HOW TO: Depinning an ECU Plug
03-27-2006, 11:28 AM
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HOW TO: Depinning an ECU Plug
I'm in the process of an SOHC ZC swap and I needed to add some wires to the ECU. Well, rather than just ghetto-fab it and try to solder the wire to the ECU or something like that I decided to do it right.
What you need:
Extra ECU Plugs to take pins from:
Your "De-pinning Tool" (Otherwise known as a safety pin
):
A pair of needle nose pliers:
According to my wiring information, (http://www.zcspeed.com/wiring.htm <--- Look here before continuing.), because my car was DPFI and my engine was MPFI I needed to add wires to slot B15 and B16.
I went to a junkyard and got the ECU plugs off of '90 Civic DX.
So, on to the "How-To".
In order to add pins to the "B" plug, you need some extra pins from the "B" plug!
To get these,
1) First remove the little white "guards" that stop the pins from coming out. There are two tabs on either side to depress.
Use your safety pin to hold one side down and pull it out with your finger nail. Then, while pulling up on the guard, press in the other tab.
You should end up like this:
2) Now, take out your pair of needle nose pliers and pull hard on the wire you want out. That was the only way I could do it. There is a little metal tab holding it in, but I couldn't get at it due to the housing of the plug. Just re-bend the tab one the pin is out.
Congrats! You have an extra pin that you can add wire to and do with as you wish!
SIDEBAR:
You can also remove pins from the other type of plug. (The largest of the three, the "A" connector.)
For this you will only need a safety pin. There is a small, plastic tab from the pin's housing that keeps the pin locked in place. Once you locate it, put you safety pin in the hole on the female end of the plug.
Pull up on the tab and pull on the wire to release the pin from the clip it's housed in.
And now you get a pin to work with or add wire to, etc.
There you have it! I thought this may help some people getting ready to wire their swap...
What you need:
Extra ECU Plugs to take pins from:
Your "De-pinning Tool" (Otherwise known as a safety pin
):A pair of needle nose pliers:
According to my wiring information, (http://www.zcspeed.com/wiring.htm <--- Look here before continuing.), because my car was DPFI and my engine was MPFI I needed to add wires to slot B15 and B16.
I went to a junkyard and got the ECU plugs off of '90 Civic DX.
So, on to the "How-To".
In order to add pins to the "B" plug, you need some extra pins from the "B" plug!
To get these,
1) First remove the little white "guards" that stop the pins from coming out. There are two tabs on either side to depress.
Use your safety pin to hold one side down and pull it out with your finger nail. Then, while pulling up on the guard, press in the other tab.
You should end up like this:
2) Now, take out your pair of needle nose pliers and pull hard on the wire you want out. That was the only way I could do it. There is a little metal tab holding it in, but I couldn't get at it due to the housing of the plug. Just re-bend the tab one the pin is out.
Congrats! You have an extra pin that you can add wire to and do with as you wish!
SIDEBAR:
You can also remove pins from the other type of plug. (The largest of the three, the "A" connector.)
For this you will only need a safety pin. There is a small, plastic tab from the pin's housing that keeps the pin locked in place. Once you locate it, put you safety pin in the hole on the female end of the plug.
Pull up on the tab and pull on the wire to release the pin from the clip it's housed in.
And now you get a pin to work with or add wire to, etc.
There you have it! I thought this may help some people getting ready to wire their swap...
03-27-2006, 11:52 AM
#3
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I couldn't get those with the safety pin, so once I had the guards off, I pulled on the base of the wire with the needle nose. Sometimes it just stripped off the wire's insulation, but sometimes it got the pin. It's kinda trial and error.
Now I have all these pins!
And FYI, be careful when playing with safety pins kids!
Now I have all these pins!
And FYI, be careful when playing with safety pins kids!
03-27-2006, 12:04 PM
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Re: (exsinnovation)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by exsinnovation »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So basically you YANK the wires on the black plugs</TD></TR></TABLE>
After you remove the guards, yes, that's what I did. Now it may not be the best way, but it's the only way I could do it w/out going to the dealership and buying the ECU depinning tool.
After you remove the guards, yes, that's what I did. Now it may not be the best way, but it's the only way I could do it w/out going to the dealership and buying the ECU depinning tool.
03-27-2006, 12:16 PM
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Holy crap, I like the blood pic 
Umm, your safety pin wont work because it isn't strong enough. Take a micro flathead screwdriver, something with a shank at least 2" long, but about as wide as the safety pin. On your trusty grinder, turn the end into a very thin, very flat point. About half the width of the original shaft. If you dick around inside the ecu plug enough, you'll get the hang of popping them free. It's possible and easy, and not as destructive as ripping the pins out. You go in from the front, in the tiny little hole in the middle.
Umm, your safety pin wont work because it isn't strong enough. Take a micro flathead screwdriver, something with a shank at least 2" long, but about as wide as the safety pin. On your trusty grinder, turn the end into a very thin, very flat point. About half the width of the original shaft. If you dick around inside the ecu plug enough, you'll get the hang of popping them free. It's possible and easy, and not as destructive as ripping the pins out. You go in from the front, in the tiny little hole in the middle.
03-27-2006, 06:17 PM
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Re: (bigcalidave)
you got to use a mini screw driver like he said or something along those lines and put it in the middle hole on the black plugs and point the end of the screwdriver toward the plug you want to depin and push up and to the side... yanking the wires will just take the wire with out the pin and that sucks.
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03-27-2006, 06:22 PM
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Re: (Boosted Chemist)
i wish someone did a write up on how to take a dpfi manifold off and put the new mpfi manifold on... only writeups on the wiring and it pisses me off.
03-27-2006, 06:48 PM
#10
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Re: (bigcalidave)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bigcalidave »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Holy crap, I like the blood pic Umm, your safety pin wont work because it isn't strong enough. Take a micro flathead screwdriver, something with a shank at least 2" long, but about as wide as the safety pin. On your trusty grinder, turn the end into a very thin, very flat point. About half the width of the original shaft. If you dick around inside the ecu plug enough, you'll get the hang of popping them free. It's possible and easy, and not as destructive as ripping the pins out. You go in from the front, in the tiny little hole in the middle. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Bravo! This is how I did it, and after taking 3 hours for the first, I got each concecutive one in less than a minute. You just have to take your time and get a feel for it. I also found it was easier to point the tip at the one you wanted out, then just give it a real strong push. Worked every time for me.
For the visual learner: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1191491
I used the same screwdriver and sharpened it. Point and push, it takes some grunt to get it to move but I got it. Oh yeah, I did the swap WITHOUT a spare harness, and had 1 pin left over
Umm, your safety pin wont work because it isn't strong enough. Take a micro flathead screwdriver, something with a shank at least 2" long, but about as wide as the safety pin. On your trusty grinder, turn the end into a very thin, very flat point. About half the width of the original shaft. If you dick around inside the ecu plug enough, you'll get the hang of popping them free. It's possible and easy, and not as destructive as ripping the pins out. You go in from the front, in the tiny little hole in the middle. </TD></TR></TABLE>Bravo! This is how I did it, and after taking 3 hours for the first, I got each concecutive one in less than a minute. You just have to take your time and get a feel for it. I also found it was easier to point the tip at the one you wanted out, then just give it a real strong push. Worked every time for me.
For the visual learner: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1191491
I used the same screwdriver and sharpened it. Point and push, it takes some grunt to get it to move but I got it. Oh yeah, I did the swap WITHOUT a spare harness, and had 1 pin left over
03-27-2006, 08:45 PM
#14
Re: (Tippyman)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tippyman »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lol, safety pin went straight into my thumb. It looks worse than it is...</TD></TR></TABLE>
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