Autoride Help!

00'Yukon · December 22, 2008

Hi Guys,

I'm new here and am looking for some insight. I have a 2000 gmc yukon with the autoride suspension package. The truck has 145,000 miles on it and its been great. We replaced the rear shocks with brand new OEM ones (got a great deal) less that 10,000 miles ago since the old ones were shot. The new shocks got installed and the compressor leveled the truck once after and hasn't since.

Since then, I bought a brand new GM dryer and a new compressor from arnott industries. We put the new compressor and dryer in the mounting bracket and varifyed the compressor worked by supplying power to it from the battery. It kicked right on. However, when plugged back into the 7 pin connector on the truck and turning the truck on, the compressor does not kick on, even with people on the back. The 7 pin connector was corroded pretty bad and i used a small wire brush to clean as much out as possible. One pin however seems to have corroded away. could this be the problem? Can i get a new 7 pin connector? can i remove the connect and hard wire it instead?

The truck never had the service ride control message on until we plugged the new compressor in and tryed to get it to run.

Any thoughts guys?

Thanks

bobcat5544 · December 22, 2008

I would start with the wire harness. I believe gm does have a new connector to replace the old one. All you would need to do is cut the old one off and wire in the new one. If not then you could cut off both connectors and wire them together.

If that does not fix the problem then check make sure the system does have power. If it does then check the load level sensors they may not be giving the control unit a signal.

00'Yukon · December 22, 2008

Thanks for the response. I'm not sure if this is enough to trip the load sensors in the rear, but i jumped that one corroded terminal with 2 people on the back of the truck and nothing happened. I'm starting to think it maybe isn;t the connector anymore? Maybe i will pop off the load level sensors and see if they are working properly. I checked the fuse and its fine. im running out of options now i guess.

maguiver · January 3, 2009

Thanks for the response. I'm not sure if this is enough to trip the load sensors in the rear, but i jumped that one corroded terminal with 2 people on the back of the truck and nothing happened. I'm starting to think it maybe isn;t the connector anymore? Maybe i will pop off the load level sensors and see if they are working properly. I checked the fuse and its fine. im running out of options now i guess.

I just repaired my Autoride system (2001 Yukon XL 4X4, 5.3L). It all starts with a 5 minute scan at the dealer. The trouble code will reveal exactly the problem and then you can determine what has failed. The system consists of 2 units outside the shocks themselves, the compressor leveling module and the suspension control module - each are about $500 to $800 from the dealer. The compressor sits behind the driver side rear wheel on the chassis - its covered by a rubber jacket held by plastic clips (christmas trees). The suspension control module is located inside the passenger side rear cargo wheelwell cover.

The compressor module has 3 separate components - an air compressor run by a 12V electric motor, a pressure sensor and a solenoid valve that vents (exhausts) the system pressure as required.

In my case, I had the same symptom you have - my compressor would not come on. When I pulled the compressor module from the truck and powered the compressor motor directly from the car battery, it worked fine. At the dealer, I discovered it was trouble code C0660 - exhaust valve circuit malfunction. I pulled the compressor module again and disassembled the exhaust solenoid. I found a broken wire in the solenoid, re-soldered and repaired the unit and now it works fine. Total dollar cost - $15! A $10 tip to the dealer mechanic for his 5 minutes with the "Tech 2 scan tool" (worth $2000!!) and $5 for new "christmas tree" clips from AutoZone.

I have diagrams and other info - let me know how I can help further.

denali2t2 · January 14, 2009

I have my 2002 Denali at the dealer today to repair my Autoride wich will cost me $2200 dollars. Whew I really can't afford that because it only is an issue when I haul a trailer which make the back sag way down. They said I needed a new compressor and two new shocks. I asked them if they put it on the computer to pull the codes but they said they new by looking at the shocks that they were blown and that the compressor went out trying to keep them up. Question: For $2200 couldn't I get an after market airbag system installed? how about just buying some spring/shocks in the back that would take the load when I do haul a trailer. Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks,

Kurt Walker

denali2t2 · January 14, 2009

Sorry for Hijacking this post! I am a newbe..... I will repost in the main forum. -Kurt

alvocado · January 15, 2009

I have my 2002 Denali at the dealer today to repair my Autoride wich will cost me $2200 dollars. Whew I really can't afford that because it only is an issue when I haul a trailer which make the back sag way down. They said I needed a new compressor and two new shocks. I asked them if they put it on the computer to pull the codes but they said they new by looking at the shocks that they were blown and that the compressor went out trying to keep them up. Question: For $2200 couldn't I get an after market airbag system installed? how about just buying some spring/shocks in the back that would take the load when I do haul a trailer. Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks,

Kurt Walker

If you only need rear shocks and a compressor, you can buy OEM GM shocks for $200/ea from Arnott Industries and get a GM compressor from gmpartsdirect.com for just over $300. That's $700 for parts and the install is very easy. If you go this route, you might as well replace the front shocks since they are likely worn if your rears are shot. If you paid the dealer for diagnosing the issue, it would have been good to have them at least scan for error codes. Just because the pump isn't running doesn't mean it's defective. It could be several other issues with your Autoride system.

Yukon Ed · December 11, 2011

I have a 2004 Yukon with Autoride issue

ran codes and got C0660 - Exhaust solenoid valve

noticed that Maguiver indicated that he had rebuilt the exhaust solenoid valve, actually repaired a broken wire.

How does this valve disassemble?

daxr · July 1, 2014

I have a 2004 Yukon with Autoride issue

ran codes and got C0660 - Exhaust solenoid valve

noticed that Maguiver indicated that he had rebuilt the exhaust solenoid valve, actually repaired a broken wire.

How does this valve disassemble?

Its a little tricky. I just repaired one on a 2005 Yukon Denali, where we had replaced the rear shocks (ripped air bags, $1400), then found that the compressor wouldn't turn on due to a faulty exhaust valve. I work at a dealership inspecting and repairng trade-ins, and the way it works is I'd be up s**t creek if I had to go to my boss and tells him it'd be another $800 to get the vehicle done, so out of necessity I set to repairing it.

First you remove the compressor assembly from the vehicle - three bolts hold it on (in the Denali, at least). Unhook the wiring connector, the high pressure air line, and the air intake hose.

Pop the plastic plugs that hold the rubber cover on and get that out of the way, then unbolt the compressor assembly from its sheet metal frame.

On the side of the compressor housing is a rectagular cover plate with a blue and a white wire going into it - thats the exhaust valve solenoid. Remove the two torx bolts holding that on, work it loose and remove the solenoid body from the housing.

Its held to that cover plate by a swaged-on u-shaped cover. The only really hard part is getting that cover off; I used a cut-off tool to buzz down two of the swages so I could lever it loose on one side, while shifting it forward to release it from the back two swages. I actually bent the crap out of it in the process, but knocking it back to flat on an anvil wasn't too tough, and its not too critical that it be perfectly shaped.

Anyway, once that cover is off pop the rubber boot holding the wires through to the inside and pull the coil off the plunger inside.

I found it moderately grimy and sticky, so cleaned the plunger assembly and the rubber at the end, and lubricated it with a bit of silicon grease. Possibly penetrating oil would have been better.

The coil itself is wrapped with plastic tape. Unwind the tape until you see where the blue and the white wires are soldered to a tab, which the two wires from the coil are also soldered to.

In my case, I found that one of the tiny coil wires had broken loose at the solder connection. I imagine that would be the common thing, as they are pretty delicate and they are attached to the buzzy compressor.

I just re-soldered the ends, taped it back up, and re-assembled the unit. I was worried that the u-shaped frame might not fit back on well, or that I would have damaged the swages too much for a tight fit, but it worked fine. If you have to struggle to get it apart then you have to struggle to push it back together, and it was a tight enough fit.

I sealed the swaged portion with jb weld, as it had some kind of epoxy on it previously, and I used black RTV to seal the case cover. I don't think that too critical, just keeping the weather out.

I might add that I checked resistances at every point - open circuit before disassembly, 22 ohms between the two loose coil ends, then 22 ohms through the circuit when it was fully reassembled.

With the unit installed back in the Yukon I started it up - no "service ride control light" came on, and after 30 seconds or so the compressor kicked on, leveled it right up, and kicked back off. Very nice feeling!