SK410V Brain Picker

[Herby]

Hello Members,
I have a Brain Picker! - Re; 1995 Suzuki Super Carry SK410V
With EVERYTHING OFF - (except the battery terminals) The low beam headlights stay on (no other lights are on) - but the low beams are not quite as bright as when their switched on normally - when I fire the engine up and the lights are still turned off - the little bit dimmer low beams still stay on - and when I turn on the lights they work normally thru the whole system - and the low beams are their normal brightness (also without the engine on)
I bought the van new - and have not had ANY electrical problems - and its in excellent condition.
Hopefully there is someone that has an idea or has had this problem.
I would sure appreciate a wiring diagram for the whole van and the Headlight wiring diagram.(High Resolution -Please)
Thank You,
Respectfully, Herby

[Darrell]

Sounds like it's fitted with the dip-dim unit that some SJ's have.
It's quite common for them to screw up and stay on.
It's standard practice to just unplug this unit.
On the SJ it's under the passenger side dash, no idea on the carry.

[Herby]

Thanks Darrell !
Oh my! - I thought i knew all car parts! - Could "Dip-Dim" unit be an UK term? maybe for the high beams relay?

[Darrell]

Bit more info http://forum.suzukiclubuk.co.uk/vi ... it=dip+dim

We are a 4x4 forum so you may not get much info here, but we
always try to help out any Suzuki owners best we can

[Anton]

Welcome to the forum, Herby.

And no, I don't think it's a UK term, because (as I heard it) they were installed because of regulations in Spain - nothing to do with the UK, not sure why Suzuki bothered installing them on UK bound SJ's...

Maybe it's because many SJ's were built in spain? Dunno.

[Darrell]

I can't find any manuals for download for the sk410

This is not a bad price for genuine Suzuki though......


Click Here for Ebay Listing


Also found this though http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-SK410- ... 1110479530

[Herby]

Hi Darrell and Anton,
Re, - "dip-dim" unit - and it being under the dash in passenger side.
Mmmm -What does it do when it works?
My van has an electric headlight adjustment - for different weights of loads - it moves the whole headlights unit up or down to throw the light on the road instead of blinding oncoming drivers.
Its ON the very left of the dashboard and has a selector switch for different settings - higher or lower - but it does not change the intensity of the headlights.
In "Yank" English (heehee) - "dip-dim" could also mean that, but "under" da dash and on the passenger side - Throws me back to blank.
My van is made in Japan - for European market.
Ya - I posted on both topics - Didnt see the electric one at first - Blind in one eye & cant see outa the other! ;-)

Thanks for your input and time and your friendly greetings :-)

[Tramp]

RE the Dim Dip

The UK Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations require vehicles first used on or after 1st April 1987 to be fitted with a dim-dip device or running lamps unless they fully comply with the lighting installation Directive. Dim-dip devices must provide an intensity of between 10 and 20% of the intensity of the normal dipped beam. Running lamps must provide an intensity of more than 200 candelas directly in front of the lamps and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and less than 800 candelas in any direction.



Dim-dip History
At the 18th Sessional Meeting of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) in London in 1975, a joint committee concerned with visual signalling, road lighting and automobile lighting came to the following conclusion:

It is recommended that a 'town beam' be introduced which is intermediate in intensity between that of the currently used low beam and side lights. Such a light should have a luminous intensity between 50 and 100 cd and should have an area similar to that of current headlights. Therefore it is recommended that all relevant organisations consider this matter seriously and take the necessary steps to introduce a town beam as an essential part of the lighting systems for road traffic.
The committee believed such a beam would provide conspicuous and glare free front lighting on vehicles. They suggested the beam could be simply realized by using the existing dipped beam headlamp on a lower voltage.

The UK was the only country to introduce a dim-dip system. The simplest such system merely consists of a relay and a 0.5 to 1 ohm resistor. This causes the dipped headlamps to light up automatically at reduced intensity whenever the engine and the side lights are switched on. Side lights can still be used on their own when parking, and dipped headlamps for any roads at night when they are necessary to illuminate the road.


So I hope that helps explain what the dim dip unit is, as for suzuki's as they get old this unit tends to fail and cause low beam all the time, or blowing of the headlamp circuit fuse, the easiest solution to the problem of the dim dip unit is just unplugging it and throwing it in the bin (trash can)

Hope I've helped
Luke

[Anton]

Nice one, Luke - now I know why they were installed on UK bound Spanish SJ's.

Nothing to do with stupid Spanish regs, everything to do with stupid UK regs!

I'm pretty sure, though, that they're not required for an MOT pass, so you're entitled to unplug them legally even if you can't sell a brand new SJ without one legally. Which doesn't matter since they stopped selling SJ's in the 1990's...

Do I have that right? (the bit about legally unplugging the dim-dip unit, I mean)? Doesn't matter to me as I have a 1985 SJ, but I'd like to know for future referance...

I think it's like the situation regarding anti-roll bars. If they're fitted, they have to work to pass an MOT - but you're legally entitled to remove it and you'll pass. I nearly did that with a Yaris a few years ago as the bushes were worn, but the garage said they'd replace them for £20, and I couldn't be bothered to drive off, remove the ARB, drive back and save £20 when I was going to replace the bushes later anyway (which would probably have cost me at least £10...)...

[Tramp]

It was only legally required on vehicles between 87' & 88' Some manufactures filed a lawsuit and the law got dropped, so they aren't compulsary any more. If you have one and it fails chuck it away, they aren't required any more, they're an obsolete item for laws that don't exist any more!