C5 suspension grounded

[Papag65]

Hi. I have a 2009 c5 exclusive which kept blowing the maximum fuse for the suspension. I removed the pump and found that the brushes were finished. And the commutator was shot. I ordered a second hand unit and used the motor section on my old pump. 3 litres of Lds put in the tank and pressurised to 0.5 bar. Motor runs but car won't move off the ground. Lds level stays the same.

[davoxx]

This worked for me when there was a leak and and i lost all the LDS.

Start the car.
Chock the front wheels, and raise the back of the car with jacks and wait till the wheels come down.
Then SLOWLY lower the jacks, each side, bit by bit.
If you're lucky, the car should start rising, otherwise might take 3 attempts.

Someone else might have a better solution though.

[DHallworth]

Sounds like you've got an air lock in the pump.

Take the cap off the reservoir, give the top a wipe with a clean cloth and blow as hard as you can down the filler port on the tank and hold the pressure for as long as you can.

It sounds mad but it's worked for me on a couple of occasions.

[wurlycorner]

When I couldn't get my C5 suspension to react after swapping the pump, I re-loosened all the pipe fittings coming out of the pump, pulled them out a bit so the seals were released and then operated the suspension a few times. I didn't get fluid squirting out (to my surprise/disappointment) but after re-fitting the pipes, the suspension did then start to pump up.
(nb:This was without having the tank pressurised, too).

[DHallworth]

I've just swapped the pump on mine this weekend. It was an utter sod to get it to lift again.

In the end I found out that my break bleeder had the same thread as the LDS tank cap. I emptied it of brake fluid and cleaned it out before pressurising the reservoir to 10PSI.

Just as I was about to chuck in the towel I noticed the rear of the car was starting to rise. Must have taken me 30 minutes of idling and messing around to get the thing off it's bump stops after I'd done the pump.

[Papag65]

Thanks everyone. Will try all suggestions and get back with results

[Papag65]

Good morning. I tried loosening the 2 pipes on the pump to no avail. I then located the bleed nipple near the rear spheres and opened that. A small amount of air was released. Then went to the bleed nipple on the front drivers side sphere and loosened that. Started with a little bit of liquid and air coming out. Repeated the process from back to front and then there was a rush of air and fluid from the front nipple. Gotthat running clear and did the back till the same happened. Took about 15 minutes after this with the car running and going up and down the control buttons in side for any movement to happen. Now working perfectly and no sign of air bubbles in the pump reservoir. Thanks for the tips and hope this helps anyone else with similar problems.

[Hell Razor5543]

Don't forget to check the LDS level in the reservoir now you have bled the system successfully.

[wurlycorner]

Great news