L J Walker

When replacing the distributor assembly on my '95 Altima, the plastic connector of the distributor pigtail broke. The reason is the plastic is brittle from heat and age. I inquired at the local Nissan dealer parts dept. and was told that there are no replacement wire connectors available for any components on any Nissan vehicles. [this should be illegal] When I asked how a person was supposed to repair this type of defect, he said "Maybe you can try a salvage yard" Well, if you go to a salvage yard, you will find brittle and broken plastic connectors there as well. SOMEBODY made these connectors for Nissan and I would like to know if anyone out there KNOWS how to obtain brand spanking new plastic connectors for the various components and plugs used on Nissan vehicles. Specifically, the 4 conductor, female connector plug on the distributor harness for a 1995 Altima KA24

graphicsbybcd

I amputating tow mirrors on and need wiring harness connectors. I agree it should be illegal, Nissan told me the same thing!

L J Walker

No, the connectors have never been offered as a replacement part.
I resorted to fabricating a bracket to lightly hold pressure inward on the connector to keep it in place in the female socket on the distributor.
I anchored the bracket to a nearby unused threaded hole on the cylinder head.
I no longer own the Altima but I ran it 3 years like that and sold it that way.

FriendlyNismoTech

Nissan doesn't offer them because they don't make them. We have replacement ends for certain pigtails known for breaking. And LEGALLY a manufacturer only has to produce parts for a vehicle for 10years after it goes out of production. Kentmore provides most of our specialty tools and replacement pig tails. If you send me a picture of the pig tail I will look and see if I have one in inventory and ship it to you. And so you know most manufacturers don't provide new pigtails as repairing a harness incorrectly can cause more issues than fixing.

L J Walker

Just so you know, I already stated I longer own the car.
And Nissan sells plenty of parts "they don't make".
And also so you know, most OEMs will not sell items like connectors because they anticipate a low volume of sales in the replacement parts arena and they are not LEGALLY bound to sell an individual replacement connector or a pre-wired pigtail because by their own definition "the pigtail or connector is not a replaceable component". They are however required to make available as replacement item, the entire vehicle wiring harness (or any sub harness assemblies) for 10 years after model year date. And that ain't a big deal for them unless they do not have any leftovers at the assembly plant to convert back to the replacement parts section when the harnesses are no longer needed at the factory.
My beef with the process is when dang near every plastic connector you touch will break and the OEM will sell you a vehicle harness but not a single connector.
Plus the proprietary BS of the supplier to the OEM not selling any of the same individual components because they are under a contract to the OEM.
To me that smells like a conspiracy to sell harnesses for a coupla thou $ when a $30 connector or pigtail would be satisfactory.
I will agree that an improperly executed repair to an electrical system might well result in a worse condition than the original defect.

FriendlyNismoTech

I missed the part where you said you got rid of it. I agree that it's crazy, but luckily on my side I do have access to the parts through a 3rd party supplier. I was only trying to help you out, there is no reason for the aggressive response though. I'm not the "man" I'm the messenger. I'm probably the most helpful and honest technician you'll ever run across as well.

L J Walker

OK, sorry if I sounded heavy handed. I wish I had gotten a response from anybody who had some inside info or sourcing back in 2005 when I encountered the problem.
Thanks for trying.

smj999smj

Nissan does offer some connector repair kits, but you have to know where to look and the selection is limited. There are a number of repair connectors that were made available during the voluntary recall for the fuel injection systems on the Z31's and U11 Maximas and the parts numbers and pictures of the connectors were listed in a TSB related to the campaign. None of those will work for the distributor, however. Repair connectors, terminal pins and seals were made available in the Kent-Moore terminal repair kits that were force shipped to dealers for such repairs. The kits weren't cheap, however, and not really worth buying unless you did an awful lot of electrical harness repairs. I'm not sure if the distributor connector is part of the kit (I don't recall ever seeing one in there, but it's been almost a decade since I've been in the Kent-Moore kit). As much as I dislike Ford, I think they have one of the most widespread selections of repair connectors for their vehicles.