How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

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sansouci
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How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

Post by sansouci »

Hi,
I've got these 2 "plug housings" (P/N 12521706096) in the engine compartment affixed to "supporting arms" on the valve cover. How do I separate them without breaking the 35+ year old plastic. There is a wire retainer that looks like it should be either pushed or pulled and I want to be very careful so as not to create more problems.
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BMW P/N 12521706096
BMW P/N 12521706096
BMW Plug Housing.jpg (598.07 KiB) Viewed 3218 times
Sansouci
84 E24 633Csi Auto, Bronzit/PearlBeige 6997510
93 E32 740il M60 Auto, Alpenweis/Ultramarine
60 528i M30 5-speed Green/Beige (crushed)
71 240Z 4-speed White/Blue (rusty & sold)
65 396 Chevelle 4-speed, Marina Blue/Black (stolen)
brickwhite
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Re: How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

Post by brickwhite »

Remove the Wire with a pick from the open wire side, then around. Then pull apart. Just like fuel injector connections.

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- 12 535i
- 92 325ic
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hornhospital
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Re: How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

Post by hornhospital »

I am amazed yours are intact. Be ready to see the plugs crumble when the socket end is removed (hope not, but....) The wire clips on those plugs are intended to be pushed from the back side, which will spread open the clips, allowing the plug to come out. You don't have to pry the clip off (though you certainly can if you want to). Make very sure you keep track of which plug goes with which harness socket. Cross-connecting them will result in a no-start situation, although it won't damage anything.

Mine looked like this...... The plugs fell to pieces.
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P1080053_1.jpg
P1080053_1.jpg (277.66 KiB) Viewed 3196 times
P1080051_1.jpg
P1080051_1.jpg (264.58 KiB) Viewed 3196 times
crumbled plugs_1.jpg
crumbled plugs_1.jpg (269.07 KiB) Viewed 3196 times
Ken Kanne
'84 633CSi "Sylvia"; '85 635CSi "Katja";'85 325e "Hazel Ann"; '95 M3 "Ashlyn"
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sansouci
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Re: How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

Post by sansouci »

Many thanks all. Got them opened with no damage and cleaned the contacts and repainted the support brackets.

Ken: Here's a possible NON-OEM replacement
Modex makes waterproof connectors with a variety of contacts
Try P/N 172878-0040 for the Receptacle Housing With Integrated Seal, Valuseal. This is a 2x2 config. They also have a 1x2 version
P/N 172877-0040 for the Plug Housing with Integrated Seal, Valuseal
add Valuseal Female Terminals 16-18 and 20-22 AWG
add Valuseal Male Terminals 16-18 and 20-22 AWG

These can be purchased from Digikey. I don't believe there is a minimum order quantity and they have product drawings on the website.
Sansouci
84 E24 633Csi Auto, Bronzit/PearlBeige 6997510
93 E32 740il M60 Auto, Alpenweis/Ultramarine
60 528i M30 5-speed Green/Beige (crushed)
71 240Z 4-speed White/Blue (rusty & sold)
65 396 Chevelle 4-speed, Marina Blue/Black (stolen)
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Brucey
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Re: How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

Post by Brucey »

IIRC you can buy the correct (original type) plugs and sockets from BMW. I would recommend these over an alternative for the simple reason that other types of plug/socket won't be supported by the manifold brace in the same way.

Provided the wires and blade terminals are intact, it is simply a question of pushing the terminals into the new plug body, if the old one has fallen apart completely . Actually getting the terminals out of a slightly damaged plug is a bit tricky and needs a skinny prodding tool to defeat the barb. The barb may need to be reshaped before the terminal will be secure in the new plug.

FWIW I think that the plugs can be made 'pull to disconnect' (still with a suitably high retention force) by simply filing two chamfers on the 'ears' that the spring engages with on the male half of the plug. The ears are normally square edged, but they don't need to be to make the plug adequately secure (against normal service loads).

You will see that one of the sensors has a while zip tie around the rubber boot; this (as per the photo upthread) plugs into the grey socket and (IIRC, do check), is the 'ref' sensor that senses a single peg on the flywheel, which is the rearward one of the two sensors. It isn't a bad idea to double up on these zip ties (they get brittle and fall off in time) and to add one to the lead by the grey plug and to the ref sensor itself at the sensor end; it is all to easy to get the wires crossed on the way down.... :oops:

Image

Image

You can see in the above photo that the 'front sensor is reading the ring gear teeth and is therefore the 'speed' sensor. (There are photos of this on the interweb that are wrong BTW).

If in doubt you can perhaps remember which is which by noting these two things;

1) that the speed sensor must be the front one because otherwise the starter motor would chew up the 'ref' sensor pin on the flywheel.... :roll: and

2) black = speed and gREy = REf. There is only one good association between this set of four words.

hth

cheers
~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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sansouci
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Re: How Do I Separate This Plug Housing

Post by sansouci »

Brucey,
You are of course, correct that OEM connectors are available. I hadn't even though of having to go that way,
--Ken
Sansouci
84 E24 633Csi Auto, Bronzit/PearlBeige 6997510
93 E32 740il M60 Auto, Alpenweis/Ultramarine
60 528i M30 5-speed Green/Beige (crushed)
71 240Z 4-speed White/Blue (rusty & sold)
65 396 Chevelle 4-speed, Marina Blue/Black (stolen)
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