P1606 VVEL issue/code

Originally Posted by mendoza_ms

Bumping this thread back from the dead. I too have experienced this potentially fatal problem. I apologize for the long post, but I hope someone will find this info useful.

Vehicle
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring w/Sport pkg
~100k miles

Relevant Mods
- Optima yellow-top battery
- DIY grounding wires
- Test pipes
- 02 bung extenders
- JWT flywheel and pressure plate
- ACT 6-puck sport clutch
- K&N filters
- Mishimoto oil cooler

June 10, 2011
A few years back I had a road-side malfunction where the all the electronics flashed like crazy, engine shut off and steering wheel locked while in the middle of a turn and it was raining hard. Car lost all power, lost brake pedal pressure and slowed to a stop at the intersection. I was lucky I didn't crash into the car in the lane next to me! Mods I had at the time were Stillen CAI, Optima yellow-top battery and grounding wires. This problem was later compounded by the AAA tech who arc'ed my battery. Warranty voided... I never found out what the underlying root cause was, but I suspected it could have been a sketchy LoJack installation but who knows.

Dealer stated ECM, BCM and Camshaft Position sensor were fried by the tech. Parts replaced out of my own pocket. Then, no problems for several years and I have driven my car HARD ever since. Good times...

September 18, 2017
I hop in my car ready to go to work when I noticed it started and idled wierd. Whatevs, let the Z warm up.

As I pull out of my parking spot, NO THROTTLE RESPONSE. I am talking next-level "limp-mode". Car would not rev higher than ~1800RPM and could not go faster than ~10 MPH. Code reader said P1606, couldn't find much on the web except for on the370z.com...

I left the car overnight and started it in the morning. Nothing wrong at all, perfect throttle response. WTF. "Maybe I put 87 octane by accident again?". Drives fine on the road. No problems, until last week...

November 24, 2017
I hop in the Z for some sweet Black Friday shopping and on the way to the freeway, I pull up to a Golf GTI who wanted to play. Fine, whatevs let him hear my test pipes, let the wheels chirp, etc. Get on the freeway entrance hauling at 80MPH when suddenly...POW!!!!

There was an audible 'POW' sound and I felt violent jerk. I had a sudden loss of power, no throttle response, car started idling really weird and I had make an emergency stop on the shoulder. I then crawled for a mile on the shoulder at a max of ~8MPH and parked it at a gas station until I could get assistance later that night. The code reader showed the same p1606... MF'er...

Wire harness to module and relays (near battery compartment) look solid. Fresh gas (91 octane), ground wires solid, no smoke, no fluid leaks, battery just under ~14v.

Sooo....it looks like it's either the VVEL module or VVEL relay that's messed up. It could be related to the incident with AAA (above) and maybe it took this long for those components to crap out. So I bought the module on ebay for $55 - I'm hoping that works. Bought a new set of spark plugs and a can of Seafoam just in case.