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Suzuki Wagon Electrical Problems

PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
Having an electrical problem with your Suzuki wagon? This is the place to work it out.

Comments

  • watermelonwatermelon Member Posts: 3
    I have an Aerio 2003, which is great. The dashboard lights are now blinking or flickering. The car is running and starting fine. Is this a known electrical issue or do need to change a fuse? I switched to a new battery in the hope this would stop.

    Thank you for your help. :)
  • aeriofallingapaeriofallingap Member Posts: 14
    The problem with the vanishing Time/temp display is another common Suzuki defect. Make a lot of noise with Suzuki ..... who knows ....you may get a replacement for free.
  • jairo2jairo2 Member Posts: 1
    temp. and clock light go off when it turn head lights on.
    Change antifreeze engine light come on.
    I have 73,000 miles, and I drive on highway between 70 to 80 MPH. no major problems. :P
  • dmiller_34dmiller_34 Member Posts: 1
    Hello, I was wondering if you ever got the clock light fixed, it just happened to me too and I dont know how to fix it or what is wrong!
    THANKS! :(
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    I had the problem. Rather than fiddling with the LED or other electrical components of the clock/temp display (I don't think any dealer has the equipment to fix electronics), my dealer replaced the unit. Hasn't given me any trouble since. Of course, my unit failed during the warranty period.

    -d
  • themadhatterthemadhatter Member Posts: 4
    mine works, but when i turn on the headlights (not the running lights that come on automatically) the time / temp display back light cuts out. This seemed to happen after i jumped my buddies car....other than that my electrical system works fine
  • lynn33lynn33 Member Posts: 1
    Hello,
    I bought a new [2007]Suzuki wagon last spring and noticed it pulling to the left the first time I drove it on the highway.
    I'd also started noticing that the warning lights on the dash for brakes and battery would come on sometimes. Not all the time, just come on for a while and then go off.
    I mentioned it to the guys in the service department when I took it in for alignment and after they worked on it, the warning lights stopped coming on.

    For a while. But then they started doing it again and I thought it was an electrical malfunction until a month or so later, when my car's battery died while I was driving it.

    The car had started with no problem and kept going while I drove on the highway, but when I slowed to exit it seemed to lose power and went completely dead shortly after I got off the exit ramp. The guy who came out from TripleA tried to jumpstart the battery and it would start up, but then it wouldn't hold the charge even long enough to drive it up on the tow truck. At the dealership they said it was just a bad battery [said there are a few bad ones in every batch.] They put a new one in and the car seemed to be working fine -until last night. It's only been two months and I've been extra cautious, since they replaced the battery, to be sure no lights were left on, etc., so there must be something else draining it. The warning lights on the dash were coming again and I kept thinking I'd better get it into the shop again but kept putting it off. I work by appointment doing massage therapy and need a big car for my equipment. It's hard taking the time to get it to the dealership and sometimes they don't have a big enough loaner car available, etc.
    Shouldn't have to be taking a brand new car in for repair so much. It is my responsibility, as a disabled vehicle in the road is a danger to myself and others; but I'm wondering at this point if the problem is going to get resolved by taking it to the dealership again tomorrow. I've heard they're not very good with electrical problems.
    Is there something that causes a car battery to die while you're driving it, as opposed to it not wanting to start up, which is the usual sequence of events?

    Thank you for taking the time to listen and (please:) give me some advice.
    Lynn
  • pychogirlfrienpychogirlfrien Member Posts: 12
    Okay, I'm kind of complex here...I bought my car Class A. I don't know if I have ANY sort of warrenty to speak of. Especially after letting all this time go by. Back at 30,000 miles or before, intermittantly at first, my thermometer / clock light wouldn't come on, or would go out when I turned on my headlights. It was weird. Now, for months it won't come on at all. I am at 100,000 miles plus. Is my Check Engine Light coming on possibly Electrical in nature?? I swear it came on at precisely 100,000 miles, but of course, it took me a little over a week to get the time to let the car stay at the shop for the day. By then, I was waay over the 100,000. Do I have any hope with a dealer, especially since they have NO possibility of making any future money on me?
    :cry: ronnie
  • pychogirlfrienpychogirlfrien Member Posts: 12
    I'm surprised one of the "real mechanical" types hasn't said anything. But did someone finally mention your alternator? From what I understand your battery has a charge. Then you use the charge to start your car; then in the ensuing time right after that it is re-charged by your alternator converting the turning engine energy into more electrical energy that goes back into your battery. If, your alternator is dead, or not doing it's job, then your battery continues depleting by all your headlight use and restarts until dead. Depending on your battery size, it may only give you one or three starts and that's it. I had a battery issue, I thought, long ago, and that's how my problem solved itself out.
    :blush: uh, good luck.ronnie
  • tornspeedotornspeedo Member Posts: 6
    Problem surfaced during rain while parked, headlps came on-wont go out,ac blower stays enabled without ign on also.Found fuse cover under dash full of water,Possible that water shorted between batt and ign-on circuits frying what is most likely a ground circuit on/in one of the controll modules.Anybody have experience with this? Which module is afu? Where located? etc... ANY help is GREATLY appreciated.DT My wife doesnt like my temp fix of a 22.00 knife switch on the battery negative terminal.
  • tornspeedotornspeedo Member Posts: 6
    OK.....Here's the synopsis.Water entered down radio antenna into "A" pillar then flowed inside wire loom to the fusepanel under dash and an elec module at firewall near fuse panel.This shorted something just enough to activate half the ignition circuit.The issue has self cleared after 24 hour drying out period.Fix will include one of following. )an O ring and/or heat shrink seal at base of roof mtd. radio antenna. )OR ........Jack up said antenna and slide a new car under it. DT
  • work4justicework4justice Member Posts: 2
    We have a Aerio SX 2005. Our dash board lights and tail lights went out. Put a new fuse in and went out again and again. OK I have a short. Brought it to a mechanic who has had it for two days and can not find the short. Anyone have a problem like this one?
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    Electrical work, uggh. It is hahd. Some background:

    1) Residential phone system. Every few months, I would get no dial tone from any of my phones. The solution presented by my phone company was to unplug everything, wait for the company's equipment to reset the breakers, then plug everything back in. One day, the problem got so bad that I went to the local big box hardware store, bought wire, a network wiring book, a polarity tester, new jacks, and junction boxes. Found out that the problem was related to the polarity - the electricity through the 'phone wires were simply running in the wrong way. After running new wire to certain parts of the house and cleaning up the connections (originally put together with electrical tape and plastic twist terminals), everything has worked fine since. I helped a friend solve a portion of his problem when he could not get DSL service.

    2) Fuse problem. This was a cakewalk: My mom was buying fuses very few days for a certain circuit in the house. I asked around, and realized that the replacement fuses being bought didn't have as high an amperage rating as the original. A purchase of a fuse that had a 10A-difference rating solved the problem.

    If you want to do this on your own:
    The simplest thing to do is to make sure that the amperage rating of the replacement fuses that you're buying matches the original.

    The other step (and you MUST have a good background in automotive tech), you'll have to find a electrical diagram of your car (time-limited e-subscriptions are available via Suzuki USA's web site) and a powered probe/meter device available from you local hardware or specialty electronics shop. Start testing the connections between the dash and taillight circuits and other circuits that should NOT cross-connect until you find a fault.
    PLEASE DO NOT TEST THE AIRBAG/SEATBELT RESTRAINT CIRCUITS UNLESS YOU'VE DISCONNECTED THE DEVICES FIRST!!!

    Otherwise, please ask the auto shops in your area for a recently-certified ASE tech with a lot of electrical experience and patience. I speculate that your mechanic gave your car back because of either a realization that the problem:
    a) has a life of its own, and deliberately hides until you reclaim your car (I've
    experienced this w/others for different electronics);
    b) probably will exceed your ability to pay for the time and resources needed to fix everything properly;
    c) exceeded the mechanic's set of skills and resources needed to resolve the situation.

    Nope, I'm not an electrical guy. I "play" with technology to see how things work.

    -d
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    As a result, I can barely see in the daytime the cruise control and left-side tachometer displays on my 2003 SX. The diagrams I have access to show that a panel above the display and the display's front cover can be removed; the display can then be lifted from where it is after removing 4 screws. I'm a little worried about the force that would be needed to remove the items (I used a finger to poke at the edges of the top and front covers; the seal is tight.) Of course, there's no guarantee that the lights are replaceable even if I managed to free the instrument display.

    Has anyone tried to do this? If you've changed the tint of the display, your input is valued, also.

    -d
  • MuddycatMuddycat Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2001 Suzuki Esteem wagon that has lots of electrical problems... To start with, the rear defroster is automatically "on" (or the light is in the button on the dash panel) every time I turn the car on, until I put the car in reverse, then back into first. Then the light goes off. When that light is on, the rear windshield wiper won't work. When it's off, the wiper works fine.

    However, that's only a small piece of it. The centre brake light in the middle of the tailgate window doesn't work unless I have the car idling in neutral, then sometimes it does but not always. The brake lights on either side at the back work fine. BUT the reverse lights in the tailgate don't work either. They are on, but so dim they are not useful for anything - you have to cup your hands around them to see that they are on at all. The bulbs in these have been replaced with only a marginal improvement.

    The car also has a problem with run-on, which I've been told could be connected to my having bought the car at sea-level and now am driving it at roughly 500m above sea level? The car runs fine, but these little issues pile up and start to annoy. The run-on thing can be an issue - I can have my key out of the ignition completely and it will still be running until I take my foot off the brake which causes it to make an unhappy noise and shudder to a stop (which I try not to do). What the?....

    There are no Suzuki dealerships anywhere near my small BC town, and I don't want to go back out to Vancouver to get it looked at. Any suggestions? I'm also a student and too broke right now to sink much money in. I'm wondering if other people are having these problems and whether or not anyone's made a stink about it. The car is only seven years old - it seems a bit ridiculous to have this many electrical things going wrong in a car so young. Unfortunately, none of these problems were apparent during the test drives or the pre-purchase inspection (we knew about the reverse lights and were assured that it was likely an issue of the bulbs needing replacement which we now know is not the issue.)
  • tornspeedotornspeedo Member Posts: 6
    It sounds to me as if you have a bad ground to tailgate which will cause numerous symptoms due to electrical back feeds from the defroster,rear wiper,backup lights,anything else thats tailgate mounted and electric.Also be sure to run an 8 or 10 gauge wire from the tailgate to ground(any metal surface) as well as the battery to the fender or some other nearby grounded point other than the engine block.This may solve most of your issues.The tailgate ground wire is most likely already in the orig. harness so if you can find that and follow it into wherever that ground ring and bolt or screw (won't be far along) and be sure of good tight elec connection.Usually hidden at floor level maybe under a rear seat? Hope this is helpful. DT
  • tornspeedotornspeedo Member Posts: 6
    Refrence #s 11 and 12,Upon further investigation I found that the rain water from "A pillar" harness had slowly filled up fuses panel cover under dash as well as another unknown module at base of steering column.I drilled two 1/8 dia. holes in lowest corners of fuse cover to allow drainage and I guess the other module dried out on it's own.Car has not repeated issue throughout many heavy rains.Anybody want to buy a knife switch? DT
  • MuddycatMuddycat Member Posts: 3
    Thanks - that's quite helpful. There is a location I've noticed where the wiring goes through a tube and from beneath the hatch floor to underneath the back seat - I was actually wondering whether the wires might be wearing a bit there, since it's directly in the path of friction every time the seats are lowered.

    Any idea about the run-on issue? I've been told it may also be an issue of the engine running too rich?

    Thanks again for your help - it's really appreciated. :D
  • tornspeedotornspeedo Member Posts: 6
    Electrical backfeeds are tricky devils.The run on could be another symptom of a bad tailgate ground also as the rear defroster and backup lights are both ignition controlled circuits and there is no ground to either it is possible that one(the defroster) is feeding through itself back around the ungrounded loop to the backuplight circuit,through the filaments thus keeping just enough voltage on that half of ign. to keep the ignition at above 6 volts,not enough to "latch" a fuel solenoid but certainly enough to keep said solonoid latched once already there.It is also important to test all under dash fuses as well as the ones under the hood near the battery.There is most likely an open ground somewhere either from engine to fender,or tailgate to wherever or both causing this myraid of issues.Also watch for water in the under dash fuses panel and that silver module at the base of the steering column.This was a similar issue I recently had.See numbers 11,12 and 19 in this thread.Good luck and happy holidays Muddycat, Torpedo out.
  • lrrystwlrrystw Member Posts: 2
    Did you ever resolve this issue. I am having the exact same problem with my 2003 aerio sx it started a couple of weeks ago
  • lrrystwlrrystw Member Posts: 2
    Hello, did you ever get this issue resolved? I have another issue the fuse for the taillights, sidemarkers and part of the dash keeps blowing. The funny thing is when it blows the backlight for the clock comes on. Figure that out
  • work4justicework4justice Member Posts: 2
    I had a real good mechanic look for days to figure it out and finallbroke down and took it to a dealer. IT took them a week to fix it. There was a switch in the steering column that went but they also found a problem in the wiring harness in the headlights. Whey the problem took a few years to surface is beyond me but that is the story they gave me. They did not charge me full price to fix it as I could have bought a new car with the labor expense. I was in constant contact with them on it and told them if the cost to fix it was going to be too high I would rather trade it in for a new one. They charged me $500 or so. I think the switch they replaced was about $200
  • mrslip1234mrslip1234 Member Posts: 4
    How do you open the hatch back when the key and remote fails to work. I have tried to open the back in many ways but am unsucsessfull. MY left rear tail light is out, it may be related to this problem. please help.
    The only thing I can do is try to take off the inner rear door panel to see if I can pull the releas mechanism. The drivers manual has no release listed for the hatchback just the sedan. I am hoping I can get it to open .

    any thoughts
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    The back hatch can also be released via the power door lock switch on the driver's door, Open the doors twice in rapid succession. You should hear another "clunk" from the back lock on the second open. Also remember that the rubber trim around the hatch edge can be (for me, at least) so sticky at times that you can be fooled into believing that the hatch is still locked. Put a little more muscle into opening the hatch.

    If you truly can't open the door manually from the key slot on the hatch that would imply that a control rod in the lock mechanism has loosened significantly, keeping you from opening the hatch conventionally. There are two anchors and some bolts that help hold the plastic trim to the hatch located along the edges of the hatch door (I also looked at my car to confirm the locations), and are very hard (if near-impossible) to get to while the hatch is closed. If the hatch simply isn't stuck in place by the rubber trim, you'll have to start (argh!) cutting into the hatch's interior plastic cover to get to the lock mechanism.
  • tornspeedotornspeedo Member Posts: 6
    These wagons/hatchbacks are known for having a loose ground to hatch. You may try an alligator type jumper wire from a known ground to the hatch then try the electric release. It concerns me that the key will not operate the hatch as if the linkage may have fallen off inside the hatch. The key as far as I know is completely independant of the electrical issue and should be mechanically connected to the release mechanisim.Another trick would be to turn the rear wiper on, and with the ignition off try the release button. This would "fool' ground the hatch to the de-energized iginition circuit which at that point(ign off) is one big ground. Good luck...I think you will be pullin that inner panel if none of these work. DT
  • mrslip1234mrslip1234 Member Posts: 4
    Thanks, I have tried the electric door from either remote or key at the front drivers side hitting it twice as you suggested, It didnt work.
    I hope I dont have to cut the panel But I am not far away from trying that.I will try that when I get off night shift.
  • mrslip1234mrslip1234 Member Posts: 4
    good Idea, an alligator jumper. and or the rear wiper alsoo cool idea.

    I will let you guys know tommorow night thanks very much
    md
  • mrslip1234mrslip1234 Member Posts: 4
    Can you tell me what switch they replaced and perhaps any other specifics?

    thanks
    md
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    Just so there's no confusion, I believe carthell is referring to the door lock switch on the inside of the door, where you would lock or unlock the doors while in the driver's seat.

    kcram - Pickups/Wagons Host
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    Never post around bedtime! Regretful things might be typed. Add "with the power lock button on the armrest" to the end of "Open the doors," and a complete, specific thought is formed. (Audience cheers, confetti falls from everywhere, the seas part...)
  • farmboy9farmboy9 Member Posts: 2
  • farmboy9farmboy9 Member Posts: 2
    Where on this car is it located and what does it look like?
  • tray72tray72 Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2010
    I have a 2003 Suzuki Aerio. I recently had a mechanic to change the starter because the car wouldn't start and I took it to Autozone who told me that it was probably the charging system. Well my mechanic put the new starter on and it ran fine for a week. All of the sudden yesterday I got in it to go to lunch and the dashboard started blinking on and off but the radio was still on and the car was still driving. I turned the car off and when I started it it cranked right up. Later that night it did the same thing and when I tried to start it it would not start. What could this be? Is there some sort of electrical problem like a safety switch issue or something?
  • carthellcarthell Member Posts: 130
    First, make sure that the battery terminals are securely connected to the battery cables. Earlier last year, I cleaned and sprayed lots of anti-corrosive on the terminals. Put the cables on as snugly as I could, and ran fine for 24 hours until I had to leave work. Turned the key: no cranking, no power, nothin'. Thought about if for a while, then used an insulated pair of pliers and a little brute force to push one of the cables fully on the terminal. Car fired up as usual.

    Howzabout the generator? Did you have it tested? If you had the battery tested after each failure, and it is outputting less than 10 volts, the generator might be the problem.
  • tray72tray72 Member Posts: 2
    I had the battery tested and it's really a fairly new battery too. It tested fine, there's no corrosion on it but I will have my friend to make sure the cables are fully on the terminal and I will ask him about the generator as well. Thanks.
  • mmaddalena3mmaddalena3 Member Posts: 1
    I know this is an old post but I had this same trouble. The cable connecting to the battery frays something awful. If you re-twist it and cover it with silicone it will hold out. :)
  • mlagacemlagace Member Posts: 1
    I FOUND IT!

    I had all the same problems.

    Right Side of the car, under the back right side window, under the carpet and plastic, you have a bunch of connectors there, one of them is a two connector pair.
    It was all brown instead of yellow, because of the heat of a faulty connection to the defroster, backup light, and all that.
    It gets pretty hot even when the connection is good.

    The ground is the black with silver spots cable.

    Reconnected them properly and it works perfectly now.

    Thanks for the hints people !!

    Med
  • digitalquesodigitalqueso Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2014
    My 98 wagon is giving me some issues in the head light department. The brights work fine and the dash indicator light comes on bright. The low beams are very dim, and the dash indicator for the brights is on dimly. When its normally off. The guy at the dealership said it was something in the light switch lever. I don't know though, I hope is something cheaper. Any other ideas? I literally just replaced my alternator a week ago. I don't think it dying is related to the headlight issues though. It was an old alternator that did it's job reliably for many miles. I was hoping replacing the alternator would fix the headlight issues but I'm not quite that lucky.
  • kai12kai12 Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2015
    Hi, need your help please :) 
    My wife has a Suzuki wagon R+ W reg, automatic, about 13000 mile on the clock.
    she left the boot ajar last night and drained the battery. :(. From the interior light being left on. Jump started it this morning fine however when we went to take it for a run we notice that none of the gauges are working, speedo, rev, fuel nor mileage. But when we turned the engine on, the start up lights work e.g. battery light, oil light etc. Clock and radio and exterior lights work. How can I fix this? Thanks :) 
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