A little trick I learned today:
I wanted to swap a couple of wires in a harness today. Some folks might
just dig out the wire cutters and crimper or solder or tape, etc.. Being an OF
EE I've assembled many connectors where you crimp the pins onto the wires and
then insert the pins into the socket.
If you find that you goofed, you dig out the disassembly tool and remove the
errant pin.
Virtually all of these common electrical multipin connectors are built the same
way, viz., there is a barb (or two) on the pins that compress while the pin is
being inserted into the socket and then spring out when the pin is seated,
thereby preventing their being pulled back out. The disassembly tool is simply
a thinwalled metral tube on a handle. The tube is just large enough to fit over
the pin and small enough in diameter to fit into the pin's socket. You simply
slide the tool over the pin, which compresses the barbs, and then pull the pin
back out of the socket. (It's simple when you see it.)
Okay, so what about lbc's? A simple dissasembly tool is available to every
one of us on our cars. It's the metal innards of a single wire bullet connector
coupler. Just take one of the couplers, slide the metal tube about half way out
of the rubber sleeve and ... voila ! You'll find that the tube is just about a
perfect fit for slipping over the pins in the various connectors in the wiring
harness to compress the barbs. This allows you to remove the wire from the back
of the connector. This is a convenient way to isolate one circuit without
having to pull apart a major connector. The pins slip back in quite easily with
no tools required. (Leaving the rubber sleeve on the tube makes a convenient
grip.)
(Barney --- does this qualify for 'Grapes of Wrath'?)
Bud Krueger
52TD
77MGB
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