I am planning to swap a 1999 Grand Vitara 2.5L V6 into my 1997 1.6L Suzuki Sidekick.
I have a complete donor Vitara that has an automatic transmission.
Also sourced a manual transmission, clutch, pedals, master/slave clutch stuff, ECU and gauges from a std transmission Vitara as I want to do the swap with a manual trans setup.
My plan is to replace the Sidekick wiring harness with the Vitara harness.
Question - can I modify the Vitara automatic transmission harness to accept the manual transmission?
I am hoping all Vitara harnesses are basically the same with options for either the manual or auto trans.
Thanks in advance.

What transmission does/did the 2.5 V6 have behind it?  From the wording of your post I suspect it's an automatic.

You're pretty much stuck with that unless you source an ECU and harness from a donor vehicle with the 2.5 V6 AND the transmission of your choice,  On the GV the transmission is controlled by the ECU and it will set multiple check engine codes when it does not see the signals from the transmission.

What engine does/did the two Vitaras that you mention have fitted?

You start by mentioning a Sidekick which suggests you're in the US, assuming that is correct and the two Vitaras are also US models, it's unlikely that they had the 2.5 V6, which would mean neither the transmissions, the ECUs nor the harnesses are compatible with the 2.5 V6.

On the flip side, if, by chance you do have parts from a Vitara with a 2.5V6 and a manual transmission, the electronics will be a piece of cake and your challenge will be shoehorning the larger engine & transmission into the space available - which has been done before.

I'm from BC Canada. I had the donor Vitara VIN code checked by a dealership and they confirmed it is a 2.5L.
Was really hoping to use the automatic wiring harness and change the required plugs and wires from auto to manual.
Per my post I have a  Vitara manual ECU, transmission etc.  The wiring for the manual is pretty basic.
It's a bunch of work to label/remove the entire wiring harness from a manual Vitara.

No offense meant, but as far as Suzuki model names go, Canada and the US are pretty much the same market.

The auto & manual transmission harnesses will be different, I can't tell you how much of a task it would be to convert an auto harness to a manual but it should be possible, pay a visit to the Suzuki forums (http://www.suzuki-forums.com) and look at the top of the Gen 2 forum, there's a sticky thread with links to the factory service manuals, including the wiring diagrams, you should be able to get a better idea of how much work you're looking at.

Thank you!!

can you not find a manual wiring harness that would be easier, you could look at car part.com and search for a manual harness that way when you convert to manual it would be easier. I know you already have the auto harness but might not be worth the headache

Will check it out.
Going to have a good look at the electrical schematics for the auto and manual.
Thanks

The 2.5Lv6 can be squeezed into first gen kicker/trackers.  If you are planning on keeping IFS it is much tighter, and will require several fittings and a slight modification of the oil pan.
Changing out the complete wiring is possibly the easiest way.  Modifying wiring harnesses takes a lot of time to get it right (especially the first time).  I would really recommend at least buying the FSM for the model/year of your donor vehicle.
This will take some time.  Find your manual wiring harness.
What year is the motor out of?

This is a very long thread, but it may give you an idea of where you are going.  http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=22395.0

BRD HNTR - thank you so much for that awesome thread.
Wow - you have done a ton of work to your Zuke.
I hooked up with Troy from Chilliwack and saw his project.
Will post my progress once I get into the swap.

I will watch the wrecker done here for a harness for ya

Good luck with your swap.. as a person that's done 4 of them, I can tell you that it may be challenging but very worth it once you're done. My go to trail rig has had a 2.7 L V6 in it for 10 plus years and has been great!

We too have pretty much ALL of the manuals and documents floating out there for free download as well.

http://www2.zukiworld.com/tech-library-documentation-downloads-for-your-suzuki/

Is the place...

Good luck and feel free to post or PM me when you get going and if you have questions.

-Eric

Thank you all so very much.
Love this forum - so much knowledge and assistance.
I'll keep you posted.

If your still looking for a wiring harness for a2.5 and  manual trans I have a 2000 that I am parting out soon

and if he wants it you can ship it to sumas and I can drive it to ya if you need it still

How much for the harness?