Code C1711 on 98 STS

[sloggernobber]

The code means 'Left Front Damper Actuator Short Circuit to Ground'. Can anyone tell me what exactly I am looking for and if it can be fixed? I have access to some electronic geeks at work if it is repairable. Thanks.

[JimD]

There is a solenoid at the bottom of the strut. The fault code is telling you the solenoid has failed (shorted to ground) or the chassis wiring is damaged.

You want it to be the wiring! New struts are $500 per copy from online sellers plus labor.

[sloggernobber]

Thanks for the help. Didnt quite like the $500 strut stuff though as I just spent $1500 on a service and window regulator - my wifes quote cannot be posted. I looked for the solenoid wire but couldnt locate it. I did see that both front height position sensor arms were out of their ball sockets though. I looked at the top of the suspension units where they are fixed inside the hood to the body and there are no wires at the top of those either. Does that mean that it used to have CVRSS and has at some point been changed to passive suspension? I was going to put the height position arms back in place but now I dont know if I should? I will have a further inspection under the vehicle at the weekend.

[yves]

I had this code C1711 on my Seville STS 98. On the bottom of the strut is a round sensor with a round plastik cap. A cable comes from the top of this sensor and goes to the inside of hood of the body. There is a plug.
The connector has 2 pins. Check the ohms between the 2 pins (sensor side) and you need between 9.5 and 15.5 Ohms. No pin should have connection to ground.

In my case the sensor was okay, the wiring was okay, but the CVRSS module was defective. I repired the module (a 1Kohm resistor was broken/open) and now everything is fine.
The problem on CVRSS failures is that the speed is limites to max 90 m/hr.

good luck

[sloggernobber]

Thanks for the info. I also had C1763 which just happened as I was trying to diagnose the C1711 - talk about lousy timing. I replaced the rear position sensor as water had got in and ruined the contacts. That problem gone, now its back to the original C1711. I checked the wiring and cant find a short. I get a 'service suspension sys' warning followed by 'speed limited to 145', does this mean that its not the strut but the CVRSS? I fear that either way its expensive - again. The weird thing is that the car drives fine. I have taken some long bends at speed and the behaviour was fine.

[JimD]

You can substitute a resistor for the strut damper valve; then clear the codes and test drive.

From underneath, find the connector for the damper valve and pull it apart. Insert a 4.7K Ohm 1/2 Watt resistor (Radio Shack #271-1124) in the chassis side of the connector. If that cures your problem, you have a bad strut (valve).

[sloggernobber]

I located the connector and first tried the multimeter on it. I kept getting around 15 ohms to start with but then the ohms just slowly kept dropping until after two or three minutes it had dropped to 2 ohms. I also tried the resistor bypass, cleared the codes and the C1711 still came back. Why does the ohms value drop down to 2 ohms? It drops at a steady rate, not like holding at 15 and then drops to 10. Any ideas?

[JimD]

Originally Posted by sloggernobber

I located the connector and first tried the multimeter on it. I kept getting around 15 ohms to start with but then the ohms just slowly kept dropping until after two or three minutes it had dropped to 2 ohms. I also tried the resistor bypass, cleared the codes and the C1711 still came back. Why does the ohms value drop down to 2 ohms? It drops at a steady rate, not like holding at 15 and then drops to 10. Any ideas?

Here is the theory. Your Ohmeter can only measure the DC resistance of the coil of wire that makes up the solenoid valve in the strut. That coil of wire can be several hundred feet long and that much wire will have some measureable DC resistance. I measure 14.x Ohms on one of my '98 Seville strut coils with my Fluke meter and all that tells me is the coil has continuity (the coil winding is NOT an open circuit).

Be sure you are not touching the meter probes / connectors with BOTH of your hands; use at least one alligator clip to isolate your body from the measurement.

A resistance value that decays over time can indicate a temperature sensitive failed component. Your meter is supplying a small current to calculate the DC resistance and that small current is heating the coil of wire and causing the wire resistance to change over time. OR; the battery power supply in the meter is marginal. Not easy, huh?

I cannot explain why substituting the resistor did not prevent the code. There are too many possibilities. But I can tell you that resistor value worked for me on my '98 Seville as a test.

[sloggernobber]

Thanks for the information I appreciate your help. I am going to try the same test again to make sure that I didn't touch a contact as its a tad tight down there. One thing that I might try is to wire the left side sensor to the right side input and vice versa to see if the problem stays with C1711 or changes to C1716.

[sloggernobber]

I am back in town for a little while and am going to take a boo at the problem again. I last tried to swap the two sensors etc but had a pig of a time getting to the passenger side connector. I will have another go but in the mean time, where do I find the ride control module? I was told its under the back seat but I can only see the battery and two small modules. One has 5 black wires going to it but I dont know what it is and my Chilton manual is as much use as a chocolate fire guard. I would like to remove the module to check out the components. Anyone any ideas?

[JimD]

The ride control module (CVRSS) is behind the rear seat back cushion on the RH side. There will be two connectors on the module; one with 24 pins and one with 32 pins.

[sloggernobber]

I have now had time to wire the right strut to the left input and the left strut to the right input. I cleared the codes and the same C1711 code came up on the display. If the left strut was defective, I should now have seen C1716 and didn't. So I am now looking at the CVRSS module as being faulty. I located it behind the rear RH passenger seat and checked it out. Visibly there is nothing burned out although most of the components are the small surface mounted type and wont show anything wrong. Does anyone know which connector pins are connected to the front left strut? I saw on an earlier post by Yves that he changed a 1k resistor and all was fine. I will give the circuit board to an engineer at work and see if he can pin point anything but a heads up on the pin out would be nice.

[JimD]

The LF damper valve (solenoid coil) connects to the CVRSS module via the 32 pin connector pins D12 and D13.

[sloggernobber]

???? Mr. JimD sir, I am not worthy!!! lol. I threw that question out there as a last resort as I thought there was more chance of me waking up in the morning to find that my backside had healed over than someone coming through with that information!!! Just too much my friend but thank you very much all the same. I will see if I can get the board checked tomorrow and post the results.

[JimD]

You would probably see a return on your investment in a Service Manual even if you had to buy a new set from Helm Helm Incorporated: Product Search Engine Helm is discounting right now ($67.50 for the three volume set).

The manuals show up on eBay from time to time but used manuals are now 9 years old and the thin paper stock does not stand up to heavy use.