Can someone tell me what this part is and/ or does....:




I ask because I accidentally stripped the two wire pins out of the harness plug that attaches to that piece and I'm wondering if it's OK to drive the car without that harness connected to get to the salvage yard and get a new plug. Also wondering if anyone knows how to push the old wire pins out of the plug I get at the salvage yard so as not to damage that one so i can insert my car's wire pins into the new plug. Thx

 

I can't really see it on accounta all the dirt ...

 

That's the switch for the variable air intake control valve. It'll be fine to drive. You'll probably get a CEL but you wont notice anything. Some of us have removed the VAIC mechanism all together but left the switch to avoid the CEL.

The pins will have a small barb that you need a tool to manipulate. It's not difficult if you know how to do it but it can be frustrating to figure out. Just cut the wires and splice the new one to your harness. If you don't want to splice it, still cut it and worry about it at home. When I take anything electrical from the yard I always cut and keep the harness plug and extra wire weather I need it or not. It's a habit that's come in handy more than once.

 

Thanks Derrick- I notice that there is a sqare whilte "collar" inside the plug that I pulled the wires out of, is that what holds the wire pins in place inside the plug? That collar inside my plug looks to be broken so that might be what happened It looks like if I could remove that safely from the new plug and then insert the wire pins into the plug and then push that white collar back in place it would probably work.

 

Followup- it is absolutely impossible to remove the wire pins from the replacement plug without breaking anything. There are tiny prongs on the metal wire pins that latch against plastic tabs inside the top of the plug housing. The white "collar" insert I referred to earlier has to be pried out to be able to access these prongs to push down on them and pull the wires with the pins out from the back of the plug. Problem is, you WILL either break the plastic white collars or the plastic tabs inside the plug, or both, trying to do this. Nissan must have found the absolute flimsiest plugs to use in these cars, in fact it's very easy to also break the locking tabs on the coil pack plugs that you push down on to release them from the coils .Ask me how I know.
IF you have to replace a broken plug or one you accidentally pulled wires out of, pretty much the only option is what Derrick suggested above, which is to cut extra wire with the new plug from the salvage car and then solder the old harness wires to the new wires on the new plug.

 

It can be done but, like I said, it's tricky. It's not worth struggling with for what you're doing. If you have the right tools and know how to do it on the specific type of plug they pop right out. I never recommend it because there are so many ways to mess it up. Besides breaking it, the pins can be installed in a way that they'll push back out and create a poor, or no, contact. It's also very easy to put them back in the wrong order. Even doing them one at a time because there are usually open/unused slots. All sorts of gremlins can appear after screwing with the pins. There's absolutely nothing wrong with splicing the new one in.

I actually do this type of work for a local shop when they need it. They do a lot of vintage and exotic Euro cars where you don't want to see splicing. They call me in to rebuild damaged wire harnesses or modify them for upgrades. I remove the pins one at a time and solder the new wire directly to the pin before reinstalling it in the plug. A few years ago I repinned the entire engine wiring harness for an early 90s Ferrari with solid gold pins.

 

Derrick at it again ! thanks for all your great knowledge !