HOW TO: Adding Intermittent Wipers to S14 Zenki & Kouki

[Bernie (NoVA)]

By Bernie B.

Originally posted on www.MA240SX.net
10.25.2012

Revised and reposted to Zilvia.net
06.01.2017

Modification work was performed on 1995 Base Zenki 240sx US specification

GOAL:

Adding Intermittent Wipers

NOTE:

ZENKI S14
The variable intermittent feature is NOT pre-wired on Zenki base models. The wiper amp is different between base & SE and you need to run an extra wire between the amp unit and the control stalk aka combo switch. This feature will let you slow and adjust the wiper speed down to 3-10 seconds in between wiper cycles.

KOUKI S14
Kouki models with cruise control but not intermittent wipers are pre-wired and use the same amplifier for both variable and fixed intermittent control - this means all you need to do is add a variable control wiper stalk/switch and you're done!

For Kouki S14 that did not have cruise control from the factory, it's a bit more work and may require some wiring under the dash. See this conversation on FreshAlloy

http://www.freshalloy.com/showthread...base-Kouki-S14


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Parts:
Variable Control Wiper Arm
PN 25260-1E400

S14 1995-98 240sx
also can be sourced from
A32 94-2000 Maxima
D21U 94-98 Nissan Pick Up
U13U 92-97 Stanza/Altima

Wiper Amp
pn 28510-70f00 Zenki w. intermittent wipers (color brown)
pn 28510-81f00 / 28510-81f01 Kouki all models (color black)

Wire, tape, heat shrink insulation, solder / flux
2x common wiring pins to insert into the stock wiper connector
Recommended: Multi-meter testing tool

Note:
pn 28510-70f05 Zenki base (color black) - if you compare the internals it appears to be possible to convert a regular wiper amp to an intermittent unit by adding 1 pin tab and changing the position of just 1 resistor on the PCB. I have not tested this but looking at them side by side it seems possible.
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Disconnect the battery at this time.

The wiper amp is located on the passenger side of the engine bay. It is secured to the body by a single 10mm head bolt. To get access to it you must 1st remove the cruise control throttle actuator.



Wiper amp units, note the extra pin in the intermittent unit on the left.



The connector the wiper amp is the same for all model years 1995-1998. Note the purple wire in the back of the unit. Plug in the replacement wiper amp but do not install the cruise control unit at this time.



Inside the cabin under the glove box, removed the ECU trim cover and unbolt the ecu with mounting bracket and put it aside. Inside the lower B pillar is the F3 connector and it is retained by a grey flip handle.



Remove the black plastic cover by prying up @ the 4 clips per side.
With the cover removed identify the purple wire at pin position 42.
Test continuity between the wire you identify with the purple wire in the wiper amp connector in the engine bay. If you have continuity, proceed to the next step, be sure not to tap into the purple/white wire.
Reference:



Cut the purple wire from the F3 connector and add a length of wire to it. I used approx 5 feet. Solder, insulate & heat tube the junction.




I routed the extended wire under the dash along the thick metal support brace, I was able to access it by removing the AC bezel, glove box, and the knee panel under the steering wheel. I secured it using zip ties along the way, avoiding any sharp metal edges.

Remove the clam-shell on the steering column and the knee panel. Disconnect the blue connector from the back of the wiper stalk. Remove the wiper stalk by removing the 2 brass colored screws which hold it in place and slide it out to the right. Remove the plastic wire retainer clip from the back of the wiper switch connector.

The connector has 8 positions, only 6 are populated on the base model Zenki. We need to add a ground and the signal wire that we picked up at the F3 connector to the wiper switch connector.



These connectors can be de-pinned from many Nissan and Subaru applications, if you don't have your own bin of wire clippings & pigtails, it's time you started one - they are invaluable when doing electrical work on these cars and maintaining OEM quality. The Ground is simple - just "y" a 2nd pin from the black wire w. silver hashes in the connector. Solder, insulate & heat tube.



Insert the ground pins back into the connector, they sit side by side. The signal wire from the F3 connector was connected to the light blue pigtail I inserted into the connector. Once the 2 wires have been inserted into the wiper connector replace the retainer cap.
Install the intermittent wiper stalk into the column. Plug the connector into the stalk. You should have added an additional ground and the signal from the purple wire which traces all the way back to the wiper amp.


Connect the battery, put car into acc/on position and test the wipers. On the 1st position you should be able to turn the rotary end of the new stalk and reduces the wiper speed as low as about 10 seconds delay per cycle and as fast as about 3 seconds delay per cycle.

If intermittent wipers are working correctly then:
-disconnect battery
-mount the wiper amp in the engine bay
-reinstall the cruise control actuator
-assemble the clam shell and knee panel, and
-reinstall the ECU and cover
-reconnect battery

Hope for rain so you can use your full featured wiper controls

[dbeiler]

"The variable intermittent feature is NOT pre-wired on Zenki models"

Typo? It should say "not pre-wired on BASE Zenki models"

Excellent write-up. I can't imagine life without intermittent wipers
Positive rep for you, sir!

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by dbeiler

Excellent write-up. I can't imagine life without intermittent wipers
Positive rep for you, sir!

Thanks for the feedback - I rewrote that sentence for clarity.

[Standard]

Very nice write up!! Well done, thanks! +Rep

[LoSt180]

I'm still sad ma240sx.net is gone. So many good archive articles from you and another guy on there (sorry I'm forgetting his screen name).

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by LoSt180

I'm still sad ma240sx.net is gone. So many good archive articles from you and another guy on there (sorry I'm forgetting his screen name).

KenN had some good articles too. I will see if George can extract them from the archive and I could rehost them on my site if nothing else.

[TheRealSy90]

Plus rep for you. I wish Zilvia would go back to having cool technical write-ups for our cars again.

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

Plus rep for you. I wish Zilvia would go back to having cool technical write-ups for our cars again.

Facebook is slowly killing all the good car forums.

[Almighty So]

+rep! Lucky for me, my wipers work wonders but I totally agree with Sy.

[Bernie (NoVA)]

I've got one new wiper stalk available if anyone is looking to do this.
I also have some of the brown wiper brains too.

http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=646499

[Tempo]

I miss seeing technical articles like these pop up, got me feeling nostalgic! I may have joined late for the majority of these write ups but definitely saw some cool ones and this definitely is one of them [emoji108]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by Tempo

I miss seeing technical articles like these pop up, got me feeling nostalgic....

Thanks me too.

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by gills

Hey,
Any kits still available? How much shipped to 11733?

One left - let me know.

[Sleepy_Steve]

OOHH I forgot about you man - PM incoming for some parts I need unrelated to this thread, but have a bump anyway.

[boatwright_doug]

Bump for a solid write up

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by boatwright_doug

Bump for a solid write up

Thanks - I have a few of the brand new switches available if anyone is interested.

[BigKriss]

And another bump for some awesomeness in the write up. While in Covid lockdown I am sorting mine out and this has helped tremendously, thank you !

[Bernie (NoVA)]

Originally Posted by BigKriss

And another bump for some awesomeness in the write up. While in Covid lockdown I am sorting mine out and this has helped tremendously, thank you !

Thanks - if anyone needs wiper switch stalks - I have a few brand new ones available.