REMOVING TINY MOLEX CONNECTOR PINS FROM A BODY

[jeatock]

Small to tiny Molex connector pins (like on Motorola external speakers) are a pain to remove.

There is a tab on each side (two of them) that need to be pushed in to release the pin and remove it from the body for repair/replacement. I'm sure there is a special tool, but it's always days out and you need to fix it NOW! Don't bother trying an extra-tiny screwdriver. It won't fit deep enough. Unless you are very lucky there won't be any shim material lying on your bench either.

Here is a quick down and dirty hack:

Open your plain old every day stapler and break off a five or six stables from the "bar" of staples.

Carefully break off a pair off individual staples- leave them "glued" together side by side. Cut off one "leg" to make it into an "L" shaped piece. Make another one. Slip the long ends inside the connector body to push the locking tabs in and release the connector pin. They are just the right size. Pull the pin out of the body. VIOLA!

Individual staples work too, but can be hard on your thump to push in.

This also works on PC power supply header connectors.

 

[k6cpo]

The tools to remove those pins are available on Amazon. I bought a set, including tools for automotive connectors and it's now collecting dust in my tool case. I've never had a need for it.

 

[dlwtrunked]

Small to tiny Molex connector pins (like on Motorola external speakers) are a pain to remove.

There is a tab on each side (two of them) that need to be pushed in to release the pin and remove it from the body for repair/replacement. I'm sure there is a special tool, but it's always days out and you need to fix it NOW! Don't bother trying an extra-tiny screwdriver. It won't fit deep enough. Unless you are very lucky there won't be any shim material lying on your bench either.

Here is a quick down and dirty hack:

Open your plain old every day stapler and break off a five or six stables from the "bar" of staples.
...

I use a simple pair of tweezers.

 

[a417]

The tools to remove those pins are available on Amazon. I bought a set, including tools for automotive connectors and it's now collecting dust in my tool case. I've never had a need for it.

Got one in a kit from god knows where. Came with ones that fit moto speakers, whelen strobe cabling (and subsequent LED retrofit panels), molex plugs and other stuff. Probably wouldn't have purposefully bought it, but I did....and it collects dust.

 

[mmckenna]

My grandfather did electrical systems for Lockheed and a previous company in Canada. When he passed, I inherited a lot of his aircraft electrical tools, including a pretty decent set of "pin removers" for various electrical connectors.
They've been a life saver.

There's some good ones out there on e-Bay, or if you are good, you can fabricate your own out of appropriate sized tubing.

 

[a417]

My grandfather did electrical systems for Lockheed and a previous company in Canada. When he passed, I inherited a lot of his aircraft electrical tools, including a pretty decent set of "pin removers" for various electrical connectors.
They've been a life saver.

There's some good ones out there on e-Bay, or if you are good, you can fabricate your own out of appropriate sized tubing.

I used a coffee stirrer more than few times.