Electrical connector repair?

[R13]

Ok, I have isolated my dash-light problem to a simple loose connector.

The connector between the harness under the driver's side dashboard and the dimmer/headlight control box just does not seat very well. (see picture below) I suspect the male end of this plug is either corroded (although I have tried cleaning it with contact cleaner), or has just loosened up too much to hold the pin.

If I just let the control box hang from the connector it visibly slides out until the locking tab catches it.

Is there a way to disassemble the male end and crimp the terminals or something to solidify the connection better?

 

[ftuhy]

I have opened up connectors and inserted pins when building a custom circuit for decoupling the center console lights function from the headlight switch.

I can't tell from the picture if the male pin is in the retractor unit or the wiring harness connector. Also, is the single wire and pin sliding out of the connector or is the connector body sliding out of the retractor unit? The connector body should be locking the connector into the retractor unit, not the holding force of the individual connector pins. So, its possible a tab was broken off of the connector body.

In any case, you would need to very carefully crimp the female pin to make a tighter connection. That takes a gentle touch to do it without crushing the pin. I have a few spare male and female pins, but Acura uses at least 3 or 4 different size pins.

If the connector body is broken, some body shops have spare connectors and pins. That may be your best source. I got what I needed from a junkyard -- Honda and Acura use the same type connectors, so try either brand car. The challenge is finding the right connector size, of which there are over 2 dozen sizes/types in the car. :frown:

 

[spider2k]

are you sure its not IN the switch housing ? sometimes the solder points on the board come loose.

 

[R13]

ftuhy:

The pins are soldered into the board into the control unit and protrude into the female end of the plastic connector.

The male end of the plastic connector (which has the plugs into which the pins slide), is where I think the problem is.

Do I just pull the wire out the back and the terminal along with it to crimp it a bit, or is there some other trick to taking the connector apart?


spyder2k:

I am 99% certain that the problem is not with the board. It passed all of the tests in the manual, and all of the solder points look solid. If I hold the connectors together with my fingers, it operates everything like it is suppose to.

 

[ftuhy]

The female connector pin cross section is usually square, with one side of the square having the middle section cut out. On the side opposite the cut, about 2/3 of the way down the pin, there is a small tab that sticks up to lock the pin into the connector body. On most connector bodies, it is possible to take a small (24 or 26 gage, for example) but stiff wire and insert it into the connector and depress the pin enough so it and the wire will pull out the rear of the connector body.

My morning is a bit busy, but I'll attempt to take a picture of a pin later today.

 

[R13]

The female connector pin cross section is usually square, with one side of the square having the middle section cut out. On the side opposite the cut, about 2/3 of the way down the pin, there is a small tab that sticks up to lock the pin into the connector body. On most connector bodies, it is possible to take a small (24 or 26 gage, for example) but stiff wire and insert it into the connector and depress the pin enough so it and the wire will pull out the rear of the connector body.

My morning is a bit busy, but I'll attempt to take a picture of a pin later today.

Thanks, but don't worry about it. I got it sorted out last night.

It just so happens that there is an identical connector for the now obsolete car phone that was in my NSX (until last night). I used that one to practice on and it was not that hard to disassemble. I then used a small tack to crush (slightly) the pin receptacles. It actually took some mild force to plug it back in, but once I did and tested it I could smack it around (not literally) pretty good and the lights would stay on, headlight popper still worked, etc.

I will post some pictures later today.

 

[ftuhy]

Glad to hear it all worked out.

 

[jdwelsh3]

Did anyone end up getting pics of this process? I have the exact same issue and need to fix this weekend, the weather is getting nice.

 

[R13]

The camera I had at the time I did this repair wouldn't focus on something as small as what I was working with.

If I can find the car phone harness I'll take a picture or two and see if i can illustrate.

Basically: you need a utensil about the girth of a thumb tack or only slightly larger to depress some clips to slide the pin sockets out the back of the plastic connector. You then *slightly* crush them so they'll grip the pins from the control module more securely. Then you re-insert them into the plastic connector and then plug the whole thing back in.

The plastic connector has a flap/tab on the "top" on the wire-side that flips up to give you some access.

 

[jdwelsh3]

OK, thanks.

 

[angus]

I have run into this on more than one NSX - I usuallly find that the green receptacle slides down so I epoxy it to the board.

BTW - the process desribed by ftuhy is about right for a lot of connector pins, if you look closely, they usually have a tab that is designed to apply pressure to the pin - you can usually bend that pin down to make a tigher contact.

 

[R13]

Ok, apparently I had taken some at the time that should be at least passable, if not very of very high quality:

NOTE: WRITE DOWN THE ORDER IN WHICH THE PINS GO (WIRE COLOR), or take a picture before you take the plug apart unless you do them one-at-a -time

Here is the offending plug (green) under the dash:

Here is what it looks like once you "open" it:

A different angle:

These are the sockets you pull out and crimp slightly:

 

[R13]

@ Angus, I did inspect the board during the process of trying to track the problem down.

here's what it looks like "naked":

 

[jdwelsh3]

Done! Thanks for the pics.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

@ Angus, I did inspect the board during the process of trying to track the problem down.

here's what it looks like "naked":

Bumping this old thread up since I'm in the process of doing his.

For the board itself pictured did you need to resolder anything? I can't see but it looks like the left side has some bad joints? I'm just trying to figure out if I need to take a look at the board or just mess with the connector itself.

From my gathering reading this thread I just need to crimp the pins a little tighter so they fit more snug?

 

[R13]

I didn't resolder anything on the board, 'just re-assembled it. Everything was fixed by "repairing" the connections in the plastic connector and has worked to-date at this point.

Incidentally, a lot of the electrical gremlins that crop up with these cars (at least the more random ones that don't have a known work-around/fix) I think can probably be traced to the spring tabs in the harness connectors failing due to corrosion or heat cycling.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

I didn't resolder anything on the board, 'just re-assembled it. Everything was fixed by "repairing" the connections in the plastic connector and has worked to-date at this point.

Incidentally, a lot of the electrical gremlins that crop up with these cars (at least the more random ones that don't have a known work-around/fix) I think can probably be traced to the spring tabs in the harness connectors failing due to corrosion or heat cycling.

Awesome man! Thanks and I'll be doing this in the next day or two.

I have some random electrical stuff but mainly it's my alarm right now and this. This I'm sure will fix things so now to tackle the alarm next.