Your model has the 8V TBI engine, the 96-98 has the 16V MPFI engine. The Vitara FSM that covers your model can be downloaded here:

http://www.rhinoman.org/manuals/vitara/99500_60A10.pdf

The TPS adjustment is covered in section 6E.

 

You need to first advise what engine you have - the feeler gauge set up for the 8v and 16v engines, as well as the manual/auto tranny are different. Our TPS's look like the one in your photo.
Assuming that you have the 8v, as you talk about a dashpot...you need to retract (or just remove) the throttle opener/dashpot at the rear of the engine. With your negative battery cable removed, and the TPS connector disconnected, you insert your feeler gauge (2.2m/0.086 inches) between the throttle lever and the idle adjusting screw (see the thumbnail below for that location). You will have to loosen the idle adjusting screw in order to do this. Then you loosen the bolts slightly on the TPS, and take your DVM and connect them to the TPS side of the connector that you disconnected, with one lead on the blue/white wired pin, and the other on the grey/yellow wired pin (they should be the pins on the right side of the connector, the blue/white on top and the grey/yellow on the bottom. - on the connector side, they are the green wire and the black wired pins). Set your DVM to ohms, and rotate the TPS clockwise all the way. Now, slowly begin to rotate the TPS counterclockwise, watching the DVM. When it JUST begins to register ohms, stop, and tighten the bolts to the TPS. You should be registering less than 500 ohms, the lower the better.
Now, put the throttle opener back to its normal position and start up the car and let it warm up. Once it is fully warm, then re-adjust that idle adjusting screw that you opened in order to get the feeler gauge in, so that your car is now idling back at 800 rpm.

 

Bex,

I understand most of your instructions; thank you!

Some questions...

1. Eighty six thousandths (0.086) inch is the gap needed for the 1.6 8v engine, 5 speed manual?

2. If I need to back out the idle adjusting screw to allow the feeler gauge between the throttle lever and the idle adjusting screw, how far do I need to back it out? I thought that without any other adjustment, placing the feeler gauge between the throttle lever and the idle adjusting screw would open the throttle to a specific point and that is where I would check for continuity between pins one and two. Backing out the idle adjusting screw to allow the feeler gauge to go in would not do anything to open the throttle... you might as well check for continuity without the feeler gauge!

3. How low of an ohm reading is possible? When I tested (incorrectly), I noticed my ohm meter read around 48 ohms? The meter was beeping so I thought it was a good reading. In retrospect though, I could've had the meter set to ohms x10... 48 ohms was really 480 ohms.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

Agreed, if we're talking about engines, I should include that it indeed is an 8v. Retraction of the dash pot was the part I was missing! I will try it again and let you all know how it goes! Thanks for the info!

 

Yes, 0.086" (2.2mm) is the feeler gauge you use for the 8v manual tranny. You are just basically loosening the idle adjusting screw until it just touches the throttle lever, and then inserting the proper gauge for your engine, so that the lever is actually moving with the feeler gauge inserted. As long as the ohm reading is less than 500 ohms, the FSM indicates that this is 'factory spec', but the lower the better.

 

What's the benefit of doing this?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

The TPS is a fairly important sensor - it is actually advising the ECU as to your gas pedal position. Calibrating the TPS makes sure that the idle function of the TPS is correct, as this is dependent on the angle of the TPS, which is what you're calibrating when you do this. If you are having idle problems, this is one of the areas to check.

 

Quick question. I just had the engine swapped in mine and before I didn't have a CEL now I do. It's a code 21 which is for the tps having high voltage. Would adjusting this solve the issue or should I just swap my old one?

 

I’d check the wiring. And then recalibrate the TPS. Even if you swap in your old one, you’ll need to recalibrate it.