AtlantaMc Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Hey guys, good morning! I purchased the Monroe 90011(front strut conversion kit) and Monroe 90009 (rear air to gas assist conversion kit) for my 97 DeVille from Rock Auto. Was told they would have a resister/plug to terminate or overide the computer when I placed order. The boxes didn't, so contacted RockAuto this morning. The rep said he understood that the lines were cut and grounded to the frame to overide the system. I was wanting to leave all of the original plumbing in place, to go back to the original system if I don't like the ride of the passive system. Sooo, I guess my big question to some of you that have already converted, is what really is needed to bypass the computer. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks in advance for your help!! Mark McDermott 79 Deville 84,000 97 Deville 279,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Do not ground the lines to the frame... At the least, you will trip a code. It might blow a fuse or damage things. Return the rear shocks you bought and order two Monroe 40046 for the rear. They are less than $100 each, are direct bolt in and use the factory air line so the leveling system remains intact. You can cut the plug from your old shocks and solder a 4700 ohm resistor across the leads to defeat the service ride control message. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaMc Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Thanks, KHE... guess I will send the rear air shocks back and order the pair you sugested for the rear end. Still not sure what I will do about the front. Called Hennessey Cadillac here in Atlanta yesterday, and they were no help whatsoever! Not a surprise... Once your car reaches a certain age with them, they write you off unless you wish to purchase another new one... They just refered me to someone who works on older model cars for help... I might have alot of freeway miles on my car, but it still looks like new. Always get complements!! Sorry, venting now... Lol!! Thanks again for your help! Mark McDermott 79 Deville 84,000 97 Deville 279,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Thanks, KHE... guess I will send the rear air shocks back and order the pair you sugested for the rear end. Still not sure what I will do about the front. Called Hennessey Cadillac here in Atlanta yesterday, and they were no help whatsoever! Not a surprise... Once your car reaches a certain age with them, they write you off unless you wish to purchase another new one... They just refered me to someone who works on older model cars for help... I might have alot of freeway miles on my car, but it still looks like new. Always get complements!! Sorry, venting now... Lol!! Thanks again for your help! I'm sure Monroe makes a front strut that will be an original ride quality shock that will bolt in. You will probably need to use the plugs from the old struts to make cheater plugs to defeat the service ride control message. I hear you on the dealers. Most do not want to work on older cars. They'd rather concentrate on warranty repairs. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I know for certain that Monroe makes OEM-fit and quality struts for both active and passive suspension Cadillacs. From what I have seen here, it looks like they are also offering passive conversions for active suspensions now. Arnott makes ready-to-go kits that include resistors and passive shocks and struts. I'm personally biased toward Monroe; others will have good reports on Arnott and other sources. When I did my struts and shocks earlier this year, I got AC/Delco from Rock Auto. So, I don't have experience with Monroe shocks and struts on my Cadillac. I strongly suspect that Monroe makes them for AC/Delco, though. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I think Arnott is overpriced. When I installed a set of passive rear shocks on the '96 Seville I used to own, the shocks were made in CHINA. The contacts on the plugs for the resistors that supressed the service ride control message rotted away after a little more than a year. Arnott did replace them though so I will give them credit for that but it was still an inconvenience to replace them. Arnott's resistors are huge 25 W resistors but they do not need to be and there is no provision for mounting them - they ned to be zip tied in place. The Monroe shocks I put on my '97 STS were made in USA, and were $100 cheaper for the set. I replaced the originals because the air bladders rotted out. They did last 172,647 miles though. I had to make my own resistor plugs but I used the harnesses from the OEM shocks and a couple of 4700 ohm resistors that I had in my parts bin. Not a big deal for me. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I don't know the voltage used to drive the shocks, but, even if it was 40 Volts, a half-Watt 4.7K resistor would be just fine. Looking at the schematic in the 1997 FSM page 8A-43-0 and -1, I don't see a step-up like they have in the plasma display drivers in the radio and DIM, so I suspect that it is really just 12 Volts (14.5 Volts maximum), which means that a 4.7K resistor would dissipate less than 0.05 Watts, which means just about any 4.7K resistor in the parts bin would work just fine. A metal film sealed ceramic would be best for long life in under-car installation. I would use 1/4 Watt or 1/2 Watt size. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I don't know the voltage used to drive the shocks, The strut/shock solenoid voltage in a CVRSS suspension is battery/alternator voltage that is PWM at 2 KHz. So the 'average' voltage at any given moment is a function of lower control arm activity. The 4.7K Ohm resistor value was calculated by substituting an ammeter for the fuse and driving on as many different road surfaces as possible and taking a "guesstimate" at the average current load (1998 STS). From there, it was a math issue to arrive at the approximate value of solenoid inductive reactance. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 I was wondering what led to the value of 4.7K Ohms. It seems like a tiny amount of power to draw from 12 Volts. But, if the CVRSS module is happy, that's all that matters. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaMc Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 Hey guys! Thanks for all of the info. Recieved a call back this morning from Mike @ RockAuto, and he said that the person he spoke with at Monroe Shocks told him to remove the plug from the old strut/shock and leave it pluged into the harness; which they provided baggies for to twistie up somewhere. Okay, so at this point I'm totally confused and really nervous about having anything replaced! Just don't want to mess things up... Isn't anything easy?? Just ran it by a repair place and they came up with a FE1 on a decal back by the spare tire which means "soft ride suspension"?? Does that tell me everything I need when buying parts? Is there somewhere online that I can look up my VIN to check that y'all know about? Guess I will go with the same system I have and pay a little more. The repair place mentioned Suncore for replacements. Anyone used or heard of them? Thanks again guys... Mark McDermott 79 Deville 84,000 97 Deville 279,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 The FE1 suspension is the soft ride suspension. If the actuators can be removed from the existing shocks then you could just wire them up and leave them plugged in and that would keep the service ride control message from being displayed. The Base Seville (SLS) I used to own had the rear shocks were the actuator could be removed. The Seville STS did not have that ability - the actuator was not able to be removed. It must be something to do with RSS vs CVRSS systems. If your Deville is the base Deville, it should have the RSS system. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96'Deville Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 I have a 96 Deville Base Model which keeps getting the service ride control message. The plug end was cut off and a 1/2w 4.7 Ohm resistor put in line. Is there something else I need to do to get this message from coming up every time i drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 I think the resistance value should be 4.7 K. The color coding should be yellow-purple-red-gold. Logan will correct me if the resistance is wrong. You should check the OBD codes to see what's turning on the service ride control message. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Woods Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 I did a newer Deville and just used 4.7k ohm resistors soldered in to harness. Worked perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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