Repairing 14-way SMEC and power module connectors - possible?

[jonnymopar]

Has anybody attempted to repair the white connectors on the power module, or the 14-way connector on a SMEC setup? (I know those are different pin counts, but they appear to be the same type of connector). I'm battling an intermittent connection leftover from a year ago that is driving me nuts. If it's bad enough for the car to stop running, gently moving the 14-way connector brings it back every time. I don't know which pin it is, but it acts like it's a ground, or possibly more than one pin giving me fits. I don't mind splicing another connector in, but between the fact that these cars are old, plus that connector was only used for 2 years, I don't have much faith in finding one that's better than what I have. Help me out if you can!

[EaZyE426]

You can remove all the pins from the old connector and replace the connector itself with a donor piece.

[Dr. Johny Dodge]

the barrels inside the white connectors have a tang inside them

this can get bent causeing a bad contact as the tang is the contact point to the pin on the module

I had a buddy fiddling with his car in my garage one night
I walked in the side door to find him reaming out the barrel connectors with my torch tip cleaner tool

needless to say he was here really late that night as we scrounged up another set of connectors and spliced them on

[135sohc]

Can you take some clear close up pictures ?

[jonnymopar]

I'll yank the battery and try to get some good pictures. It's mostly just covered with dielectric grease, so it's tough to see down the barrels. Unfortunately I don't have air available to blow it out, and the contact cleaner that I've used periodically isn't strong enough to displace all the grease.

Most of the conductors have copper showing immediately where it exits the rear of the bulkhead. I'm sure the insulation on the wires has shrunk over the years, but I'm hoping that they haven't begun to pull from the barrels as well.

[jonnymopar]

I just noticed while taking these pictures that the yellow wire isn't hanging on by much. Forgive me for not fully understanding the concept of dwell: if I intermittently lose the anti-dwell signal (that yellow wire) while driving, would it feel like my timing was shifting around? Would I feel anything at all? Once in a while, at highway cruise, it will feel like it loses a little bit of timing for a second, then comes back. No misfiring, nothing funny with EGT or AFR.

[jonnymopar]

Another question: is this connector pinned the same on all SMECs, even the Dakota/Ram ones? Looking at photos of the trucks, it seems like this part of the harness has some room rather than being jammed up against the battery like it is in the Daytona (and I'm sure other cars as well). Wondering if I could clip one out of a truck if, by an act of God, I can find one.