# Noob to air, requesting assistance. Mk3 Jetta build.



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Hey everyone! I'm back with another project and was looking for some help. Here is a brief rundown of equipment.

(NOTE: I am new to installing airride. I have done turbos,superchargers, coilovers ect. I did a ton of reading so please be easy on me  )


The car is a Mk3 Jetta VR. So far i have pulled all the seats, put the car on jackstands, removed the coilovers and drilled holes to run airline with grommets 











I bought a used kit from a fellow member. Its a manual setup.









The Kit has a 5 gallon tank, 7 switch box, single 380c viair compressor, 3/8 manual

The guy i purchased the "kit" from didnt do the install so i am limited to the information he could provide about it but claims it was a "complete kit". So far i have figured out that he was running 3/8 lines for the front and 1/4 lines for the rear bags. Also that he only controlled the front and rear not each individual bag with the switch box. 

The very first thing i started to do was swap everything to 3/8 minus the gauges. 

I am going to start with some basic questions to get me along then move to more complicated wiring. If someone is really devoted to helping me i am more than happy to paypal some funds for :beer: I will just number the questions to make it easier for people to respond.


1. Referring back to the picture of the airride stuff, The rear strut has a port on top and on bottom. Does the bottom port remain open to relieve pressure? There is threads in it so i wasnt sure. Also when running the airline to the struts should i go drill through the upper area of the strut tower to run the air line or come in lower and go up to the port so there is more slack with the airline. Here is a picture of where im thinking about running the air line in for the strut. The top hole would be about 4 inches down from the top of the strut and still coming from the trunk.













2. (Should be an easy one). I have a Viar 380c Compressor. There is an inlet port. Does that remain open? Also does the power source need to be straight from the battery with a 30A fuse in the middle? 










3. Is this the pressure switch used to tell the compressor when to kick on and what not? How is it wired in? There was no fitting to fit it direct to the tank so i wasnt sure.











4. I plan to "T" into the gauges using 1/4 line. Is it better to T in closer to the tank (trunk area) or put T 's under the center console where the gauges are going to be? Not that it is super important but the bulb only has a positive wire coming from it. Were they designed to ground out through the guage? ( prob a dumb question :laugh: )










5. Is there a general PSI that should be ran on driving around or is it dependent on setup? I've read about 25psi front and 40 rear.


Okay now on to the fun stuff. I can figure out most of the self explanatory stuff such as mounting the struts, running the airline and mounting the tank/compressor/ect. I got the 2x6 and stuff to make a false floor similar to this stolen pic. Except i plan to put the tank on the left side of the trunk front to back ( and eventually move to a 10 gal tank and an additional compressor) 










I am having trouble with the wiring. The switches and compressor both have me scratching my head. The valve setup is the same for the front ( 2 wires coming of each valve) and the rear has a valve with 3 prongs. I need help determining which valve does what and how to wire it. Here are a few pics to help show what i have.

Switch diagram



















Front Valve style




















Rear Valve style ( pic shows 1/4 air will be 3/8)




















Here is a little help that was left on one of the rear valves for me











Hopefully this is enough information for you guys to help me. If any other information or pictures are needed i will jump on it. I do want to switch to an accuair setup eventually just have to have this done by Thanksgiving. Thanks a ton in advance.


----------



## skateaholic247 (Jun 7, 2009)

Hey man I'm new to air as well so I applaud you for making such a great thread, to answer question number 2, that inlet port is supposed to have a filter. See how it says remove plug? Plug is removed, and one of these are supposed to screw into it...










It's that circle looking thing you see :thumbup:


----------



## BigMeecH (Sep 3, 2010)

Alot of good questions here, in for answers


----------



## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

I'm also somewhat of a noob but regarding #5, it depends on many things and from what i've seen, it isn't something constant. You'll most likely have different PSI between passenger and driver side, just use whatever it takes to keep the car leveled, don't worry about what PSI others have.

and :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: to you for making a detailed thread like this.


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks for the quick responses. :thumbup:

Let's keep those answers rolling haha


----------



## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

i think i can help out... tried answering your questions in the order you asked them.

on my old mkIII, i drilled right through the top of the rear strut towers to route the airlines to the upper fitting on the struts... there is no articulation on the top perch of the struts, so slack is unneccessary. i'd use a grommet for good measure to avoid rubbing on bare metal.

the bottom port on the rear air cylinder should be plugged due to you having both the fill and dump valves on the same closed system... i also suggest you keep the 1/4" lines in the back as 3/8" is FAST and abrupt! if thats what you're going for I suggest you put some sort of flow control on the dump valve exit to slow it down a little for fine height adjustment.

here is a wiring diagram for the electrical components in the system:
http://www.airassisted.ca/us/images/diagrams/single-pump-with-relay.pdf
the power from the ignition can be directly routed to your battery if you opt for an in-line switch (which i suggest you consider since it's nice to be able to shut the compressor off if you don't feel like hearing that mofo scream for a few minutes)

pressure switch is fastened to the air tank... its job is to send an electrical signal to the relay to power the compressor whenever the air pressure in the tank drops below ~50psi

as for the guages, T off the active lines as close to where the guages are going to be mounted with 1/16" lines (3/8" to 1/16" T's are cheap and pretty easy to find)... guages are basically just indicators so you want to keep air volume as low as possible to keep your system efficient.

you will never know what pressure you'll need to safely drive around at until you have the system running... i can almost promise you it will be different than most others on this forum due to the air cylinders you have.

the valves can be confusing at first until you realize they all do the exact same thing... the only function these valves have are CLOSED and OPEN; an electrical signal OPENS these valves, otherwise they are always CLOSED...
plumbing these valves determines which one is the dump and which is the fill. the fill valve will have a line going to the air tank. upon activating that fill valve, air will naturally leave the tank and be routed over through the valve to the air bag/cylinder until you deactivate the valve. the dump valve is within this same closed system and allows the pressurized air to escape.

the three prongs on the valves are power, ground, and neutral... you will only need to use power and ground...

let me know if you need me to clarify... this **** can be pretty confusing at first but you'll def get a feel for it sooner than later

goodluck :beer:


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks for the response hyphytrain.

At this time im going to continue with the 3/8s to the bags all around and 1/4 to the gauges ( gauges already have fittings for 1/4 .

So on my valves im assuming the first valve closet to the tank is the fill valve and the second the dump. I do want to figure out how to slow the dump side of it.

Is my setup to control each bag individually? 

I will post more questions when i get off work just wanted to send out a quick thanks. Hoping to figure out the wiring in the next couple days. Thanks again


----------



## Beitz DUB (Sep 22, 2008)

Hey man, kit looks pretty complete compared to what you were saying on phone. 
hyphytrain203 had some good points, answers and perfect link
As far as wiring your valves, looks like the wire diagram was left on switchbox (good). Youll want to wire that to the valves you decide to use at each corner. All the valves will be grounded, black. The other wire, red, will go to the switchbox for each valve. 
Looks like the two valves that have tape and writing were for the rear left, green is rear left up and blue is rear left down (according to wires on avs box). 
Yes yours is setup to control each bag individually, eight solenoids, two per strut/bag. 
As far as slow dumping, I have some flow controls I can hook you up with :beer: I just went with 1/4" line all a round and its pretty slow
Now put down MW3 and go do werk:beer:


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Hey Hardy, Thanks for taking the time and checking out the thread.

Yeah when i called you everything was still pretty much boxed up . I took some time and layed everything out where it was supposed to be and stuff started making more sense.

On the three way valve should i jump the ground and neutral prongs? 

Where could i round up that relay? Seems that is going to be another missing piece to the puzzle

Can anyone show me a pic of their setup grounded out? Looks like almost half of the wires just need to be grounded out.


----------



## Beitz DUB (Sep 22, 2008)

brandonb85 said:


> Where could i round up that relay? Seems that is going to be another missing piece to the puzzle


Here is a link to some compressor switch relays



brandonb85 said:


> Looks like almost half of the wires just need to be grounded out.


Yes, to work each solenoid needs power, from the switchbox, and a ground.


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks for the link. I was meaning to ask what the chances were of finding that relay local. Guess im gonna have to order a few things here and there might as well get it over with. Recommend this? Is it gonna have the 30,85,86,87 that i need? 

http://www.airassisted.ca/us/product_info.php?cPath=71_146&products_id=75

Since my compressor doesnt have the proper filter im going to try and round one up through viair .

Getting closer and closer. Things are making a lot more sense.

There was 2 wires throwing me off on the AVS controller. The label lists 10 colors with instructions and the wiring has 11 colors. I found that the grey (which said see instructions) is for remote dump. They do not mention anything about the light blue wire so im just going to leave it alone for now. May give em a call just to see what it is for. For a bigger picture here is their "switch configuration"


----------



## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

the relay is actually a pretty common part... you can find one at your local NAPA, autozone, pep boys, etc


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Got a lot of parts today and feeling alot more confident which i think helps.. here are a couple crappy pics of progress. 

Rear lines ran with grommets









Ignore the speaker plug hanging. Previous owner











Labeling everything. Those charts solved all my wiring questions. Thanks so much.











I was doing good flying through everything tonight even started the frame for the false floor ( pics to come) The only thing that is slowing me down now is trying to find a good spot to coming into the front strut from the bay on a mk3. If anyone can find a picture that would help a ton. I am willing to put an elbow on the bag or run it in straight. Can also come in in front of the strut or behind ( just have to swap what side they are installed on).

One other thing i didnt think about due to having all the interior out is that i think my rear seats might apply too much pressure where the lines are coming in from the trunk? Any suggestions there also. Thanks again for all the help.


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

hyphytrain203 said:


> the relay is actually a pretty common part... you can find one at your local NAPA, autozone, pep boys, etc



You sir were absolutely correct. 

I picked up one @ Advanced auto ( part # A-715A if anyone needs one :thumbup: )


----------



## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

looks like its coming together man! i would route the airlines for the front struts under the car to the front wheel wells... no need to route them to the engine bay. here's a pic of my old mkIII showing the leader line to the front strut. you can follow the rails underneath the car for both sides...










and im not too sure what you mean by the rear seats getting in the way of the lines. looks like the rear airlines are all taken care of in the trunk (airlines exit in the trunk to the rear section of the wheel well/strut tower - - - all before the location of the rear seat)


----------



## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

hyphytrain203 said:


> the bottom port on the rear air cylinder should be plugged due to you having both the fill and dump valves on the same closed system...


This is incorrect. The cylinder will not dump if the lower port is plugged. You will need to keep this open. Or better yet. a flat filter is ideal. It helps keep road debris out of the cylinder for a little while.
dirt, will get in and wear the o rings and wiper seals.


----------



## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

ah, correct! the other port would be to fill the cylinder from the other side of the piston?

good catch, make sure not to plug it


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> This is incorrect. The cylinder will not dump if the lower port is plugged. You will need to keep this open. Or better yet. a flat filter is ideal. It helps keep road debris out of the cylinder for a little while.
> dirt, will get in and wear the o rings and wiper seals.


Kevin thanks for chiming in! I will be placing an order to you very soon for a few things. I called you yesterday about the next day shipping. Do you have a part number on a flat filter? 3/8 threads. Thanks!


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Hyphytrain I was trying to run the lines for the front bags through the back seats, under the center console and out through the firewall. The rear strut lines are fine. Just have to T in for my gauges.


----------



## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

brandonb85 said:


> Kevin thanks for chiming in! I will be placing an order to you very soon for a few things. I called you yesterday about the next day shipping. Do you have a part number on a flat filter? 3/8 threads. Thanks!












I dont really know of a PN for them. I cant find them in any US warehouse. I do stock them in Toronto. From my memory, you were in Colorado. I can just ship these from Toronto, to you. There not a vital item.

what size is the port in your cylinder?


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

3/8


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Lesson learned about getting into a rush. Set the tank in tonight to get some measurements. The tank fell and broke the air water separator and pressure switch. Gonna try to find the pressure switch local or ill be set back.


----------



## arethirdytwo (Apr 4, 2007)

If you cant I have one you can have, just send me some shipping money. LMK.


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

arethirdytwo said:


> If you cant I have one you can have, just send me some shipping money. LMK.


Thats awesome! Pm me the number off it so i can compare psi 's 



Got the frame notched and worked on the false floor some more. More pics to come.


----------



## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

^ i hope you welded that professionally too


----------



## reynolds9000 (Oct 16, 2003)

In for the finished product. Good work so far. I'm curious how well those cylinders are going to ride. I've heard they can be rather jarring.


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

It will be welded also..

Made some more progress on the wiring. Just gonna have the gauges in the cup holder for now til i move the radio to the cup holder and get 3 gauge pod for the radio location.


----------



## brandonb85 (Jan 17, 2008)

Tank mounted and more wires ran.











More stuff to come. I took a break for Turkey day and what not


----------



## mk2_Carat (Dec 12, 2006)

Keep up the good work man. Now that you have first hand experience doing this, you can help me with mine down the road


----------

