I have a 2003 navigator. A few months ago i had a problem with the alternator/battery, after installing a cheap after market alternator my suspension went all the way down and has never came back up. I got a shop to get me like a special alternator slap it in and now were all good on that problem, except my suspension still never came back up. the problem lies somewhere between the air suspension compressor that wont turn on or the relay or whatever else comes before that. im so stressed out over this cause we just had a baby and anyday now the baby will come home and the ride is the bumpiest ride ever. Plus we dont have that much money to be spending on unsure parts. Ive checked all the litle fuses inside by the passengers feet. ive checked the switch in the back to make sure its on. i guess what my major question is to all u lucky car fixers is "HOW DO I BYPASS THE AIR SUSPENSION RELAY LIKE EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT?" i need someone to explain it to me like if i was a 5th grader because i have read it all over the place but dont get what to do. i know where the relay is and ive even pulled it apart and cleaned both sides (its a 4 prong relay). I live in portland oregon and im BEGGING anyone that can walk me thru this step by step to please please help me do this so at least i can know if i should get a relay or a new compressor. thank u all from my family for ur time, patience, and expertise.

 

My Navigator master switch is in the right side front of the passenger foot well and under the dashboard.
Is your "Check Suspension" warning light on? If it is, make sure the switch is turned ON. If the light stays on there is a problem in the system. (We already know that)
Find the electrical relay near the air compressor and use a jumper wire to provide voltage to the compressor. If the compressor starts and runs you will hear it and then we know that the compressor works. The relay to look for is made of finned cast aluminum.
Check this far and let us know the results. These systems are not rocket science but do require time and patience and worth the effort to get operating correctly. Don't give up.

 

First off thank u for ur time answering me. The "check suspension" light will show up like every15 mins. (cause I'll press reset when it ahowa up) I've read and heard of this switch behind the glove box but never could find it. What does it look like? Now as far as the compressor relay i have found that but this is where i get confused i need a step by step about how to jump the relay. What kind of wire? Where do i hook up this wire? I'm sorry i dont know much when i get to that part, but thats where im stuck at i have no clue bow to jump the relay could u please explain how in the easiest way possible pease? Thank you so much.

 

If the check suspension light comes on every 15 minutes of so I believe the switch is on. If it is I believe your air compressor is dead and that is the reason to make the jump at the relay.
Have you found the finned aluminum relay?
To jump or bypass the relay you will disconnect the plug at the relay and using any electrical wire touch one end to the contact of the heaviest wire going inside the plug and then touch the other end of the jumper to either the last or next to last contact in the plug. If memory serves there are only 4 wires in the plug and the way I found mine was to just jump until I found the correct one. when you make the correct contact you will hear the compressor start, if you don't hear anything the compressor is most likely dead and I recommend that you contact Eddie Spinks of American Air for one of his reman compressors. He is a sponsor here and I have dealt with him several times and his products have always served me well.
Here is a link to his site; www.americanairsuspension.com

 

Thank u bud u r a god send for realz. I have talked to eddie a few times before. But he didnt answer all weekend and i wanted to get it fixed this weekend. I will probably call him shortly. So back to ur answer when i unplug the relay and touch one wire to the next tab and then another tab it wont short out anything cause one of the tabs is negative? Or are they all positive? And when i do that do i have the car on or off?

 

I don't know about all that but I never had a problem by jumping the relay as you only do a momentary jump. Once you have the correct lead and the compressor makes a noise, either start up or lock up you will have a lot more information to go by. If it starts pumping, make a good jumper connection and air the suspension up. Then turn the suspension switch off to lock the system so the solenoids in the system do not let the system vent. Once you get mother and baby home you can go deeper into the system by turning the switch on and seeing if it will stay up. We can continue then if needed. If the compressor runs but the truck won't lift you may have a broken connecting rod in the pump. That has happened to me in my Mark VIII and my Navigator. That seems to be a fairly common problem with these compressors, especially as they get older.

 

So while jumping the relay do u have ur car turned off or have your car turned on? And u said first start off by connecting a wire to the biggest wire tab, then touch the other side to each of the other 3 tabs until compressor hopefully kicks on? Do i have that right?

 

I would have it turned on but not running. I'm not sure it would make a difference. It's been a while since I had to do any of this.

 

Shouldn't matter if the system is "ON" or "OFF".

The four pins of the relay should be labeled "A", "B" "C" and "D".

Looking at the wiring harness connector:

Pin "A" should have the light blue w/ pink strip wire and should be hot at ALL times. (This wire is protected by a 50A fuse in the CJB.)

Momentarily jumper pin "A" to pin "B" (which should have the gray w/ red stripe wire) and the compressor motor should start if it is good (and if it has a good ground).

 

Thank u for answering, how would i know if its grounded good?

 

just a thought, if your suspension was working fine before your alternator went out. I think you need to reset the height for the suspension. I know there is an instruction write up on it somewhere on the forum. But you basically make sure you are level ground, or as best as you can, turn off the suspension by turning the switch off, disconnect the battery for at least 5 minutes. place a jack on the rear.( I just putt it on the trailer hitch) raise the truck to the normal height. Reconnect the battery, turn on the switch. wind down your windows and turn your key to the on position, the compressor may turn on briefly. keeping the key on and all the doors close including the hood. slowly lower the jack, the compressor should turn on and raise the truck to the previous height. doing this is resetting the "factory" height of the suv. I think yours was reset when they replaced the compressor somehow. I did this on my Eddie Bauer and it worked great. The low rider hop stopped! Hope this helps!!....btw the pre 2003 have the switch in the front passenger kick panel, post 2003 have it in the rear drivers side cargo area behind a little door.

 

Okay to every one of u lucky car fixers who have been giving me info heres where im at now. I finally figured out how to bypass the relay, and to my surprise the air suspension compres DOS kick on i was so happy, so i had it hooked up like that for about 3 to 4 mins in hopes that i would start.seeing the car lift. The compressor wasnt noisy it was vibrating/shaking a little bit. One of the bypa

 

Okay to every one of u lucky car fixers who have been giving me info heres where im at now. I finally figured out how to bypass the relay, and to my surprise the air suspension compressor kicked on i was so happy, so i had it hooked up like that for about 3 to 4 mins in hopes that i would start seeing the car lift. The compressor wasnt noisy it was vibrating/shaking a little bit. One of the bypass wires came undone so when i was gonna plug it back in i noticed the wire was really hot so i didnt do it again and i dont think for those few mins did the truck lift. I also notice

 

Sorry this is continuing from my last post. I noticed the compressor was a little hot also. I've read alot on here that Alot of ppl bypass the relay and go out and get a new relay and nothimg happens. So what should i do bros.? I need help and opinions really bad thak u all for ur time and expertise.

 

Did you have the suspension switch on or off?