Ladies/Gents etc ... 96 355 ... suspension malfunction light on, followed by check engine light. Assuming it's one of the actuators ..... any way to check before I wheel it to the dealer? Regards.
Hello Delaney, I recently had a check engine light come on in my 99 F355. I went to a local auto store and purchased an OBDII computer reader. Plugged it in under the steering column and checked the code. After looking it up in the book I cleared it and it has stayed off. I figure if it comes back I will take it to the shop, if not then it was an error. The reader cost about $130. I think your car has an OBDI computer. This was a small investment compared to having to take the time to visit the shop BTW, over the past 6 months my suspension light has come on twice but it went away by itself when I restarted the car the next day. --tony
Tony, Thanks for the quick reply. An important point you raise .. 96 F355 ....OBD1 or OBD2 .... anyone? Pete
Richard .. thanks for the reply. Tony ... you said in your original note that you cleared the check engine light. Is 'clearing' a function that comes with the analyzer? Regards, Pete
With the ODB Readers (around around $130 or so - you can find the best place to order) Check Previous threads.. You can reset errors with the readers. Rich
Pete, I purchased the INNOVA Model #3100. One of the functions on it is to clear the check engine light. It was pretty easy to do. The package says that it works for all US,Asian and European OBDII systems 1996 and up. Its funny how my car seems to drive a lot better without that light on --tony
Pete: The suspensiion light is completely seperate from the check engine light. The check engine or "MIL" light requires the OBDII check/reader to read/erase as discussed above. The manufacture specific OBD codes are in the "diognostics" section of your shop manual. The Suspension computor (Bilstein) is located under the pass. side toe board below th fuse box. It resets itself every time your turn the key off. The dealer can read it for faults, but I suggest you start with the following. Each red shock actuator cycles and zeros itself during the start/key on process for the system self check. If they don't turn....the fault is recorded and the light goes on. The most common failure is that one of the four actuators gets hung up and doesn't turn. Can be just stickey, or failed actuator, or failed shock. Heres what to do; 1) starting in the rear where it's easiest to access the actuators, unclip the red actuator on one shock at a time. Lay it sideways so you or a friend can observe the female spile in it as you turn the ignition on. It should turn on its own, in both direction and then stop in the middle somewhere. 2) the male spline on the shock should turn with your fingers. 3) if both occur, then move on to the next shock. Note: you can just clip the actuator back in place, you don't have to index it to the shock or spline....thats taken care of on the start-up cycle where the computor finds the end stops and then goes to the mid position. If the shaft on the shock is stuck....you need a new shock. But you might succeed in forcing it free. If the red actuator doesn't turn....swap it with another one from the car to isolate it to that part. I have found that as often as not, just removing and turning things by hand frees things up and the problem goes away. Also worth checking is the electrical contact/cleanliness at the actuator connectors. If there is a fuse for the system.... start there. Good luck...call if I can help further. Mike
Mike's description is right on the money. I'm going through that right now, however the "spline" on top of my the shock simply "spins" freely...menaing an internal broken gear or pin. If the shock is bad (as in my case) hold on to your wallet. The shocks are about $1K each and dealer sells them only in pairs. We found one dealer who was willing to break a set and sell us only one. The other options is a member of the site, who is the only guy I know of that can rebuild them. Rob @ Delta Vee Motorsport (847) 638-4226. I think it's about $250 each. Turn around is about one week. Frank
Just had this happen to my 1995 355 I took on trade.....gonna print this out and go to my mechanic. Thanks !!!! Great post........!!! 9 months later........gawd I love the search function.
