your car should start , so easy , i could start it with a lamp cord. LOL
all kicks fire and run , as the first piston clears TDC full of fuel and air.
they do, if not they are busted .

your EGR is busted, and the ECU on some older kicks will never send code 51 , in fact many dont even know what 51 means (like mine , grin !)
you didnt say 8v or 16 but you did say EGR hard to find,so it must be a 16v, as that is true.
I dont understand any one not willing to fully tune up an engine. ( seen people run points until the are vaporized ,go figure)

Imagine tearing a whole car to bits and back and then finding a carbon tracked rotor in the DIZZY. $2 part wastes $1000 labor and parts ( that is way everyone tunes up first, then diagnoses) HIGH VOLTAGE is WHAT it IS ! eats plastic for breakfast.
new belt,good now engine will not blow up.

keep in mind, on this car and age ,the ECU is really dumb and will not throw codes, unless something is totally shorted or missing completely. (unlike todays breathren)

The EGR must not be stuck open or car will not start right or run right.
yours has the main EGR exhaust path completely blocked,
but that is not a start problem. (mostly smog)

cold start list :
1; a real tune up. ( HOT, well timed spark will result)
2: The IAC valve opens properly and is not clogged, this provides air to start.
3: EGR not stuck open with carbon chunk. ( yours is opposite)
4: good compresion and cam timing.
5: perfect fuel pump pressure at the injector rail.
6: injectors not cogged up or there tiny internal screens (10micron in size)
7: ECU is good. ( your could be intermittant. and in hot summers you caps are bad)
8: ECT is bad. (stuck at HOT all the time will fail cold starts)

Id put new capacitors in yours with no thinking at all, hot = death for them.
IN YOUR LOCATION. ( with windows rolled up FOR SURE)

they are dirt cheap too.

ecu-caps-source

see my no start page, click sig .link click cranks but no start. its all there.

 

Ecu

You are correct, this is a 16v.

I have no problem replacing plugs, wires and dist cap, but as I said, it looked like it had been done quite recently. Of course, I had the fuel filter changed recently and you would never know by looking at it.

I pulled the ECU. It looks completely different than either of the pictures on your site. No visible sign of damage to the caps. Most of them are rated to 85 deg C and are made in Japan. Perhaps the Escudos got a different ECU. Here is a picture of my ECU:

(Click for more resolution)

I will go through everything else on the list as I get a chance.

J

you didnt say 8v or 16 but you did say EGR hard to find,so it must be a 16v, as that is true.
I dont understand any one not willing to fully tune up an engine. ( seen people run points until the are vaporized ,go figure)

Id put new capacitors in yours with no thinking at all, hot = death for them.
IN YOUR LOCATION. ( with windows rolled up FOR SURE)

they are dirt cheap too.

 

Starting at #2 on the list (I'll get to #1, I promise), I performed the basic IAC check you describe elsewhere either on this forum or on your website. With the engine idling, I turned on the Heater/Fan and the headlights (no working AC on this one). The RPM's stumble just a bit and drop by about 200 RPM, from about 800 to 600. I am not sure if this is a pass or fail result, and I don't have access to a more accurate tachometer at the moment. Is there something else that will be more conclusive?

Thanks,
J

 

no tach , just listen for drops,in RPM means IDLE is not being controled by ECU.

but it could just be ECU is not wanting to , or engine is not hot or ECT sensor says engine is cold when hot.
tell what she does after full tune up.

THAT IS ONE GORGIOUS ECU ,nice aluminum case, mine is like tin bread box,
ants can crawl inside and make a nest.

NICE . looks good and those caps look like the nice kind.

sorry ,dont do my whole list , just consider that we might as we progress.

i just wanted you to get the feeling of just how many things can mess up idle.
we can find it.
NO ORDER cept Tune up , full.

cheers.

 

jtgh,

Do you actualy live on Macneil Island?

I visited the facility there about 15yrs ago.

 

nah, one island north, closer to the womens prison. I make joke, in liberal state of Wa. one has wide screen TV and PC with fiber bandwidth to web. In jail. hheheheh

thanks for photo,
I only wish mine looked like that, mine looks like circa 70 vintage.


Just looked at PL and your ESCUDO can have vastly different parts on it ,than here.
like totally diff. Throttle body and induction set ups.
Actually it looks like SUzuki was experiementing with newer designs (too expensive to tray in the EPA land) , you car has some very nice parts. The integrated TB is cool.

you car most likely just needs a full tune up.
and I hope that is all.

keep in mind any suggestion we make here (off Caribbean island) might be Flawed cuz of
diff. parts.
so we are sorry if you tell you to look where it is impossible , ahahahah.

 

nah, one island north, closer to the womens prison. I make joke, in liberal state of Wa. one has wide screen TV and PC with fiber bandwidth to web. In jail. hheheheh ahahahah.

Of course you know what my next question may have been. I was there providing an independant inspection, (EL Federalis, Gendarmerie, LOL!)

BTW: the Tracker is my wife's (I get to maintain it), I drive the flouresent green beast behind.

 

if you get bored,(doughtful) could you look up your E Number

on a smog sticker (may not have one at all )
or the vehicle ID tag. ( some countries, put all data on 1 tab, here we like lots of tags)
E60,E92,e93,e94 ( these are the smog designs used)


the E94 is quite advanced, integrated TB , ISC/IAC,
minimal smog parts, EGR is just 1 part ! that uses a smarter ECU to control it missing the hated EGRMOD valve and therm probe and no VSV , very nice design.
sell it to me. (ship it DHL , express)

cheers.

 

Looking at that ECU maybe we have a fairly rare model. Because theres only one injector driver FET believes me to think its a throttle body injected single over head cam 16 valve . This is rare because by 94 most of the 16 valve engines were multi point fuel injected and any that weren't were 8 valve engines. I agree that the concern is most likely a EGR related issue but, this EGR system may be unique to this engine. Pictures of the engine to verify this would be great.

 

Escudo, 1.6 and 2.0 liter , some 2.0 have turbo.< no turbos in carrib. sadly. and no 2.0liter either.
pondering too:
that transistor on that heat sink, could be something else ,besides a FET for a single injector.

we dont even know if E94 cars have low or HI Z injectors ?
Hi Z take little Current to drive them, nothing really. Especially with IGBFET's (low rds(on))
batch fire injectors? are a piece of cake. on any Hi Z system.
(or alternate or sequential x4)
coil on plug wasted spark , it shows for E94 (presumption)

till i see the pn on each, i never guess, but there are 6 other power transistor on the card. Tango 8nn's all. Then I would ring it out. (trace)

here ,see my drawings, 2 transistors 1 injector.
the real thing. (last photo on page)
transistors


all ESCUDO's 1.6 have a fuel rail. with 4 injectors, just looked, by doing a scan for "rail". 12 models in the list , more similarity then diff.

this car has COP or rather coil 1/2 on plug, 2 are &2 are extended
so you should replace the extensions at least.
suzuki pn#33705-66D00 (pair)
and check for CEL DTC code error.s

if you dont have COP then this is not a CARRIB car and some other import. and E# would really help. ID.

 

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT does it glow and when.


if you have a bad COP coil it may be hard to find.
no P0301 codes like on 96 Sports.

ouch.

 

There is a lot to digest here.

This car has a fuel rail with 4 injectors. I sniffed around under the hood just checking things out that I had easy access to and doing basic resistance checks on components.

-I checked 2 of the 4 injectors (the ones I could get to easily) and one is in spec at 18 ohms, but the other one is reading very high-infinity. I want to double check that again as it seems a bad injector would cause worse driveability problems than what I seem to have, but who knows.

Silly question but what does COP stand for?

The Check Engine Light never glows except during the startup sequence. It does flash a 12 when the diag connector is jumpered.


Last I checked, the ECU was returning a code 12.

I will try to get a picture of the engine as well as a code or id.

J

 

Coil On Plug

 

sorry, coil on plug and yours has only 2 , called wasted spark, 2 COP
in that only 2 wires can be changed with out going broke. ( newer 1.8 liter have 4 cop)

good no misfires.

you injector coils are not open that was a bad read, 10-20 ohms sounds good on good one.
if coil opens IT will never inject again ever.

I have no idea how smart this ECU might be. code 12 says its OBD1 level.
12 = PERFECT no problems found.

Id clean the Throttle body parts with carb cleaner . There is an IDLE control path in there ( strange TB you have) and it need to be clean for good start and idle.

cheers

 

Not sure about the ECU either but I do know it is capable if spitting out codes other than 12 because I started it once without the MAF sensor plugged in and it gave me a code for that (I can't remember off hand what it was).

I'm not sure about the E-code. I've got one label in Japanese and another that doesn't seem to have an E-Code.

Here are pictures of the engine compartment as well as two labels.

[Click on each image for more resolution]

Hopefully these pictures will provide some clues.

I am replacing the dist cap, rotor, wires and plugs tomorrow afternoon, as long as I can find them. There are pros and cons to living in Grenada, and one of the cons is sometimes even the simplest parts are not easily found.

J

 

it has a full dizzy, yes, cap ,rotor and wires , plugs are needed.

you might be able to order in usa and have them ship it to you .
rockauto.com might do it.
yes, MAF missing will throw a code.


that's not an Escudo exported for your area,its a sidekick for carrib or a real Japan domestic Side kick.
somebody imported it, privately.
sorry im not expert on world models. but that is what Parts list shows. Japan real sidekick.

I see many different PN for sidekicks in your carrib. area.
I can see why it is hard to get parts. after looking up the car.

Good day to you .

 

Kinda off topic but your missing the tube that goes from the air box to the fender, just so you know.

 

Shconer,

Thanks for pointing that out. It actually may not be as off topic as you think. Before I took possession of the vehicle, I am pretty sure it was in some kind of front end collision that specifically impacted the front left of the car. I think this because of some of the damage in this area. I have examined and reexamined this area for some kind leak in the air intake, but there isn't anything that I have found.

J

 

i read your island has the highest rated beach in the world.
way to go.!

take a close in photo of dizzy and I will find it in the carrib.list for
side kicks, it shows many different ones. and they mix if years in the parts list.
my best guess:
using carrib index to PL.
16V:
dizzy cap: 33321-58B10 suz pn
dizzy rotor: 33320-60C30 "

i then looked USA compliment , and.... same numbers


here is Rockauto list
1994 SUZUKI SIDEKICK JX Ignition Parts


bosch may be your easy find:
cap: 03380
rotor: 04273

if not Bosch in area, they can cross them.

there are 13 models if Sidekicks in to the Carrib.
so no guarantees of fit.

that E Number would greatly help.
on a sticker somewhere.

 

i read your island has the highest rated beach in the world.
way to go.!

Grand Anse Beach is rated as one of the prettiest beaches in the world, but I am not much of a beach goer. I love the ocean, but too many resorts and tourists in that area for my taste.

It's funny, these Escudos are all over this island, by far the most common vehicle here, and it is still difficult to find someone that can fix them.

J

 

Plugs, wirI'd es and rotor

Plugs, wires and rotors changed this morning. Starting and idling are same as before. The wires looked to be in very good condition. The plugs were in need of replacement but nothing really notable about them (the plugs I put in are a slightly colder version Denso K20RU replacing the Denso K16RU, K20RU is the manufacturer and auto parts store recommended plug). The rotor was worn and corroded. Still working on the dist. cap, but by inspection, it appears not to be an issue. I found one on the island, I just have to go get it.

I still haven't found an E-code but I'll keep looking. It has stalled on me several times in the last several days when I slow to an idle, especially when I am in a parking lot situation. When it is just idling it sounds like it is hunting. The RPM's go up and down every once in a while it feels/sounds like a misfire.

J

 

no problem , just the engine and controls count.
there are many export Sidekick type vehicles exported from japan and
all have diff. smog, throttle body, sensors, dizzy.
finding the E number is the best , I think it means export number.
The parts list goes buy this sacred number.


best is tune up (cheapest and most common fix) then after that diagnose problem.
if any.
doing backwards, this ,wastes tons of money and labor.

sensors on this car go for $200 a pop and we dont want to replace then willy nilly.

after tune up ,tell is what does corrent and wrong.
hot and cold , starting and running.

did you get a new fuel filter? I forget.

 

did you get a new fuel filter? I forget.

Fuel filter was replaced several months ago. I may go ahead and change it again.

I will scour to car from top to bottom again today and look for that E code. Perhaps its on the door.

J

 

Still no progress on this after all this time and it is getting worse. One of the posts mentioned no misfires and that is not entirely true. It does feel like it misfires from time to time, but not consistently. I'm hoping to get this nailed down in the next couple of weeks. I have scoured this thing from top to bottom and have found no E-code.

Here is where we left it based on the original list jtgh posted:

1; a real tune up. ( HOT, well timed spark will result)
- tune up performed, but timing not set
2: The IAC valve opens properly and is not clogged, this provides air to start.
- this seems like a possibility judging from the RPM test performed
3: EGR not stuck open with carbon chunk. ( yours is opposite)
- mine might be clogged shut
4: good compresion and cam timing.
- not checked, but head gasket recently replaced
5: perfect fuel pump pressure at the injector rail.
- not checked
6: injectors not cogged up or there tiny internal screens (10micron in size)
- not checked
7: ECU is good. ( your could be intermittant. and in hot summers you caps are bad)
- my ECU is different and looks pretty good. returns a 12
8: ECT is bad. (stuck at HOT all the time will fail cold starts)
- not sure about this one

My goal is to at least get the timing checked and possibly the fuel pressure but I may to resort to a crude fuel check because I haven't been able to find anyone with the equipment to check the pressure. One of those disadvantages to living on a small island.

If anyone wants to give me some direction, I am all ears.

J

 

that's a tough row to hoe (farmer talk)
I keep asking my self what would i do. (buy a moped? ) hheheheeheheh

lets start over.
what does the engine do good?
what does the engine do bad?
hot and cold ( not the weather , the cold engine and the fully 200deg, hot engine)
does the engine reach properoperating temperature?


Keep in mind what a car does good , can be a clear indication of what is wrong.
one more question, when the car is cold ,can you drive off and have full power.

one more, sorry, if car runs bad at all times , hot or cold, can you make it run right
hot, by using wide open throttle, Pedal to the metal , test. Full power in WOT ?

forget the E number as yours is a fully Japan local car, the engine cab sticker is probably
100% written in Japanese and is not an export model.
so it is an Asia model. beats me cuz never saw one.

one last question:
if engine acks funny, does it bog, simple loss of power, or does it buck ?

2 distinct ways to loose power , bogging and bucking .
usually the former is lack of fuel and the latter is loss of spark.
i can tell it , in an instant.
but you must relate this to me.

happy spring.

 

I realize it has been almost a year since I last updated this thread, but I wanted to thank everyone for your help and complete the record on this vehicle.

I have not been with this car since last May when I left the island, but my girlfriend has been driving it. The hard starting finally got to the point where I was concerned it wasn't going to start at all because it would take 10 tries sometimes to get it started so I had one of the larger shops on the island take a look at it. I had previously been hesitant to spend a bunch of money troubleshooting this thing, but it told them to see what they could find out in a couple of hours. At first they couldn't find a problem either but it was eventually determined that the crankshaft was worn out which was causing the slot where the Woodruff key sits to be enlarged and thus throwing off the timing. I don't think the rest of the vehicle is worth a new engine or a new crankshaft so it will most likely become a parts car when the engine goes completely, but the shop performed a temporary fix by using a bigger key and also I believe using some epoxy. It is starting and running much better now so we will see how long it lasts, but she only needs it for another month or so and it will only be used for short trips in that time.

This is all being described to me over the phone and email so I may have some of the details off.

Ace

 

thanks for update
another dead crank snout.
we get 25 a year here, maybe more.

another trick is to :
put in a wider and or deeper key. (off other forum)
or
put a key on the back side and mark the bottom cog , accordingly.

next time torque it to 94 ft/lbs ,like TSB shows.


next time, freeze the timing with the jumper and see it jumps around ,bad snout.
or
check the 17mm crank bolt torque of all side kicks made from 89 to 98 (our range)
this can be done with a torsion beam torque wrench) (scales)
one , tries to tighten the bolt and see exactly how much torque it takes to move bolt. (5th gear, or tranny in park)
then if below 50lbs. panic. (full inspection)

i bet yours was 10 ft/lbs.

really everyone should do this.
after the t-belt swap and again after 1 mile.
or on any newly garaged KICK (used buy)

just like we do lug bolts.
once, and around the block and check 1 more time.

 

see this

i think one can pull the bolt 17mm
then with mirror and flash light ,inspect it. a 30min procedure.

you cant actually see key in snout of crank this way
but you can see key in cog and look for damage.
any non squarness , the pull the cog (belt first)

cheers

i post this as i see many readers are curious.