Hey folks, has anyone successfully de-pinned their tail light connector? I have the secondary lock taken care of but then inserting tools into the connector I can't unlock the wires. I've tried every trick I know so I'm definitely not doing something correctly.
My photos of this are in webp so I can't seem to add. Linked to a photo of it as a pigtail.
there is a flap that opens on the visible side of the connector. Got that no problem. Can't figure out how to get the pins actually out. I have tried de-pin tools in the top and bottom and feel no tabs in there. It's super tight to try to get in the side and I don't want to mess anything up.
I'm building a pigtail for a reverse camera so I don't need to tap a wire. Probably over thinking it.
You can convert your WebP images to jpg or something, so we can see them. It would be good to see a nice closeup.
Looking at the connector in your post, I might think that you'd put a thin screwdriver into the front, and slide it out the back? I would certainly look at the back as well, though... can't see that in the pigtail picture. There also appears to be a second part on the pigtail picture - maybe a plastic clip section that needs to be removed before the pins come out? Again, closeups will help.
But, as you said, I do think you're overthinking it... better to just tap the wire with a suitable tap and be done with it. The ideal recommendations are the twist-type types, but I have used the pinch-clip style successfully as well. If you ever need to remove these, you can do that easily and then you can leave it like that or electrical tape to protect it for the
next
person... most people won't notice the pierce anyway, so it's not a big deal.
Just for knowledge here's a photo (terrible I know). There's a secondary lock flat that bends in the middle of the clip and is detached from the wire end. This photo shows it in the open position behind the wires.
The mating side of the connector has female terminals and space above and below them. I'd think there would be release tabs on top and bottom as I've seen on other tail light connectors (this is a discontinued Merceded-Benz part!)
I've moved on with a different connection to the wire so no need to really sort this, but I love forums like this for building knowledge regardless.
