can hear it). Also, you can check the coil by using a multimeter it should read about .014 or .015. on a continuity test.

if that works next is testing the actual wiring to the ELC ride height sensor which contains most of the brains of the system. My service manual has a wonderful flow chart for troubleshooting it that I can get pictures of if needed.

also another place to check for things gone afoul is in the trunk right behind the scissor jack compartment, remove that and pull back the trunk carpet and you will see the wiring harness that feeds the ELC equipment, make sure there are no corded wires in there, i believe there is a RED wire that is responsible for the release coil, mine had corroded to the point of no contact and was causing this same condition on my bonneville.

I hope this helps!


EDIT: I see you have a park ave, what I have down is for a H body 96-99, so take that for what it is worth

In your troubleshooting, be aware that it takes TIME to vent. Sometimes as much as a 45 second delay. Are you giving it that much time after adjusting the sensor? A sensor adjustment would be normal after a rear strut change.

You can manually release the air in the struts by disconnecting the 2-wire selector valve in the trunk behind the Right Rear seat, and depressing the fill valve of the trunk inflator IF YOU HAVE an inflator built in.

since this is on a Park Avenue, I highly doubt that he would have an inflater in the trunk, I believe that to be a Pontiac only setup.

if that works next is testing the actual wiring to the ELC ride height sensor which contains most of the brains of the system. My service manual has a wonderful flow chart for troubleshooting it that I can get pictures of if needed.

can you please send me them charts with the correct voltage (all CHARTS). my email is Jless4488@yahoo.com THANK YOU I REALLY APPRECHIATE IT!!