Micro 64 Terminal Removal- E40 ECM possibly others

[V8 Supra Builder]

I damaged my substandard design ECM connector (hindsight vs the Gen 3 connectors I've used in the past) trying to remove a pin for a PWM fan swap. What I didn't know was that there is a 2-step process to remove these terminals and a special tool for the purpose. What is fairly commonly known is removing the green 2-prong terminal lock, which is called a secondary lock. It turns out the terminals have a primary lock that must be released via the tool- basically a very small pin with a handle. I have not seen anyone post this info about removing these terminals, so I wanted to post it here.

The special tool needed is a Delphi PN 15381651-2, Kent Moore PN J-38125-21, or Harley PN HD 45928. There may be some knock off tools such as Rennsteig that do the same thing for a lot less money.

I'm attaching a one-page PDF from a Harley service manual that shows the primary lock removal process. While it's not exactly the same ECM connector, the process is the same:
1. Remove connector from ECM- flip lever and remove connector.
2. Remove the "hood" via prying the latching pins on one side with a small screwdriver.
3. Look for a green tab on one side of the connector. It's shaped differently than the one in the Harley picture (#1 on figure A-15). That's the secondary lock and it has to slide out. It has 2 legs and presses against each terminal inside the connector. Remember which way it came out, it only goes in one way or you can damage it.
4. Now for the secret part. Look at the face of the connector, and you'll see very small holes above each pair of terminals. On the attached PDF figure A-15, it is #2 on the picture. Press the special tool in and hold it, then at the same time pull on the terminal(s) up to 2 at a time and it/they should pull free.

Installation of a terminal does not require the tool- they just push in. Be aware GM suggests replacing these substandard connectors after every 3 times they are removed. That is an indicator of just how crappy they are.

Micro_64_terminal_removal.pdf

[blindsquirrel]

The reuse recommendation is because of the silicone seal on the wire side, the entire terminal has to pass through it unlike weather/metri-paks where the seal is crimped to the terminal. Every time you remove/insert a wire there's potential to damage the seal. As long as the seal is in good shape they can be repinned until... it eventually isn't in good shape.

Don't be a chump, no special tools are needed. The 'release tool' is just a pointed stick. A jumbo paperclip filed or cut at an angle to make it pointy on the end works just as well.

These connectors are non-intuitive because the secondary lock doesn't retain the release tabs like on most others, the secondary lock & release tabs are on opposite sides of the terminals.

[V8 Supra Builder]

Since I had a number of problems on this mod, I wasn't about to be a true chump and damage this further with a homemade tool, so I bit the bullet on the Delphi one. It worked as it should have. I'm all for making special tools, especially when the OEM one is no longer available, but the risk wasn't a worth a $40 savings to me.

[blindsquirrel]

The risk is from removing/inserting the wire/terminal through the silicone seal on the backside, repeatedly, causing damage that lets water in over time, not the type of release tool used damaging the tabs.

In fact, because of the lock arrangement, where the 'secondary' (should/could really be called 'second primary') doesn't interact with the release tabs, missing/broken release tabs won't let the wires fall out as long as the lock is in place. The silicone seal is pretty thick and gives a lot of alignment support so all that's needed is something to keep the terminals from pushing back - just the secondary lock alone will do that just fine.