since my car sits fine, and does not pull a Lincoln Mark VIII low rider issue, and i get no idiot light telling me anything, i have figured the air compressor and ELC were A-OK (even got air from the valve in the inflator, which i was told is a test to see if it stores air). but as i was cleaning the underhood area a bit i picked up the wire harness to find all the wires cut. they were basically cut free of the harness, and for reasons i cannot grasp, i can't find the harness (or the other wires cut free) that powered it. does anyone have a wiring diagram? there are two large gauge wires (sold black and black with green trace) and two smaller gauge wires for what i guess is either a vent solenoid or max pressure sensor (not sure?). is there a way i can just manually wire it to run only with the car running? thanks.

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1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (3800 Series I, 277K miles and counting! with a horrific knock sadly)

It probably leaked and would not stop running so someone cut the wires to stop it from doing so.

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-Matt

You are correct, the larger wires are for the compressor and the smaller is for the vent. I recommend cutting a new one out of the junkyard, any car 92-99 that has them should have the same 4 pin connector they plug into and you can see firsthand how they are connected, just match wire colors, etc.

The connectors have a seal in them, so if you try to rig something up it might get corroded and have to redo the job.

If the compressor is always running then the system is leaking air. Fixing the leak would be easiest, unless the rear struts are leaking, in which case they should be replaced anyway.

But, if you want, you could tap into a +12v when ignition on wire to power a relay that completes the compressor circuit, but that's the long way around. Or you could put a switch inline that disconnects the wire when off so you can manually control it. Just pick one of the larger wires and put the switch or relay (20a contact current minimum) on it so that it connects or disconnects the two ends of the wire you cut to install said switch or relay.
That way when the car is off or you turn the switch off the compressor wont run. But, that's a lot of effort to bypass a leak that still won't get fixed and the system still won't operate correctly.

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Boost addict


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RIP:
'86 LeSabre - pictures
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If you wanted to bypass the system totally, you could get this: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=119149
That allows you to put the air in with a pump or compressor and you can put it to the height that you want. I put the filler valve on mine where the valve was for the inflator.

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-Ryan
2004 GTO....LS1, LSA supercharged 525whp, 6MT
96 SSEi...September 2010 COTM........GONE
04 GTP comp G.... December 2015 COTM........GONE
2013 Audi Allroad Quattro

i doubt it is leaking since the car does not sit low at all. right now it appears to be sitting all the way up (and i get stored air from the schrader valve in the inflator by pushing a clip into the middl). it appears someone just hated ELC (maybe from a bad relay he/she didn't check? unsure) i would expect that if it were leaking, either the rear end would sit low (think old Cadillac) or the whole car's framework would lay on the ground (think Lincoln Mark VIII).

i wanted to ask about the vent since i was unsure how harmful it would be to run the compressor without it, possibly causing a busted shock? does the vent also run on 12V? it would not be hard to wire two switches to control both, and since there are no air-ride Bonnevilles (or LeSabres, Park Aves) in the junkyard as of yet, no luck there. what gets me is i cannot even find the other cut wires. or the place it plugged into. i see the harness that goes to the Airflow Sensor which is obviously plugged in, but that's it. it is like the air ride wiring was never there at all.

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1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (3800 Series I, 277K miles and counting! with a horrific knock sadly)

Maybe the P.O. added the ELC to the car and didn't wire it in?

Here's the schematic from the '93:

_________________
Boost addict


The Fleet:
'93 SSEi - Twincharged + manual Build thread
'97 Camaro - Top swap
'05 STS - V8, AWD, her DD
'92 Trofeo - Fair weather DD
'99 Montana - top swap 3800
'04 Sierra 2500HD - LLY Duramax

Current project:
Something cool, trust me.

Upcoming projects:
'92 Bonneville SSE
'87 LeSabre T-type
'67 LeSabre

Gone to greener pastures:
'84 Sierra Classic - Twin turbo 3800
'97 LeSabre - Top swap

RIP:
'86 LeSabre - pictures
'93 SE - L67

oh thank you for that image! that was what i was looking for!

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1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (3800 Series I, 277K miles and counting! with a horrific knock sadly)

If the wires were cut, you wouldn't get 'stored' air from the valve in the trunk. That's the other half of the system, and is isolated by a selector valve from the struts. In other words, the compressor sends air to either of the systems depending on the mode selected by the switch in the trunk, never BOTH at the same time.

I suggest you test the system properly if you get the compressor to run:

1. Dig into the trunk behind the carpeting next to the right rear passenger seat back, just to the left of the right rear strut tower.
2. Disconnect the black connector on the selector valve. This tricks the system into sending air to the struts when the inflator switch is pushed.
3. Push the button. Allow the system to raise the rear of the car completely.
4. After it's up as high as you think it'll go, pull fuse #12 and shut off the compressor (if it doesn't stop).
5. See how long it takes to sag back down. Listen carefully for leaking air. It helps to have the rear wheels off and spray a mild soapy solution on the fittings and the rubber bladders on the rear struts.

Do your rear struts even have the air bladders? Or were they replaced at some earlier date with gas-only struts, and the system disabled for that reason? The rear struts should be gas struts WITH additional air bladders.

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
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Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

Will there are air shocks on the rear (that in know i even see the air tubing going to them) and as it sits now the rear is already as high as it will go (like someone had aired it up and just eliminated the compressor for whatever reason). it has never sagged. in fact the front sits a bit lower than the rear right now (and i am assuming the front shocks were not air, as no hose is going to them?)

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1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (3800 Series I, 277K miles and counting! with a horrific knock sadly)

Not unless someone added air to the front.

Sorry to say, even if they 'pumped them up' in the rear and cut the system, it would never stay that way without the ELC system working for more than 2 days at the most. I'm betting someone re-plumbed the system to fill from the utility outlet in the rear. I'll bet your selector valve is either bypassed or disconnected in some way, and if you bleed air from the valve, the struts will deflate.

Bypassed in that manner, new struts would hold air for some time, but the OEM system has too many connection points to hold that long.

The car SHOULD normally be slightly higher in the rear than the front.

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

well there are still hoses going to the shocks on the rear and i can see the car sitting slightly lower in front than back, and if i pushed on the trunk lid there is a lot of movement. it will let me push the rear down a bit. all i know is when i hit the 'on' button on the Inflator i hear a 'click' (but obviously the compressor does not run) and only if i do that do i get stored air from the value if i push the middle pin (and it will do that until it runs out of air--which ain't long) and yes, i can add air from a regular air compressor and it will pump up a bit until it goes to max. i figured that only worked by default, since the air inflator opens that valve with whatever that click is if i am not mistaken. keep in mind with the switch OFF (pushing 'OFF' on the Inflator) nothing happens whether i push the pin or add air.

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1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (3800 Series I, 277K miles and counting! with a horrific knock sadly)