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Im working on rehabbing the long engine bay wire harness (14pin/headlights/blinkers/etc) and Ive run into a potential snag, looking for some ideas. Part of the rehab includes replacing the connectors/terminals and Im having trouble sourcing the flag pin terminals for the headlight sockets.
I did find some pin connectors at the local electronics store. They are a great fit for the 8-pin computer connector but a little smaller than the headlight terminals. And they are straight style, while the original headlight terminals are flag style.
The original flag pin connector measures 9.25ish mm wide, the new straight pin terminal measures 7.5ish mm wide. The new terminal fits the headlight male end nicely, but is a bit wiggly when plugged into the socket. The original is also a bit wiggly in the socket, but a little less. Im wondering if a little bit of shrink on the new terminals would lessen the wiggly factor. And also I wonder about clearance issues with using the new straight style pin terminal. My car is taken apart right now so I was hoping someone could look at theirs and see if there would be a potential clearance issue with using the straight style pin. When plugged into the socket, the new straight style pin connector protrudes about 3mm from the rear of the socket, but that measurement does not include the wire that will be installed. With wires installed, it may need 15-20mm clearance or more so as not to cause a rubbing issue.
Or, has anyone been able to find a flag style pin terminal? Ive scoured the internet and local stores without luck. But maybe Im searching the wrong terms.
Thanks in advance, looking forward to input and ideas, pictures below of the old and new terminals
I could give that a try. I guess I figured the terminals were single use items but it's worth a shot. I'll mock things up tonight and see if there would be any clearance issues with the straight terminal, from memory the back of the lamp is covered with the plastic cone which is otherwise empty no?
In my high-wattage headlight days, I used to buy ceramic sockets because the plastic ones melted with 120W bulbs. For more conventional wattages, headlight service sockets are POLAPS items. They often come with pigtails, probably not exactly what you need, but worth a look. Last set f plastic ones I bought were blue. Who would put a blue bulb socket on a good car???
05-20-2015, 02:32 PM
Headlight socket pin terminals
