I do not wish to prematurely unroll the "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" banner lest I jinx myself. So far, so good.
The owner reports engine power is very smooth, quite possibly smoother than general operation the last few months (as in there may have been an operational issue below the threshold to set a code). No return of CEL or misfires - yet.
Although I'm beating myself up for not wiggling the connector while it was running sooner, it was really only the addition of the misfire in the last week that allowed that to be useful. Real time evidence of a poor connection that you can hear while wiggling different areas of the connector and harness is what really zeroed me in. While relying on "did the CEL turn on today?" - that wasn't fast enough feedback. If I used my multimeter to do resistance and voltage checks of the harness and the coil itself, they would have been fine because the meter probes would have been making good contact with each.
To provide some further info for future searchers, here's a pictures showing a new headshell and the form of the pins (sourced from the Internet - I take no credit for the image but use it here for educational purposes):
As you can see the pins are wrapped over into a square form. Inside the square is formed a down-slope leaf of metal which makes contact with the rectangular pin on the coil. Using a very fine pick, you can come in the top rear of the pin, catch that leaf with the point, and push it down. I believe I felt this making a difference on more than one pin in this connector. The pins are released using catches you access by removing the white connector lock. The releases are in the black plastic on top of the individual pins. You do not need to stick a tool IN to the pin, which is probably how this damage happened in the first place, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't me because I didn't release any pins at the time the problem started. (But, maybe it was).
I may do this on all of the other connectors - later. If it's code-free and running well, I'll leave it alone until nicer weather returns. In my case I much prefer this approach to splicing in a replacement connector. If your pins are really screwed up you can look for a repair kit like above, or a splice kit as shown in Patrick0525's post earlier.
I will also be changing the oil once I'm sure the issue is resolved, in case it has a lot of fuel in it. Hoping the cats are OK and cyl F was still adequately lubricated while all this was going on.
The owner reports engine power is very smooth, quite possibly smoother than general operation the last few months (as in there may have been an operational issue below the threshold to set a code). No return of CEL or misfires - yet.
Although I'm beating myself up for not wiggling the connector while it was running sooner, it was really only the addition of the misfire in the last week that allowed that to be useful. Real time evidence of a poor connection that you can hear while wiggling different areas of the connector and harness is what really zeroed me in. While relying on "did the CEL turn on today?" - that wasn't fast enough feedback. If I used my multimeter to do resistance and voltage checks of the harness and the coil itself, they would have been fine because the meter probes would have been making good contact with each.
To provide some further info for future searchers, here's a pictures showing a new headshell and the form of the pins (sourced from the Internet - I take no credit for the image but use it here for educational purposes):
As you can see the pins are wrapped over into a square form. Inside the square is formed a down-slope leaf of metal which makes contact with the rectangular pin on the coil. Using a very fine pick, you can come in the top rear of the pin, catch that leaf with the point, and push it down. I believe I felt this making a difference on more than one pin in this connector. The pins are released using catches you access by removing the white connector lock. The releases are in the black plastic on top of the individual pins. You do not need to stick a tool IN to the pin, which is probably how this damage happened in the first place, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't me because I didn't release any pins at the time the problem started. (But, maybe it was).
I may do this on all of the other connectors - later. If it's code-free and running well, I'll leave it alone until nicer weather returns. In my case I much prefer this approach to splicing in a replacement connector. If your pins are really screwed up you can look for a repair kit like above, or a splice kit as shown in Patrick0525's post earlier.
I will also be changing the oil once I'm sure the issue is resolved, in case it has a lot of fuel in it. Hoping the cats are OK and cyl F was still adequately lubricated while all this was going on.
Last edited:
)
