Removing wires from terminal

Tiny
JFARRELL1
  • MEMBER
  • 2010 BUICK ENCLAVE
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 75,000 MILES
Hi, my name is Joel. My rear power lift-gate touch pad on the outside of the vehicle isn't working, so I can't open the lift-gate from the outside manually, it opens using my remote and I can also open it using the console button by the radio. Once it is open the touch pad button to close it works perfectly fine, so it's just the touch pad on the outside of the lift-gate that isn't working to open it, so I bought a new one to replace it. I went ahead and ordered the part and received it before I took any of the paneling off of the vehicle and looked at it, when I received the replacement touch pad I looked at it and at the end of the wiring was hooked into a connector. So I figured once I took everything off the touch pad we're just disconnect from a terminal and I could connect this one in, but that wasn't the case. The wires from the touch pad 1 my car are connected to a terminal that also has the license plate wires connected to it, so in other words the replacement that I received with the connection at the end of it is useless because there's nowhere for me to connect it to. I have to physically remove the old wires from the terminal and insert the new ones inside the existing terminal, but I'm having a problem removing the wires from the connector that I have on the replacement. I have tried fooling around with it a bit and I know that there are a lot of different terminals in a vehicle and each one has a different way of being able to remove the wire from it, as I said I tried to remove the wires with a small screwdriver but had no luck. I wanted to know if anyone could give me advice on how to remove these wires from this connector so I can put it into the existing terminal in my vehicle. I will add on some pictures to show what I'm talking about and to give you an idea of the problem that I am happy and you can see the connector for itself. If there's any way to remove the wires from the connector please let me know. It would save me a lot of time having to return it and order another one without the connector. If at all possible if you know exactly how to do this, please send me a video so I can see someone else doing it and I will know exactly how it needs to be done. It is easier for me to fix the problem if I can physically see someone else doing it. Thank you
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 11:31 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
SCGRANTURISMO
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,897 POSTS
Hello,

Okay, to extract the wires from the cavities on the electrical connector you have to disengage the locks that gold them in place. A connector will have a primary and sometimes a secondary lock on them. There are several different locking mechanisms on electrical connectors, but the principal is always the same. I will describe how to disengage the most popular locking mechanisms that are usually found on U.S. Vehicles. So, usually, the primary locks on the the electrical connector are going to be little plastic tabs that are inside of the cavities that the wires, which are inserted from the back of the connector, pass over and push down and then when the metal end of the connector clears allows the tab to come back up and the tabs lip locks the wire in place. So using a straightened out paper clip or a pick grab the wire you are extracting from the back of the connector and press it forward towards the front of the connector to relieve pressure on the lock insert the paper clip/pick into the cavity that is holding the wire and manipulate the tab so the it is depresses and then gently pull on the wire from the back of the electrical connector. This might take a few tries to get the hang of, so don't get frustrated, it takes a lot of practice to get the feel of. When the locking tab is depressed enough the wire will pull easily right out the back of the electrical connector. Also, usually there is a rubber weather protector in the back of the electrical connector. Simply pull it out of the back of the electrical connector, down the wires and when all of the wires are extracted from the back simply pull the weather protector rubber off the wires. Please get back to us with how everything turns out.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros
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Saturday, February 15th, 2020 AT 4:49 PM
Tiny
JFARRELL1
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Hey Alex this is Joel, I just wanted to let you know that I read your message and I took your advice, even though I didn't quite fully understand everything that you were trying to explain to me, sometimes it's a little bit harder to understand reading someone else's words or reading how someone else explains it, which I understand completely, it makes total sense to the person who's describing it because they've done it before, like I said my last message it's always easier to watch a video of someone doing it rather than have them try to explain it to you because you can watch and see exactly what they're doing. But in any case I decided to try and give it another shot, I was able to get the white piece moved out of the green connector, I just basically pushed it out with a small screwdriver and it slid right out and I figured that was the first part and I still knew that there was something else holding it in, it took a while but I was finally able to get both of the wires out and I think I may have broken a small piece off of the green connector while doing it, but once I got the wires out then I could see what was it was that was holding them in it, I saw that there is a slight hump on the metal connector at the end of The wire and that is what was holding it tight in place, I suppose I eventually pushed it down while pulling the wires out. So now that I have succeeded in doing that, I now have to take the inside of the lift-gate apart and take the old touch pad off once again and hopefully I will be able to remove those wires from that terminal without breaking anything, that terminal is different than the one that I showed you before, it's bigger because the license plates lights are connected to it as well, so it has a lot more holes and spaces for wires to go, I know to put them in the exact same place that I pull the wires out from, I just hope I can remove them easily and install the new ones in just as easy, you would think it would be a little bit simpler to be able to remove the wires and put new ones in, but to be completely honest with you it's kind of a pain in the ass. But I will let you know the results when I'm finished. Thanks for your help Joel
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Sunday, February 16th, 2020 AT 9:08 AM
Tiny
SCGRANTURISMO
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,897 POSTS
Hello again,

It is. Like I said earlier, it takes a little while to get the hang of doing it. I found that a straightened out paper clip works good for me or you can get a pick set at your local hardware store for around $5.00 to $10.00 that works very well as well. Please keep us informed.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros
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Sunday, February 16th, 2020 AT 3:41 PM

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