wes8398

iTrader: (2)

I thought I just had a bulb out, but realized today that the inside of the female (car-side) was corroded and a bit crappy looking. When I cleaned it out a bit I saw that one of the slots where a pin from the male side sticks in was missing the little spring loaded type tab that would make contact with the pin. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here, look at the 2nd hole from the left. Its not supposed to look any different than the others:

So, the signal/DRL won't work (although the fog works fine). I also took the other side's plug apart to make sure the plug wasn't SUPPOSED to look like this. This confirmed that its broken. My question is, now what? Is there a way to fix this aside from finding a CTS at a scrap yard and splicing a replacement in there?
Of course, this all got over-complicated because I run clear lenses with LED bulbs, and thus have a resistor spliced in, etc etc. Plus I just had the car oil sprayed (rust protection), so it was an oily, filthy mess under there to deal with. LOL

Anyway, any suggestions/help would be appreciated!

Becker

iTrader: (4)

I have bought individual connector pins online and from the dealer before, just need to search hard to find the part number.

Or just bypass the connector with the one wire, either enviro butt splice or some knife splices and heat shrink

wes8398

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the response!
My trouble with just replacing the pin is that I've never depinned a plug and I probably don't have the right tools for it. And, by the sounds of it, I probably wouldn't get the right part and then I'd just be even more frustrated. Haha
As for skipping the plug altogether, the thought crossed my mind. I've already done all my other splices for the resistors with heat shrink, weather proof butt connectors so it wouldn't be a big deal for me. I would just prefer not to lose the ability to unplug this thing if I ever had to again, ya know?
Hey, a question about splicing... The wiring for these lights is aluminum or at least looks aluminum... Can I safely splice copper wire (of the same gauge) into this, if I needed to?

AAIIIC

iTrader: (19)

They're either Weatherpak or Metripak connectors, I can't remember. Both of mine went bad (intermittent lights out), so I cut out the connectors months ago and spliced the wires together, intending to fix them the right way later. Still haven't done that.

It's not very hard at all to de-pin them, you just need a little jeweler's flathead screwdriver. The "back" of the connector (the end away from the camera in your pic) pops off. If you shine a flashlight in the "front" of the connector, you should be able to see a little plastic tab holding each metal pin in place. Reach in with the jeweler's screwdriver to hold that tab down and the pin pulls right out.

wes8398

iTrader: (2)

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Sounds like I could probably re-pin fairly easily by how you describe it. I guess it's a matter of finding the proper parts though. I'm guessing that the easiest way to do this is going to be cutting the plug off a scrap car and just splicing it in there if I want to keep the ability to disconnect. Or I'll just cut the plug off and hardwire the 2 ends together.

Funny how changing the DRIVER'S side bulb turned into re-wiring the PASSENGER side harness. lol All because my OCD didn't like that the amber colour of the 2 bulbs didn't match...

Becker

iTrader: (4)

^^^ exactly. I think I would either do away with it all together or buy a new connector and pins. Pinning and DE pinNing is very easy.

Alum to copper is ok. Not ideal but it's fine. After awhile galvanic cortisone between the dissimilar metals may cause a poor connection but it's just lights on a car. Splice away.

wes8398

iTrader: (2)

Roger that. Thanks for the reassurances, guys.