A couple days ago, I started grounding my VTCs and the two screws that you're supposed to ground the wires on broke off while I was trying to unscrew them.

There are two wires inside the wire that leads to the VTC assembly. You're supposed to ground one of them.

Which wire do I have to ground, or can I use either one?
What other screw inside the engine bay can I use for grounding?

 

did you read the how-to on my page? it tells you which wire to use (yellow/green or green/yellow I can't remember off hand)

any other solid metal part on the engine can be used for ground, those 2 screws were just the most convenient

 

when grounding the VTCs, should i be grounding both front and rear vtc-lookin' things or just the front one. i followed the instructions on craigs site, and from the pics, it looks like just the front one.

 

quoted directly from the first page of the how-to
"This method requires connecting a ground to one of the wires going into the VTC solenoid. You only have to do this to one of the solenoids because the wires leading to both of them are connected. "

if you're gonna be messing with your engine or any part of your car for that matter, read through the whole procedure before you do it to become familiar with it

I'm not complaining, I just dont want you to mess up something because you weren't sure exactly what you are doing

 

I did this and nothing changed. I wouldn't bother if you're problem has been occurring for a while. Figure I'll either find a mechanic to do the actual repair for cheap, or just trade the 93se in (WAAAAH!).

Does anybody have a copy of the TSB's issued by Nissan about the ticking problem? I can't find them anywhere and I'd like to take a look at them before I abandon all hope.

trouinky

 

I grounded my VTCs according to the instructions on Jeff92SE's site. Everything went well, but the VTC's are still acting up and the ticking noise is still there, not even somewhat more quiet.

I opened the wire connected to the first VTC selenoid and inside were two wires, 1-yellow-green, 2-blue-red. I exposed the green and yellow wire and connected a grounding wire to it and connected the other end to a screw. Taped the whole thing up and gave it a try....BLAH!

Anything I forgot or should have done differently??

 

Make sure that you maintain the connection of the yellow/green wire to the VTC solenoid. I would pull off your ground, take out your VTC connector and see if you have power going there. Then, test to see if you have power going to your ground. I bet one of them do not have power. If they both do, then check your VTC solenoid for corrosion or try the other one. Maybe the solenoid itself is bad? When I did mine, there was an immediate difference and it hardly ever ticks anymore.

 

dumb question..but I don't now

 

Variable Timing Circuit Solenoid - This has something to do with changing the timing "on the fly" - at higher rpm's the timing changes to account for changes in the power curve so you will have the same power at high speeds (and rpm's) that you do from a dead stop.

 

Grounding the VTC solenoids will not do anything for you but cause more problems in the long run it "might" quiet them down, for a little while. my best advise I can give is have them replaced not rebuilt the rebuild kit sucks and I will guaradamn tee ya the will make noise if you have them rebuilt, I install new ones for 250.00 plus parts I can get at cost so 630.00+250.00 total my best friend has a 92 se it takes about 2-3hrs to do nissan will charge you at least 8hrs labor to do it maybe 10 I've seen both but this whole rewiring thing is a crock I dont buy it I messed with a ve that had it done it ruined the top end torque of the engine. I dont recommend it.
Theres my opinion!
Good luck if you have questions ask them I am more than willing to help!

 

how do you figure? If you know something I don't, please fill me in
I haven't had any problems. I know at least 20 or so others that have done it too sucessfully and have had no problems at all. The only two I've heard that it didn't work on were the 2 in this post that said it didn't work. And even then, it didn't cause any harm at all other than $2 wasted and maybe an hour of their time.
I know replacing or repairing the VTCs is the preferred way to go, but for the cost of that compared to the cost of this, I like the rewire.

 

After the rewire, my 92 still has more power on the top end than my modded VG. It did lose the "burst" of power after 5K, but that's it. The rewire has been a success here. I think Ryan was the first one to perform the "fix" and that was over a year ago. His car still runs fine to my knowledge.

 

yup, Ryan "Killermove" was the first. Then i copied his car and wrote up the instructions. His has been sometime around a year. Mine has been about a month or so short of that.

MaxSE91-from reading this and other posts, you seem pretty knowledgable so I'm not trying to flame you or anything, but I'm just wondering why you're so against it? have you seen this done before? have you done it before? have you seen problems from doing the rewire?

 

there isnt any good in rewiring the vtc you are disabling something that is supposed to be there and anytime you do this it cant and isnt good It can and probably will effect fuel economy and i'm not flamed or anything But talking to senior techs at nissan they say long term problems can be the timing chain becoming out of time if you rev high 6500rpm can cause the sprocket to skip a tooth at least this is what im told anyways got to go
talk to ya all later

 

As for gas mileage, I just witnessed a 350 mile tank today on the 92 SE before filling up. The gas light just had turned on too. I doubt gas mileage is affected. As for high rpm revving, would you have a Nissan tech explain why it is more dangerous. Thanks

 

I believe i have the same problem for like two years now and, It only happens 3out of 7 times i stat up and even then its only for like 30 to 50 seconds. I can see if it it was a constant noise all the time, but who care's when your just warming up in the morning? not to be rude but i dont think it matters, i get noise from my y pipe once in a while but it's not something that is bad noise like cv axle click, we all know it won't hurt and we identify it as just that

 

this is a double edge sword,in maxse91 defense this explanation is logical,but there are those whove done the rewire without problems,so in conclusion ,vtc's suck and we need to move on

 

If it doesn't bother you, then dont worry about it like you said
mine wasn't constant, but it's just annoying and makes people think your engine is falling apart so I like the nice quiet sound after doing the rewire

 

just because something hasn't happend yet doens't mean it won't happen down the road. then you are going to be wishin you didn't go your cheap route. you don't want to take short cuts. it may have seem to fix the problem but it actuality it fixes nothing. if you read max91's post he explains it can ruin your timiing chain as well as other very important things you don't want to mess with. i know the techs he talks to and they know more then any of you so just take his word for it. you are a lot better off fixing it the right way then the easy cheap way.

 

The VTC noise went as long as 10 minutes here before doing the rewire.

 

well good gosh what ever i dont care anymore do you stupid tricks im just warning people what can happen. timing chain could jump oh and heres a equation for you

PISTON+INTAKE VALVE TOUCH EACHOTHER WITH ENGINE RUNNING WHAT HAPPENS?

winner gets a cheeseburger!!!!

 

dont wanna get outta hand here.

Unfortunately those of us with 3rd gens often cant afford to shell out right away the insane amount of $$$$ it would require to properly fix the VTCs, even when we have a hook-up on the parts and labor from an extremely knowledgeable ex-Nissan tech!

I did the rewire for one to test to see if the VTCs were in fact bad, and two because the noise had gotten to the point where it was quite bothersome. I do plan on fixing them properly at some point, but in the mean time I must simply wait, and if the engine is in danger as a result I may just live with the noise then.

 

The VTC noise went as long as 10 minutes here before doing the rewire.

 

Ok guys. I think there is a big misunderstand here. I'll clear it all up, okay?

What 91se is getting at is, grounding is a fix for a symptom, not the problem. Even if you ground and get rid of the noise, you still have a worn out vtc assembly(s). If you do continue to run these assemblies, you run the risk of the assembly coming apart. Now since this is part of the intake cam sprocket assembly, failures will lead to disasterous results(very similar to timing belt(chain) failure). We are talking about pistons contacting valves and all that good stuff. Now this has happend to at least one person already(Bossmax) a long time ago.

Now, 91se, what these guys are telling you that they realize that this is not a cure-all but when dealers rape you for $2,000 for a fix, they are willing to take the risk and just ground these things for $2.

Class is now out of session.

 

Yeah, I think Jeff just about summed it up.

Jason, you know I respect you MaD Mechanicz SkiLLZ!
Ill have you do my VTCs someday.

 

Okay, here's my question. Since you've had these apart and have a better understanding, would grounding the VTC's cause more of a chance for the assembly's to come apart than just leaving them alone and letting the severe rattling go on?

 

The loud ticking from my VTC issue is intermittent. It sometimes does not happen for days or weeks at a time. Maybe it's not serious enough to be concerned with? Just wondering. Am I doing it more damage by ignoring it? I'm running Mobil 1, 5-30 EP oil in it.

Thanks
Russ

 

If your noisy VTC's are intermittent, I would recommend you wire a switch in-line on your ground wire. That way you can ground them only when needed.

As Jeff stated above many years ago, the ground is just a fix for the embarrassing clattering, not really an actual "fix" for the assemblies being worn out. If your assemblies are just now clattering, I don't think you should worry about long-term damage. I mean these are 20+ year old cars now. I had my old original black VE's VTC's grounded for nearly 10 years. Given the age of your car, and the fact that the noise has only recently started, the long-term prognosis of your VTC's should be extremely low on your list of worries. Just ground them as needed for the noise and be done with it. Fatigued/exploding assemblies have happened, yes, but are still exceedingly rare in the grand scheme of VE ownership.