IPC wiring harness connector for 1988 Toronado?

Why not fix the old one?

Any ideas how? I popped it out of the back of the IPC location and saw a clip on the back of it that looked like all the wires would fall out if I pulled it off. :( A buddy of mine at work helped me probe the connections for power and some of them were pushing back in the connector or were otherwise moving around. We believe that is causing the power to drop out on my IPC.

I envisioned getting a replacement with a pigtail of wires, then soldering longer wires to that pigtail, then undoing my existing connector and soldering those wires to my extended ones. That way I would not screw up the wire locations, and would have enough wire length to pull everything out to work with it if I need to.

How can we fix the connector? I'm open to viable ideas. And, I know the problem is not with the IPC, as I have tried two other known working units and had the same intermittent issue.

Thanks!!

Try DeOxit.

The sockets and pins on the connectors have a small tab on the back of them usually that can be pushed in with a needle mini screwdriver or a special tool, usually really expensive, so they can be pulled out. They then can be replaced or reshaped and reinserted. Electronic shops can get these pins and tools. The plug should have a name or symbol on it.

If the pins are square or rectangle, you also can carefully twist each pin slightly so it grabs the socket at an angle. This can tighten them up nicely sometimes.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build Photos:

I have worked with electronic shops in the past, so I might be able to look this connector up, but I'm sure it's super-proprietary.

It's a weird thing...there are four female columns, but only the middle two mate to anything on the IPC. But...the outer columns have part of the metal contact visible in them, and you can move the metal around and affect the actual contact in the middle column. It's not at all appearing to be like a Molex contact, for instance.

I figured that if I had a second connector and all the pins that I could tweak them to make them tighter and lined up better than I can digging around with 1/2" of wire in my dash area. For that matter, I could wire the thing up however I want with normal connectors I suppose...I've had a good deal of experience soldering.

My fear is that I would open the clip to look at the connector and all the wires would fall out. :( Yes, I could take a picture, but you can't totally turn the connector around because there isn't enough wire, so I don't know if I'd get a decent enough photo. And the Haynes manual isn't much help with wire position in the connector.

clifto: Now that you mention it, I have tried some cleaner on the IPC, but I don't know that I ever shot the connector with it. I'll pull the battery fuse and try it.

I can understand about wanting longer IPC wires. That would be great. But.. I usually make a paper drawing of connectors and such and label according to color code. Then take it apart, clean and rebend the contacts, and put back together. Normally the wires are fairly loose in those connectors.

It sounds as though you have had this same issue...is that a fair assumption? I suppose I should at least try making such a drawing and taking it apart. The issue, after all, isn't that the connector itself is damaged, but that the various electrical signals are not making it from the contacts to the pins. So, rebending them and cleaning them would be a logical step. (I'll have to try and take care that they don't spring out and fall back into the hole the harness pokes in through! *gasp*)

Thanks, everyone, for some good fresh thoughts!

DeOxit isn't just a cleaner, it's also a reducing agent which removes contact corrosion. I believe it is an adaptation of the old Cramolin formula, which was oleic acid, Sudan red, and a solvent.

Don't get rid of the TCE! It's still very useful stuff when you need a cleaner, but it isn't a good thing for electrical contacts because it does not remove corrosion.

Note that if the connector is worn to the point where the plating is damaged, anything you do will have only a temporary effect. You can increase the pressure by bending the pins and you can clean the crud off with DeOxit, but a few months later it will fail again. There should be no reason for auto connectors to get plating damage since they are very infrequently plugged and unplugged, but it can happen sometimes.

--scott