Suzuki Hatchback Range

Replacing random parts to fix a problem is a great way to tear up dollars and time. It’s also pretty frustrating when the problem doesn’t go away. The first thing to do is to have the car electronically scanned to see if the car’s own computer can point you towards the cause of the problem.

It may be as simple as the car needs a tune up and a new set of spark plugs, but you won’t know until it’s been properly diagnosed. This is not a complex car, so any good workshop should be able to sort it for you. The other problem, of course, is that the issue is intermittent, so it may take the workshop some time to be able to make the problem appear. Patience is the key here, not throwing a load of new parts at it.

You could be looking at any number of causes for this, and some of them herald the demise of your engine. Get a mechanic to check the car out. They will probably do a compression test, a leak-down test and have a close listen to the engine both at idle and under load.

If the cracking sound is a backfire or misfire, you may have an ignition problem. But the smoke is a bit more involved as it depends on the colour of the smoke. Black smoke suggests poor fuelling, but blue or grey smoke often means internal engine wear.

It is indeed a dangerous situation, especially if you’re trying to pull into fast-moving traffic when the engine suddenly cuts out. Frankly, there are literally hundreds of causes for this, so the best advice is to go back to basics and try to find anything wrong with the fuel or ignition system. An electronic scan of the car (if it hasn‘t already been done) is a good idea, too, as it might pin-point the problem area.

You could be looking at something as simple as a poor earth connection or a blocked fuel filter. That the car runs properly in the meantime, suggests that it’s an intermittent fuel or electrical problem rather than an inherent mechanical failure.