Trying to get good search terms to help people find this one later.

If you'd like to extract pins rather than cut them at the terminal backs this is how. It also opens the opportunity to pull color coded wires you need from one connector and transplant into another (of course the pins must be the same style/size to trade them around). Reducing splices is always nice for cosmetics and quite possibly reliability depending on your splicing skills. I suggest though if you think you've damaged a pin you pulled, consider finding another rather than trying to re-use it.

There are so many different styles of connector in the donors that it would take a lot of time to post how to do each type, but I've found that most of the different connector setups use a variation of this same technique. Just look at the back and the front of the connectors closely. A jeweler's loupe is invaluable for this sort of thing. Pick up a cheap set at HF and you will be glad you have them sooner or later.

Most of the connectors you pick the lock from the "front". You may find some, as I recall for example the higher current wide blade pins in some of the bigger connectors may work from the back or wire side.

In every case I assure you, when you have that lock picked free correctly, the pins slide out without hardly an effort at all. If you are pulling to the point of thinking you'll pull the wire from the terminal pin, you don't have the lock moved clear of the pin.

First, for ECU pins I posted pix and how at this thread, post #8. I would have added this new info there but cannot edit the name and it wasn't my post to begin with.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...ness-Terminals

Variations of this technique below gets almost everything I've been into (engine, dash wiring so far). Even the ECU info above is the same procedure, although they are the tiniest of all.

The tools: the ECU pick tool is on the right, and is a bit smaller but good for any of the really small pin connectors. the ECU pick has just a small angle ground on the last half millimeter of the tip. The longer tool in the middle is the one I use for most connectors. On this one note the slight curvature, which makes it MUCH easier to get the tip in to catch the tip of the plastic lock. Top and side views. #2 hobby knife for comparison. Best to make from hacksaw, jeweler screwdrivers (mine) or .050 hex key ("allen wrench"). Something with some stiffness to handle the prying force.



Not all connectors have external locks but a lot and I suspect most do. It is a "secondary lock" and will prevent pins from coming out if the individual primary lock for a pin fails or the pin was never fully inserted at the factory, etc. I believe very few connectors will allow the secondary lock to seat if a pin is not fully inserted - a fail safe to ensure correct assembly. These vary a great deal so you need to look very closely for something of a crack or edges on the sides of the main shell - looking for a flap or other split that is a moveable piece of the shell. Some of these bend open on a plastic hinge molded in the shell, others pry straight up a little bit, others slide completely out. Usually there is a slot in this shell lock that you can catch with a small screwdriver or pocket knife blade to pry it up or out. This lets the backside of each pin slide completely out.

Some frame lock styles use one or more plastic "frame" pieces that push in from the back and are completely removable instead of a bendable part of the main shell. These often lock using tiny tabs on the ends or sides that catch in slots or cutouts in the main shell. You may have to pry these using a thin knife blade, screwdriver or makeshift ways to get them to start coming out the back. Once they are out a little bit a small needle nose or hemostat clamp tool can pull them free from the back. The B83 common ground connector near the ECM is a typical example of the back lock style.

Shell lock not opened. Without a close look you might not realize this is a locking piece:

Shell lock released by prying out/down:


Picking a lock with the tool (image of tool itself is blurry):


Here is what you are trying to pry down:



Depending on the connectors sometimes I've had trouble getting the tool to catch the lip of the lock pin, but then by flipping the tip of the tool 180 degrees the tool worked better for that style.

Lots of times at first you can't seem to find the tip of the lock pin, certainly by eyeball as there is no room to see and do at the same time. Put the tool tip in while "aiming" or holding it against the outer shell frame - that is away from the metal terminal - pushing it further in. This should get it outside and past the locking lobe tip. Then very slowly back it out while pressing the tool tip toward the metal terminal - you will feel it slip past the tip of the plastic lock lobe = STOP. Now push back in just a tiny bit and you should be between the pin and the metal terminal so you can pry the lobe out away from the metal terminal while tugging at the back on the wire. Once you catch on to this feel you will do these one after the other like a machine.