Your about to have one of those Homer "D oh.." moments.

Your vehicle has auto on headlights if the switch is in the 3rd position. There is a little sensor on the right side of the dash. Block the sunlight from it, and presto, your headlights come on (and dim the dash lights).

Suzuki build a bit more delay into the newer ones, so that they don't cycle on and off as much..

Cheers,

Tim

 

"Doh!" Okay that's my Homer for today. Just to be clear, what is the third position? I keep my switch turned all the way back towards me. There are two other little icons on the switch below that. So which is the third position? All the way back...in the middle...or all the way forward? An aside here, dusted the dash before I left the parking lot at work and it didn't do it again...probably a dirty/dusty sensor?

 

TM! On a quick side note...do your climate control upper BUTTONS light up? Mine don't and it's a problem knowing what button to push or how to FIND the correct button when needed in darkness. The fan selector and temp lever areas are lit, but that's all at this end.

NE1 know what the "fix" is? Like individual bulbs are burned out, or ???

TIA

 

Hey Max,
Yeah, I've got climate control lights...they were what was dimming this morning. Sounds like a bulb(s) behind your climate control panel is shot.

 

Have you ever REMOVED the whole housing?

Looking for hints here.

 

Removal

1)Remove meter cluster hood 4 screws total, 2 right above your gauges (speedo/tach) and 2 in the corners to the steering column, tilt the wheel down and you can see them between the dash and column, then it should pull off may have clips holding it so be careful not to crack it.

2)Remove ashtray, center garnish and instrument glove box compartment.
There are 2 screws behind the ashtray and 1 straight up above the radio in the middle. then it will pull off might be clips there too so dont just pull hard.

3)Remove radio, clock or accessory case. 4 screws total, 2 per side. unplug the radio and antenna

4)Remove mode control switch with heater control panel from the above removed hole.
5)Remove heater control panel from heater mode control switch I think there are 2 screws on the back of this as well.

On the back of the panel there should be some caps that will turn a little bit and pop out thats where the lights are, I believe they are either brown or black I am unsure exactly as I have not had one apart for awhile.


if need be I may be able to get a few pictures when I have time, but not tonight.

 

FYI,

There are only 2 bulbs in the heater control..




Item number 40 and 41..

Hope this helps.

Tim

 

tmcalavy: Not sure if your 99 is the same as my 2002, but my auto lights come on, even if i have my lights in the "off" position. (i only have the choice of: off, park, headlights). Thankfully the delay is longer, so they only usually pop on if i go in a tunnel or something. the only way to overide, is to partly bring the handbrake up, this disengages the auto feature, but only if u do it right from startup, or it doesnt work... A royal pain of your at the `ol drive-in..^_^

 

That's your daytime running lights. The Vitara did not have the auto headlight feature..

My '99 does.

And a BIG thanks on the bulb info too!

 

No, my running lights come as normal....i AM talking about my very much auto headlights, trust me, i have them, and the two little sensors on my dash by the windshield as well, that operates the system...

 

RallyRacer25,

You are correct, I was thinking of the newer models with the "AUTO" position on the headlight switch. The older models did not have the option of turning the AUTO feature off..

On the older models, if you unplug the light sensor on the dash, you will disable the Auto on function.. but the DRL will still kick on any time the engine is running, so you will still have to pull up the parking brake in the drive in.

Cheers,

Tim

 

Well we've got drive ins here in Tejas too. So, to recap, if I want to disengage my auto headlights I pull the emergency brake handle up a tad...before startup or after? My headlight switch has three positions, off, park lights and on. If I disengage the auto headlights this way will that stop the annoying dimming/brighting of the climate control cluster buttons? Not yet annoying but getting there.

 

i ONLY recomend using the handbrake if u r just putting around a short distance (ie moving from one spot to another in a drive in) DEfinately wouldnt recomend driving anywhere with the handbrake up, even a little bit, u will wear the rear drums badly, and will upset the handling of the vehicle. If you are having a persistant problem with it, then u would be better off disengaging it on a permanent basis, as Tim suggested. (ie pull the connection, or see if its running on a seperate fuse) and just use the lights the 'ol fashioned way Once u disengage the circuit that way, u shouldnt have ur interior lights acting up. The other solution, if u cant find the right connector to pull (im not sure myself) then u could always tape a piece of dark fabric over the sensor, so it stays in the "on" position, but have ur interior light dimmer turned up, so u can see the clock during the day. Does mean ur actual headlights will be on all the time, instead of just the day time runners... anyone else have any other ideas on this??

 

Got the bulb out and it's bad (thanks Tech and Tim), but my local Auto Parts place says it's a dealer item.

The bulb is tiny, like a LED. It has two LONG leads (like an X-Mas tree bulb) that bends over on the bulb socket base to engage the circuit board. Had to reassemble the dash for now.

Tim...do you have the Suzuki part number asscoiated with the part #40 in the diagram that you provided in that earlier post? With that I can call around tomorrow (Monday) and find one. Maybe even find one on-line.

Thanks,

Max

 

Max,

The Suzuki PN is 74513-63G00 and it lists for $6.87 in Canada.

Cheers,

Tim

PS That's a nice looking Nova.. here are some pics of my Toy http://www.cardomain.com/ride/585807

 

Found these pics in the foreign link below when I Googled the bulb part #...

JB33JZ‹ó’²ƒpƒlƒ‹‚Ì“d‹…ŒðŠ·

And thank you!

 

Here's a link if your looking for that bulb "aftermarket" wise.

74 37 Instrument Panel Lights

1/21/13 Note: In the above link, scroll down to the...

Neo - Wedge Tall Glass Instrument Panel Bulbs
With Silicone Rubber Boot for Color
T5 Type B Tall Neowedge

I believe that is them!

Max

 

Hi, I'm going through the exact same behavior right now, I need to change the light bulb on the upper part of my AC controls.

Could anyone direct me to the correct model in that website that is referred:
Autolumination Instrument Panel Light Bulbs & Lamps) or the equivalent that would work.

I got half way in disassembling my dash when I got stuck trying to remove the control like in this picture: and then I found this post, I stopped since I would need to get the special bulb anyway.

http://www10.plala.or.jp/jimnyito/irumi/0150.jpg


Any help would be really appreciated.

Regards

 

The best I can do is suggest checking w/the Suzuki Dealer (or GM / Tracker folks for that matter) to get the bulb.

That or the aftermarket bulb discussed earlier.

 

Try your local Radio Shack - look for p/n 227-1092 - this is what I use in my Suzuki Swift, and it matches Max description, so it may also fit the GV.

You get two lamps for $2 - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103780

 

Went to Radio Shack and bought the lights Fordem said about and took my dash apart. Sorry to say they are not right. Too small. I guess will go to the Suzuki dealer in the am. I talked to them the other day and they have to order it in.

 

Re-reading this thread, I've just realized - I don't think the lights on my GV are lighting - I'll confirm that this evening and maybe take it apart on the weekend.

I'll let you know whether or not those bulbs do fit.

Well - I took my dash apart this afternoon - had nothing else to do.

Clap is correct - the RadioShack bulbs are smaller than the OEM lamp - but not too small, in fact, I have one of those bulbs in mine right now.

The biggest problem you'll have with the smaller bulb is keeping the green condom on - I superglued it to the plastic lamp holder with just a drop of glue so if I ever have to go in there and change that bulb, I can get it off.

1 - Remove the instrument cluster bezel - there are four screws, two above the cluster and two below (lower the wheel and look in the gap)

2 - Remove the radio bezel - there are three screws - two in the ashtray opening and one higher up.

3 - Remove the radio - there are four screws - should be visible after removing the radio bezel in step #2

4 - Unscrew the heater controls - there are three screws - should be visible after removing the instrument cluster bezel in step #1.

5 - Push the heater controls back and down into the space where the radio was - you should be able to reach the bulb through the space where the heater control was - it's a little circular black plastic fitting with a flat screwdriver slot - it needs about a 1/8 turn to release it.

Re-assembly is the reverse of disassembly, and yes, it is possible to push the heater controls back, even though it doesn't look so.

 

Max
Was reading through this thread and I have a question. I saw the picture of the bulb with the long leads and read your description.....what do you mean by the leads bend over the socket base to engage the circuit board? No soldering needed? I can't quite visualize how the leads attach to the board.

 

what do you mean by the leads bend over the socket base to engage the circuit board?

Like in those tiny X-Mas Tree bulbs, where the physical contact / inserting them into the base provides the needed electrical contact. No soldering.



You'll need to use the green cover from the old bulb, transferred to the new one is all.

 

Hey Max
Thanks....I get it.....are the two bulbs that go in this area the same or different?