suzuki vitara - broken. help!

GeX · 24 Dec 2007 at 13:40

hi all.

meant to be heading up to the lakes soon, my car is fine but my as my sisters car is off the road she's got my mums suzuki vitara. but it's broken. it mostly won't start, and then when it does - it randomly cuts out and then won't restart.

It's currently in the garage, and has had new plugs and fuel filter cleaned out (i'm assuming replaced, not cleaned??).

I don't know the engine at all, it's a K plate. I'm not sure what engine it will have in there. Same 1.3 as the SJ? Anyway, i only had a quick look at it - but its looking like its going to be recovered from the garage and brought home - and it'll be my job to have a look!

Soo.. any clues on where to start looking. Should i be expecting EFI? Carbs are witchcraft to me.

Matt82 · 24 Dec 2007 at 13:54

start testing systematically. look for a spark etc all you can do without specific info on the engine

GeX · 24 Dec 2007 at 14:01

yeah, that was what i was going to check to start with. spark, fuel and compression.

to me it still sounds like a fuel problem, but like i say with no knowing yet even if its carb or EFI! (car hasnt turned up yet!)

paradigm · 24 Dec 2007 at 14:19

I thought the Vitara's were 1.6's (and the 2.0 diesel).

James07 · 24 Dec 2007 at 14:36

Check that the air intake pipes are all connected properly, i know of a car which has just had issues with this.

SB118 · 24 Dec 2007 at 14:48

The vitara engine is usually 1.6 petrol, and if it's playing up badly you might want to get hold of a spare ecu.

The only usual fault on these is the ECU apart from that check everything you normally would.

GeX · 25 Dec 2007 at 20:23

ok. due to time, we gave up on it. left it on the road where it broke down and will be collecting it sometime after christmas.

SB118 - ECU faults.. whats the cause of them, wiring issues or a failure inside the ECU. Are there any imobiliser issues to consider, the only OE ECU's i've worked have been coded, and a pita to swap about unless you decode. If it is faulty, how much should i pay and are they OBD/II compliant as i'm sure i've got a code reader floating around the shed.

SB118 · 25 Dec 2007 at 20:40

Not sure on the technicalities of the OBD etc stuff as i avoid electronics like the black death!

It's usually compnant failure inside the ECU, it you open it up you see burn marks on the the tracks. A common fail is the fuel relay, sometime bodges short it to a 12v source, which burns out soon after.

Not got a lot of detail on them i'm afraid, but have a look over on www.difflock.com in the suzuki section on the forum.

GeX · 25 Dec 2007 at 20:58

thanks, i'll have a look into it. I'm ok working with electrics and mechnical (to extent.. ask me to setup a carb or points and i'll stare blankly, but i can install aftermarket ECUs!)

it does seem fuel related to me, when i had a quick look and it wasn't starting - i could not hear the pump priming, but not knowing the car i didn't know if i should expect it to or not!

I'll check out that forum, cheers.

Third Opinion · 26 Dec 2007 at 08:43

If it's a K plate you can bet it is a carb model. The carbs are pretty unreliable as it goes on them and quite regularly fail causing the engine to run very rich. Infact there have been cases of complete engine failure do to heat seizures caused by over fueling.

I know a fair bit about SJ's and Vitara's because my father used to sell them. I have got quite a few spares such as exhaust manifolds that seem to crack every couple of years. I may even have a carb if you are lucky. If the garage fail to get it sorted feel free to email me.