How does this connector come apart? (1971 Duster)

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Ken71Twister

Ken71Twister

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I seem to have an intermittent connection thru this connector for the yellow wire. No power to the instrument panel unless I press the pointed lead of a meter into the socket of the yellow wire on the top right. I’ve tugged a lot on the connector and, while I can get a little wiggle, it isn’t coming apart. I don’t want to break this thing - so I’m asking if there’s any trick to getting this type of connector to separate.

IMG_0196.jpeg
 
Do those two tabs on it act like they will move when you press on them?
 
Use the tip of your ***** to wedge it apart...

Or a small screwdriver while you press the locking tabs so they release....
 
Dana67Dart said:
Had to go there! :rofl:
Click to expand...
Kinda hard to use that method while standing on my head to work under the dash. Lifting the tab did the trick. I cleaned the connector (which wasn’t in bad shape at all) and put things back together. I finally traced the intermittent connection to the black wire adjacent to the yellow wire on the end. Seems that there’s an intermittent connection between the incoming wire and the male pin. There does not seem to be a non-destructive way to remove and repair this pin. Is there a tool to remove the pin from the connector? If not - I may just need to cut the black wire and make a by-pass connection. This black wire feeds half of the fuse box. It is currently working ok but I don’t trust it.

IMG_0197.jpeg
 
There is a brown stain on the connector. Where is the red wire that goes in that location.
 
I noticed the empty position in the plug with a brown stain. To my recollection - I’ve never handled this connector before and I was assuming that this is just an empty slot that has never been used.
Now that you mention it…there is a heavy red wire in the same area that has a weird splice and is wrapped with tape. Maybe - many years ago - the red wire pulled out of the connector and I (or someone at a shop) spliced it together.

I’ve had this car for 52 years now and I’m finding that I don’t remember everything that I did to the car. I didn’t have much money in my younger days and I sometimes did what I could at no cost to keep things working.
 
The terminal on the red wire was a problem for many Mopars over the years. Too many amps for the small round terminal , burned a lot of connectors in that location. Chrysler changed the design of the connector in 1975.
Here's a way to remove the round terminals from the plastic connector.
ksmetals.com

Round Brass Tube: 3/16" OD x 0.014" Wall x 12" Long (1 Piece)

K&S Precision Metals | Alloy 260 Brass /C26000 | Alloy 270/C27000 | Yellow Brass | Fast Shipping | USA Made | For Plumbing, HVAC, Home, Automotive, Arts & Crafts, Knife Making, Electrical, OEM, Musical Instruments
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Once you insert the brass tube in the connector, it will compress the locking tabs allowing the terminal to be released. May take a few tries, but it almost always works.
These can be found in most hobby shops or online.
 
I’ll take a crack at removing & replacing the pins & sockets. If that doesn’t work out - I’ll just bypass the connector. Maybe I should consider a 2-pin connector for the red wire (already by-passed) and the black wire that is currently intermittent in the connector.
 
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