Stupid Electronic Suspension.....

sgolenski

Registered User
Greetings folks,

Got a 89 5spd with just over 40k on it; Bone stock. Fired up the car last weekend and the stupid "Firm Ride" light blinks at me 4 times and quits, then four times and quits, etc.... This only happens when I have the ride control flipped to "Auto". By the feel of the thing (fillings rattling in my teeth) she's stuck on firm for some reason. Because I'm tired of looking at the light blinking at me, I clicked it over to firm and left it. Anyone have any ideas as to what I need to start checking?

These are the reasons that I've always hated "automatic" or "Electric" anything on cars!!

Thanks a ton guys/gals!!
Scott G.
 
Ummmm..... No joke, 30 seconds after I clicked the "post" button I found the post on the actuator blades. :eek: I'm going to try it, but If anyone else has any other ideas or advice, I'd love to hear them!!

Thank you,
Scott G.
 
It blinks so many times, I beleive usually something like once then a pause then 4 more times, or once then so many other times to indicate which shock actuator is bad. When mine did it a while back i stumbled upon which codes were which actuator on here somewhere if i have time maybe i'll find them again and let u know. I replaced one of my shock actuators that was bad and kept the other spares i ordered in case it happened again. but it just means you need a new shock actuator.
 
Simple thing to do is pop the actuator off the shock and put 1-2 drops of a light weight oil in the shock, then work the pin back and forth a few times. This may fix you up. However, its just a temporary thing as usually the shock itself will need replacing. The actuators are so simple, they shouldn't go bad. Easiest way to test them is to just take them off all 4 shocks and leave them laying there still connected. Then turn the key on and see how it goes. If the problem goes away, then you need to figure out which shock is the problem.
You should know enough to figure the rest out from here. :cool:
 
This is a fairly common problem, especially on a car that sits most of the time. I had the same thing come up on my white 89 last year. There is a thread on FAQ describing the diagnosis and how-to. Usually a simple fix.

JD
 
The blade thing may fix you up. My white SC had that problem, I fixed it as described, and it lasted until the car was wrecked (about a year).
 
Thanks all. I will get to it this weekend. This baby is way different then that Eagle Talon I used to have... Mainly because it runs for more than 3 weeks without costing me $500!!!! Don't even get me started on that thing.....

I'll post my results.
 
The number of blinks will tell you what shock is the problem. If its 4 blinks I beleive that is the right front shock, but not 100% sure.

I'd do the oil trick and I'd be good for a couple of weeks then it would start doing it again. I gave up and but the full Tokico spring and shock replacement kit which lowered the car and now she's rides like a champ... with no more blinking light.
 
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