Help: where to buy GM style electrical connectors

experts:
1994 Olds 88, 3800 (L27) V6 engine.
In order to test the signals going from the cam and crankshaft sensors, I want to build a breakout box to go between the ignition control module (male end) and its 18 pin connector (female).
The question is: where can I get the 18 pin male and female connectors that GM uses, without going to the local dealer?
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try a junkyard.....the parts new would be very expensive... Bobo
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Bill wrote:
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There is a place on the net called waytek wire which sells some of the connectors, I don't know about the 18 pin ones though. Search for merti-pak and weather-pak on google or another search engine, those are the official names of the connectors.

Thanks for the lead.
I was in error: the Ingition Control Module has a 14 pin connector and it is in fact the cause of my problems.
The female pins in the connector hood have become so sloppy tha they do not make good contact with the male pins in the Control Module. (hmmmmmm)
I picked up a used connector from a junk yard and experimented with it. There must be a tool that looks like a thin flat blade that can be used to extract the female pins from the hood. The pins and wire can then be pushed through the hood and repaired by bending the tang that makes contact with the male pin.
What a pin in the butt. You would think that GM would provide a repair kit. But no. They want $1450 for a new wiring harness.
Bill
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i got my tool for doing this job at the local Case IH dealer...they have a tool for it, you push it in where the female connections are, the tool releases two "tangs" and then you pull on the wire, works real slick....not sure if you have a local farm dealer or not where you live, but that is what i would try....
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1994 Olds 88, 3800 (L27) V6 engine
Well, while I was waiting to get a response, I designed a homemade "female pin fixer". http://www.glocktech.net/a/ICM.htm
That cleared up problem codes P0342 and P0361.
Now I have to find what is causing P0341 and P0321.
You wouldn't happen to know where the "8 way ignition jummper harness connector" is located under the hood would you?
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dude that's scary, next time, just to make it a little easier, take a small paper clip,lay it on the bench, flatten it a little with a hammer and use that to release the detent from the front...Not to bust your balls, but you must be an engineer... I got a friends who is one, and he does things like that all the time... lol ... I bought 2 different terminal release terminals from the tools trucks.... Mac, Snap on and such.. You can probably buy them online somewhere...as for 341 and 321, are they current codes or intermitant??? They can be a bitch... usually after I ohm out the wires from the igjntion module to the ecm and crank sensor and make sure there is no wiring issues, I start with the Crank Sensor.. I know it's not in the diagnostics, but it can cause the codes to set... I have fixed tons of them with that... something to do with the 3x and 12x not in sinc, or one dropping out...as for a repair kit... you can buy new terminals, and a new connector,just isnt cheap... heluva lot cheaper than a new harness, but for diag, I just use a T-pin and backprobe... you can see the signals clearly on a scope and go from there...the 8 pin connector is behind the alt... Bobo
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Bobo,
Engineer? How'd ya guess.
Good idea on the flattned paper clip. Where were you with that idea when I needed it this morning :)
There is one side benefit to having the drilled holes: if I pull off the ICM connector again, I can quickly reset the tangs for another tight connection. The pin holes should been put there by GM in the first place.
The codes are current. If I clear them, and start the car and run a continuous scan and monitor the codes, '18X Interrupts Lost' comes first, then 'Intermittent Cam Signal' along with the MIL lamp, within a minute after start. M341CNTR just keeps ticking up.
I am going to ohm out everything tomorrow.
PS: what is a T-pin and backprobe? Do you mean pick off a signal at the outer access points of the red, white, and blue ECM connectors while they are still connected to the ECM?
Bill the engineer
you should see the breakout box I made yesterday to pick off the signals at the ICM connector. You would really be laughing. It looks like a mad octopus.
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Gotta tell ya,m I was smiling the whole time I was reading this... Sorry I missed the post earlier, coulda saved you a little time.... I don't think gm should have put the holes there to begin with.. GM Doesn't want terminals retensioned EVER!! in print anywhere you find terminal repair, we are to replace the terminal, not repair/retension it.. Not that it's a bad idea, but I liken it to putting a drain plug on a tranny pan.. Nice idea, but some shmuck is going to shortcut the right way and turn every trans service into a drain and fill.. as for retensioning the terminal(I never said I didn't do it), I will actually use a small sewing needle and do it right from the front, first one side , then the other, you can do a real good job if you practice..This is no repair for a damaged terminal, or a corroded one...Backprobing is taking a small pin thats nice and smooth... like a safety pin (I have T shaped pins that have a nice pointy end) and inserting it right next to the wire into the back of theconnector, it slides right in and does not damage the weather pack or the terminals...This will let you see real world measurements as they happen... You cannot distinguish direction of signal, or which module is shorting a circuit, but once you finda grounded signal, you can pull that single terminal and measure from there isolating the suspect componant..as for the codes, sounds like you are having a problem with the crank sensor, that's where the 18x comes from , it also has a 3x signal... both are uses to synch each other... the M341CNTR?? Maybe that's the same as cam/crank correlation reset that we have displayed on the shop tool... That's real hard to explain, I barely understand it... kinda uses the combined or synched signal from the crank and makes sure number one is where the cam says it is, if they don't match, then the reset occurs... see if you can backprobe the 3x and 12 x signals amd see if they are nice square waves.. little bit of oscillations are ok.... I'll try and remember to bringa shop manual home tommorow, and I can give actual specs and stuff.... Bobo
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Tried a new crank position sensor last night. No go, same codes. I don't have a "O" scope but will have one by tomorrow. I have one more diag flow chart to follow: spark reference circuit.
Thinking ahead, do you happen to know which ICM's are compatible across model years? I think any 1994-1995 GM with the "3800" L27 motor should work. Right?
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Subject has changed. See: Help: GM 3800 engine ignition experts
in this news group.
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