ride height sensors needed

[travis martin]

> Looking for (2) ride height sensors for a 78 Eleganza II. these are for
the
> Electrolevel II system peculiar to only the 1978 models... hence big
money
> for new. Any longshot chance somebody has a line on some used or
refurbed?
> thanks,
> Greg
> 78 Eleganza II
> 323 660-0606
>

Greg, the same basic autolevelling system was used on Cadillac beginning, I
believe, in 1977 or 1978; it would be worthwhile to find out if the sensors
are the same. Knowing GM's preference for making a profit, I'd be surprised
if they aren't. The mounting bracket and connecting link are probably
different, but I assume you can reuse yours.

No guarantee that this will work, but worth looking at.

Travis in Lubbock, Texas

 

[scott shean]

Greg, I have read that some Cadillacs were equipped with an air
suspension (or air assisted suspension), that use the identical
compressors and electronic ride height sensors as the
ElectroLevel II. I seem to If you have to purchase them new from
someone like Gateway, they will cost over $300 each!

I also kept the following message from this board:
"According to Max at Buskirk-Rush RV (800-715 1133), new OEM
height control valves are still available from GM, but only for
the Electrolevel II system. I asked Max what they used for
Electro I etc, and he said they get a new valve, brand name "New
Way" for about $132."

(Using an EL I replacement valve on an EL II would probably work
OK, but the "time delay function" that is performed by the
circuit board in the EL II sensor is probable not included.)

Earlier this year, I had a problem with one of my sensors, and
checked the prices. When I discovered the cost, I decided that I
would take mine apart and see if I could repair it. I found that
a thick, sticky substance was contacting the "disc", essentially
"gluing" it to the enclosure. The whole thing is quite simple.
All I did was clean off the goo, and it now works fine. The only
hard part was drilling out the pin that attaches the disc to the
actuator arm. If the electronics are bad, that would be a
different story, and out of my league. However, someone else
might have some experience in this area. The GMC manual shows a
drawing of the height sensor in its explanation of how it works,
but there is no mention of repairing them. I was lucky. I hope
you will be too.

Scott Shean
Baton Rouge, LA
78 Royale

>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-gmcmotorhome
>[mailtowner-gmcmotorhome]On Behalf Of
>GONEMAD5
>Sent: Friday, September 24, 1999 11:59 AM
>To: gmcmotorhome
>Subject: GMC: ride height sensors needed
>
>
>Looking for (2) ride height sensors for a 78 Eleganza
>II. these are for the
>Electrolevel II system peculiar to only the 1978
>models... hence big money
>for new. Any longshot chance somebody has a line on
>some used or refurbed?
>thanks,
>Greg
>78 Eleganza II
>323 660-0606
>

 

[d. winchtester]

I don't know about the current availability of the ride height sensors for
the Electro level II but multiple years ago they were not available at any
cost. What I found was that the ride height sensor used in many of the GMC
cars of the era could be adapted with a slight change in the wiring harness.
You need to understand that these units have a built in cutoff that times
out and stops the compressor after a couple of minutes.

The Wiring harness changes were easy to fix with the GMC MH schematic and a
schematic for the GMC car.

The second problem is solved by switching the levers from hold to auto until
the vehicle reaches level. This has been so effective over the past 10
years that I have not bothered to build the simple logic box that would do
an auto reset on the unit ever several minutes.

I think I paid $10.00 for a used unit.

Dan Winchester
78 Royal
Portland OR