[BoneCollector]

Visited a village today and clicked a snap in front of an ancestral house. The road leading to it was non-existant. I was skeptical to take car as the mud was also soft. But then took it in reverse.

A panorama.






The Sarson ke khet!

[BoneCollector]

Lockdown came as a blessing, fixed up a few pending issues in car.

1. Fog lamp wiring - The wiring for fog lamps was taken using scotch locks. Left side connection used to get loose frequently. I had procured the connectors last year for a clean install. Started by removing the front bumper. Then connected the couplers to the input of ballasts for fog lamps and soldered them. Covered the connection in plastic glue and then wrapped the rubber tape. Once the wires were connected, the coupler was inserted into the OEM fog lamp connector. The connection was perfect and there was no issue of loose connection. The high beam setup also works fine.

Bumper removed.


Bumper kept aside.


The circle is the fog lamp connection. The oval one is the high beam connection for which I've used 12V connectors bought from Amazon. It'll be helpful in removing the bumper as and when required.


The fog lamp connector.

2. Wire mesh over AC vent - Thankfully I've not had any rat ingress inside the car but came to know about a vent in front which is hidden behind the plastic cowl covering the lower part of windshield on left side, thanks to DBHPian Leoshashi. I removed the left side cowl partially by removing the plastic locks. There are 3 of them. I could see the vent inside on the body. There are 2 bolts jutting out on the sides of the vent. I has some spare nuts of same size luckily and a wire mesh. I installed the wire mesh in such a way that there is no question of rats or anything else entering it. There are 2 layers of wire mesh arranged to prevent any infestation.

The location of the vent.


Left side cowl removed partially.


Wire mesh.


Wire mesh attached with bolts in circle.

3. Front grill - The chrome grill on the front bumper was painted black a few years back. It had started peeling off at a few points. Since the bumper was off, I removed the grill from it, cleaned it properly and then did a few coats of black matte paint on it. I also applied a coat over the black areas of bumper, including the front silver skid plates. This has also hid the hard water marks.

Grill removed.


Masking tape attached to Suzuki logo. Could have removed it as it's fixed with 1 screw from behind.


Lower part of bumper painted black.


Final look.


A good day spent working on car in between patients.


Comparative snap.

[Drbhavesh]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I've changed the setup of working of Micro Fogs. Now I've tapped low beam of headlights for fog high beam. So when I switch on fog lamps, only fogs work. When I switch on low beam of headlights, still only fog low beam will work. High beam activates only when I click on the switch on my gear lever. The fog lamp high beam is independent of the headlight high beam.

Hi BoneCollector, Installed fog lamps in my car. I also want independent high beam. So, I used another OE fog lamp switch and tried to tap power from fuse tap. But for some reason it is not working. Can you suggest some other idea? I want to retain the OE look in the car and prefer not to install any other switch.

What I have in my mind is, I get power supply from the right side stock fog lamp socket which is unused and route the wires through 2nd fog lamp switch and connect to the high beam wire of fog lamp. Do you think it will work? If you have any suggestions, please tell me.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Drbhavesh

Hi BoneCollector, Installed fog lamps in my car. I also want independent high beam. So, I used another OE fog lamp switch and tried to tap power from fuse tap. But for some reason it is not working. Can you suggest some other idea? I want to retain the OE look in the car and prefer not to install any other switch.

The high beam works with even 9V as it's just a shutter operated by a solenoid/magnet. If the bulb is on, the switch to move the shutter will result in high beam operation. What I could decipher from this is that you are unable to use the high beam function after taking power using a fuse tap. Is it so?

What I have in my mind is, I get power supply from the right side stock fog lamp socket which is unused and route the wires through 2nd fog lamp switch and connect to the high beam wire of fog lamp. Do you think it will work? If you have any suggestions, please tell me.

It appears that you have taken power for the foglamps from left side. Can you let me know a few things so that I can help?

1. Your car.
2. The connection done by you with snaps.
3. How you intend to use it.

Snaps help a lot in understanding the issues, be it wiring or alignment. I see that you've not shared images of the installation on your car in any other thread too. Please post snaps for easy resolution of issues.

[Drbhavesh]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

1. Your car.
2. The connection done by you with snaps.
3. How you intend to use it.

Snaps help a lot in understanding the issues, be it wiring or alignment. I see that you've not shared images of the installation on your car in any other thread too. Please post snaps for easy resolution of issues.

Car is swift Dzire 2016. I am not able to get power from the fuse tap. Initially I thought may be it's the grounding terminal that I am not placing correctly. But I tried a proper grounding point and few others as well but it didn't work. Couldn't get power only from fuse tap. Below are few pictures. I want to use headlight and fog light independent of each other.





This is the grounding point that I used. Also tried with the screws above the pedals. It is behind the stock fog lamp switch and headlight leveling switches.



I got H4 harness with fog lamp projectors. I removed the H4 pin. So I got 3 wires. Low beam, high beam and negative. Black and blue are low beam wires. Red wire is the high beam wire (original was brown but I have attached red for extention)



Two wires above my index finger are low beam and negative wires which I have attached with the left side stock fog lamp socket.



Additional fog lamp switch that I want to use for controling high beam on-off.



Fuse tap. I checked the blank in fuse box first. It works with the ignition.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Drbhavesh

Car is swift Dzire 2016. I am not able to get power from the fuse tap.

Ok. Just a few more questions,
1. Does the projector fog lamps light up?
2. From where have you taken power for them?
3. As per your description, I understand that the high beam not switching on is the issue. For this, you've tried to tap the power from fuse box and use a separate switch. Shouldn't be an issue if wiring is correct.
4. You have taken body earth as negative?

Fuse tap. I checked the blank in fuse box first. It works with the ignition.

You say that the blank in fuse box was checked, that means it has power. Did you check the fuse tap per se? There are times when the fuse tap is faulty and doesn't work. I've faced this issue twice, once on my car and once when working on a Nexon. Also check the body earth negative. I've used it for my front camera setup. That also should not be an issue if wiring is correct. The switch can also be faulty. Where did you procure your switch from? Either that can also be faulty or maybe the wiring is.

Sorry for being not of much help till now.

[Drbhavesh]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Ok. Just a few more questions,
1. Does the projector fog lamps light up?
2. From where have you taken power for them?
3. As per your description, I understand that the high beam not switching on is the issue. For this, you've tried to tap the power from fuse box and use a separate switch. Shouldn't be an issue if wiring is correct.
4. You have taken body earth as negative?


Did you check the fuse tap per se?

Also check the body earth negative.

Where did you procure your switch from?

Sorry for being not of much help till now.

Fog lamps light up when I turn them on. I have used harness. So, power is from battery. Harness trigger is from left side stock fog lamp socket.

Yes. Body earth is taken as negative.

I had ordered fuse tap from Amazon. I haven't checked that. Switch was ordered from boodmo. I will check them both and see how it goes.

You have been helpful a lot.

[Drbhavesh]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

The switch can also be faulty. Where did you procure your switch from? Either that can also be faulty or maybe the wiring is.

I checked continuity of wiring with multimeter and found that there is some problem at pin number 3 on back of fog lamp switch. When I connect one probe of multimeter to the fuse and other to that pin, there is no beep. Rest all 4 pins cause beep. I guess either it came faulty or I damaged something while soldering wires. I will order new one and see how it goes.

Many thanks.

[BoneCollector]

The car was taken out for a 150kms trip yesterday for some official work I had. This was after over 3 months of car not in use. It was regularly started and moved a few feet.

Every time you drive it, you actually end up loving it more.


Yes, it crossed a milestone, 19000kms after just over 4 years of ownership. Some people say that its run too less. But for me, it serves the purpose it was bought for. So it hardly matters if it has run 19k or 190k! I have no regrets.

Our beater city car is an 8 year old Wagon R that has crossed 50K.

[knrn]

Hi there bone collector. Hope you are doing well in these corona times.
Yours is again one of the reference threads on the vitara brezza.

This very car is on my radar for quite some time. Now that you have had it for four years, how do you find the interior and overall quality. Any rattles/ niggles or problems you have faced?
Would you have opted for any other vehicle thinking retrospectively?

It is because as I said the car is on my radar as I need to replace my aging santro which is a wonderful vehicle. The brezza Fits and suits all my requirements. My monthly running on average is below 500 kms so the petrol model will be fine for me. My only concern is whether the car manages to hold itself up well as the ownership progresses or would you recommend me to go for something else say the ecosport or nexon. Your response will be appreciated as you had a very detailed buying research during the purchase of the car. And would you suggest to go in for the top trim or base variant?
Thanks in advance.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by knrn

Hi there bone collector. Hope you are doing well in these corona times.

Hi, all well as of now except that the car is not doing any duties currently.

Yours is again one of the reference threads on the vitara brezza.

That's good to know.

This very car is on my radar for quite some time. Now that you have had it for four years, how do you find the interior and overall quality.

Interior is fine. Since I've had mainly Marutis in my garage except the erstwhile Santro, I never felt anything out of place. Quality is fine but not top notch like Hyundai's.

Any rattles/ niggles or problems you have faced?

A rattle here and there by the parcel tray. Other than that, I haven't had much issues with it. A few were taken care of as and when I opened up the car.

Would you have opted for any other vehicle thinking retrospectively?

That's a tricky question because I liked the interior of S-Cross but not the exterior of old one. Had the new one come out, I would have taken that. Another car worth considering would be the Ecosport in current avatar. But I may give it a miss due to service issues and the so called JV between Ford and Mahindra. My not selecting a few cars were due to service related issues and not due to anything else.

It is because as I said the car is on my radar as I need to replace my aging santro which is a wonderful vehicle. The brezza Fits and suits all my requirements. My monthly running on average is below 500 kms so the petrol model will be fine for me.

If you look at my car, it has run really less. Had petrol been an option that time, I would have gone for it. But then, it was always in diesel option so I went for it.

My only concern is whether the car manages to hold itself up well as the ownership progresses or would you recommend me to go for something else say the ecosport or nexon.

I feel that if you look after any car well, it will reciprocate. Pamper your car and it'll never fail you. Brezza is one of the well built cars from Maruti. If I've to rate, I'll rate Ritz as the best followed by the S-Cross and then Brezza.

And would you suggest to go in for the top trim or base variant?

I'll always suggest to go in for the top trim. Even the ZXI misses out on a few important goodies like auto IRVM.

This car suits me perfectly. I've never regretted buying it.

[knrn]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Hi, all well as of now except that the car is not doing any duties currently.

Yeah. Same here. Except the daily run to and fro from hospital. And it is just a five minutes drive.

That's good to know.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Interior is fine. Since I've had mainly Marutis in my garage except the erstwhile Santro, I never felt anything out of place. Quality is fine but not top notch like Hyundai's.

Hyundai might have the quality but now they have some serious mechanical lapses as well plus overpricing their products. The reason I am not looking at anything from their stable.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

A rattle here and there by the parcel tray. Other than that, I haven't had much issues with it. A few were taken care of as and when I opened up the car.

I don't care much about the rattles. Some will always be there. What I care about is the car holding itself mechanically well and composed. Sure the interiors should hold up well but a lot also depends on how one drives.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

That's a tricky question because I liked the interior of S-Cross but not the exterior of old one. Had the new one come out, I would have taken that. Another car worth considering would be the Ecosport in current avatar. But I may give it a miss due to service issues and the so called JV between Ford and Mahindra. My not selecting a few cars were due to service related issues and not due to anything else.

S cross was worth its weight in gold when it had the 1.6 diesel stonker. Now I feel it is just a glorified maruti. But I will still go and have a look at it. Your reason for Ford is exactly the reason I am not looking at ecosport.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

If you look at my car, it has run really less. Had petrol been an option that time, I would have gone for it. But then, it was always in diesel option so I went for it.

The diesel definitely has more power but the petrol is way smoother. Not in the Honda category but still quite powerful enough. I was sold on the Etios which had 90 hp and 132 nm torque. The Brezza has 105 horses and 138 nm torque. And I think it is among the last of the 1.5 naturally aspirated mills out there. Nothing can beat the longevity of a naturally aspirated petrol engine except perhaps a Toyota. But then now Toyota has nothing to offer in the sub 10 lakh category. Rather they practically start in 2 million plus category. Had Etios been available today I would have gone for it eyes closed. It was the poor man's Honda but alas.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I feel that if you look after any car well, it will reciprocate. Pamper your car and it'll never fail you. Brezza is one of the well built cars from Maruti. If I've to rate, I'll rate Ritz as the best followed by the S-Cross and then Brezza.

Exactly what my father taught me and what I have been doing. My santro into its 14th year and still looks very young. One can't guess its age till I mention it. I would have kept it but registering vehicles after 15 plus years will now be a pain. Plus it is the BS 3 model. I don't know what it's future will be so planned to run it till 15 and then sadly let it go. I hope that if brezza is as good as you say then it should fare well.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I'll always suggest to go in for the top trim. Even the ZXI misses out on a few important goodies like auto IRVM.

This car suits me perfectly. I've never regretted buying it.

Yes. Coming from a basic and humble santro, whatever I buy will be an upgrade in everything be it space, power or comfort. The only thing I am keen on is reliability.

Thanks a lot for your response. I really appreciate. Felt like I spoke my heart out to you. Will keep a tab on this thread. Your DIY jobs are very interesting. Keep up the good work.
I will let you know what and when I go with later once the corona crisis ends and salaries stabilise.

Thanks and have a good time with your car.

[smileline]

Hi. I always wanted to blacken my Brezza’s front grill black. Is the process to remove the front grill easy ?


Thanks.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by smileline

Hi. I always wanted to blacken my Brezza’s front grill black. Is the process to remove the front grill easy ?


Thanks.

Sorry for such a late reply. Have been tied up with things.

White arrows point to bolts (no.10 size) that need to be removed.
Red arrows point to 3 locks on each side under the bumper.
Blue arrows point to a single screw on each side of front wheel liner.


There are 2 bolts behind the fog lamp cover that can be approached once you remove the fog lamp covers.

After removing all the bolts, screws on sides and plastic locks on underside, you need to first lift the bumper from grill area where there are 2 locks which will get released by lifting. Then remove the sides of bumper by pulling it out and releasing the locks on each side. Once the locks are released, you'll have to remove the turn indicator bulbs by rotating them. After that, the bumper comes out free. Once the bumper is free, you can remove the grill by removing 8 or 10 screws from behind which attach the grill to bumper. Thereafter, you can paint the grill. Even the Suzuki logo is fixed by a single screw and can be removed easily. The whole exercise may look humongous but trust me, if you're a DIY guy, removing bumper will not take more than 15 minutes. A helping hand would be great though.

[smileline]

The whole exercise may look humongous but trust me, if you're a DIY guy, removing bumper will not take more than 15 minutes. A helping hand would be great though.

Thanks for your reply. As you have already mentioned in your post. I am not a DIY guy, will need to go to a workshop.

The explanation given by you is very simple to understand. I can atleast check if the guys at the workshop are doing it correctly or not.

Thanks you.