Having trouble with those pins?

[Horseman]

I FINALLY got around to installing my cruise control (after it sitting in the back of my car for nearly a week). I was worried about the pin removal part since some people have had so much trouble. So, I made sure I had a set of the heavy duty staples (non construction) and went to work.

I put the staple into the first pin, held my breath, pulled on the wire... and it came right out... first try.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and went to work on all the other pins, being very careful not to screw up the color codings. I was able to pull out the pins on each one on the first try every time. I even got one pin put in the wrong spot on the red block and, using two staples, removed it easily.

I think the key to success here is two fold...

First... MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOL. The heavy duty staples were EXACTLY the right size. Not too big, not too small (like normal sized staples would have been). They were proportioned in such a way that it pushed the tab of the pins back just enough for them to clear the ridge in the connector when you pulled the wire back.

Second... Shape the staple right and insert it correctly. The shape of the staple that enters the slot next to the pin should be absolutely flat and straight. When you insert the staple, at first you'll feel nothing, then you'll feel a bit of resistance as you come into contact with the tab. A soft push against the resistance and you'll feel the staple slide in maybe another millimeter as it pushes the tab back into the pin and the staple comes into contact with the plastic ridge of the connector housing. The staple should now be held in place by the tension of the pin's tab such that if you turn the entire connector facing down, the staple will not fall out via gravity.

At this point, you should be able to EASILY grab the corresponding wire at the back of the housing, and pull the pin straight out, again with very little effort. The staple may fall out after this step so be sure to keep track of it.

And that's it. If you need to remove a wire from the red connector block, it's exactly the same thing except you have to do it for BOTH tabs on the pin. Put one staple in, then put the other one in, and pull the wire out. You shouldn't even have to hold the staples when you get them inserted properly as the tension of the tabs will hold them for you.

I hope this helps any of you that are having trouble with it!

Alex