Electrical connector pin question for Ron

In your page on the pins for BMW electrical connectors,
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/ele...tact_pins.html , you show a tool for the pins (88-88-6-611-132).

Does this tool help with removing pins from the connectors? Or adding pins to the connectors? Or both?

In particular, I am removing/ replacing/ adding male pins to the alarm interface connector on the MZ series.

That tool will only help you in removing male and female 2.5mm diameter pins/contacts from their connectors. You really don't need a special tool to add pins/contacts. You just have to unlock the connector to add pins.

Originally Posted by JoeCinVa

That tool will only help you in removing male and female 2.5mm diameter pins/contacts from their connectors. You really don't need a special tool to add pins/contacts. You just have to unlock the connector to add pins.

Or to remove them!

Wait a minute, this was supposed to be Ron's question.

Originally Posted by phrider

Does this tool help with removing pins from the connectors? Or adding pins to the connectors? Or both?

Removal.

Thank you all. Now that I have my reading glasses on (some of you will understand)....

How is the male/ car harness side of the connector (AMP 1-828879-1 / BMW 1378 136) unlocked to add pins? There are four tabs back by the wire side of the pins, two of these on either side of the connector. Does the connector outer casing need to be pulled away from the inner catches? Or is there some additional step involving the two pieces on the #6/#12 end of the connector?

Please excuse the detailed question, but I know these connectors are a pain to replace if you break them.

Originally Posted by phrider

Thank you all. Now that I have my reading glasses on (some of you will understand)....

How is the male/ car harness side of the connector (AMP 1-828879-1 / BMW 1378 136) unlocked to add pins?

If you look around the wires where they enter the connector you should
find an inner contact retainer shell. The inner shell will slide to
its unlock position if you pull out the outer shell at the sides. You
may have to help the inner shell a little by pushing it at one end as
you spread apart the outer one. As you do this, you will see a couple
pairs of inner hooks slide past each other. (See below.) The contacts
are unlocked once the sloped sides of the little wedges are next to each other.

To lock the contacts, you just push the inner shell the other way
until you hear a satisfying click. If you practice locking and
unlocking the connector a few times, the whole process will become
automatic.

I hope that helps!

Thanks.

It's obvious once you've done it. Getting the all the wedges past the catches simultaneously (vs one or two at a time) is the challenge.

Does BMW have a special crimper for attaching the wires to the pins, or will any old crimper do?

Originally Posted by phrider

Thanks.

It's obvious once you've done it. Getting the all the wedges past the catches simultaneously (vs one or two at a time) is the challenge.

Does BMW have a special crimper for attaching the wires to the pins, or will any old crimper do?

John has one.
I crimp with long nose and solder.

Originally Posted by phrider

Thanks.
It's obvious once you've done it. Getting the all the wedges past the catches simultaneously (vs one or two at a time) is the challenge.

Try spreading apart the outer shell using both thumbs while pushing
the inner shell with your index fingers.

Does BMW have a special crimper for attaching the wires to the pins, or will any old crimper do?

BMW has a specific crimper but I understand it is a little pricey. The
die for crimping the BMW/AMP 2.5 mm^2 contacts is unusually deep
which becomes a problem should you try to use something else to crimp
the contacts for larger wire sizes (e.g. for 1 - 2.5 mm^2 wires).

I have gotten pretty good results on contacts for the next smaller wire
size (0.5 - 1 mm^2) using a Knipex crimp system tool.
As you can see below, however, its standard die does not quite cover
the entire crimp area. This is a considerably higher quality tool than
what BMW uses - the BMW of hand crimpers as it were, if only BMW would
use it - and probably an even more expensive solution assuming you can
find it. It will, however, crimp lots of other things if you are
willing to buy the dies, which is why I got it.

If I were to do it again, I might try my luck with Paladin Tools's
8000 series crimper. (I think www.digikey.com carries it.) Probably
one of its dies will do a decent job on the smaller wire sizes.

If you are not ready to spend $100-200 on a ratched crimping tool, you
can always use an inexpensive hand crimper or a needle-nose pliers,
and solder the crimp area afterwards. Once you get your hands on a
decent ratcheted crimping tool, however, you will probably wonder why
you ever used anything else.

Hmmm. The Paladin looks like it's available for $40 plus about $22 per die. I've wanted the RJ crimper and now I just need a die for the BMW wires.

The BMW wires seem to be equivalent to 22 AWG or 20 AWG. So I'm looking for a 20 AWG crimping die, right?

Originally Posted by phrider

Hmmm. The Paladin looks like it's available for $40 plus about $22 per die. I've wanted the RJ crimper and now I just need a die for the BMW wires.

The BMW wires seem to be equivalent to 22 AWG or 20 AWG. So I'm looking for a 20 AWG crimping die, right?

I've go the Paladin tool w/ a couple of dies. I'll get you the p/n of the die I've been using when I get home later tonight.

Originally Posted by phrider

The BMW wires seem to be equivalent to 22 AWG or 20 AWG. So I'm looking for a 20 AWG crimping die, right?

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/ele...wire_size.html

Originally Posted by JoeCinVa

I've go the Paladin tool w/ a couple of dies. I'll get you the p/n of the die I've been using when I get home later tonight.

The link is to paladin-tools.com and is a .pdf file. I purchased a number of dies but the one that gives good double crimps is 2033 (die only) or 8026 (tool w/die). The die has 3 locations in it for crimping the 3 listed wire gauges. I ordered these tools from greatcables.com FWIW.

I'll echo what JohnF said before, how did I ever live w/o a ratcheting crimper?
http://lib1.store.vip.sc5.yahoo.com/...rialmatrix.pdf

Ron, John, Joe -- thanks for the help.

Originally Posted by JoeCinVa

The link is to paladin-tools.com and is a .pdf file. I purchased a number of dies but the one that gives good double crimps is 2033 (die only) or 8026 (tool w/die). The die has 3 locations in it for crimping the 3 listed wire gauges. I ordered these tools from greatcables.com FWIW.

I'll echo what JohnF said before, how did I ever live w/o a ratcheting crimper?
http://lib1.store.vip.sc5.yahoo.com/...rialmatrix.pdf

The Paladin "full cycle" crimper has been part of my day job work tools for about ten years now. I first had their automatic wire stripper and got sold on their products with it! While a quality tool, I've worn out about five of them building control panels (that's a lot of stripping).

I have been wanting to get additional dies for the crimper (open barrel and RG8/RG58 mostly) just never needed them bad enough to get out and order them. Thanks Joe, for posting that pdf!

Originally Posted by JoeCinVa

The link is to paladin-tools.com and is a .pdf file. I purchased a number of dies but the one that gives good double crimps is 2033 (die only) or 8026 (tool w/die). The die has 3 locations in it for crimping the 3 listed wire gauges.

What wire sizes are you able to crimp with the 2033 die? The Knipex tool and dies do fine on the two smaller wire size contacts, 0.35 - 0.5 mm^2 and 0.5 - 1.0 mm^2, but fall flat when you try to crimp the BMW/AMP contacts for 1.0 - 2.5 mm^2 wires.

I think I will ask Knipex if they have a die that will do better.

[QUOTE=johnf]What wire sizes are you able to crimp with the 2033 die? The Knipex tool and dies do fine on the two smaller wire size contacts, 0.35 - 0.5 mm^2 and 0.5 - 1.0 mm^2, but fall flat when you try to crimp the BMW/AMP contacts for 1.0 - 2.5 mm^2 wires.
QUOTE]
I haven't had the opportunity to use the largest crimping section of the die so I can't comment. However, the 2 smaller ones seem to work pretty well. I sometimes have to use to a needle nose plier to make the crimps look neat though.

Do you have a source for those separate (w/o wire) AMP contacts? I've had limited success with BMW.

[QUOTE=JoeCinVa
Do you have a source for those separate (w/o wire) AMP contacts? I've had limited success with BMW.[/QUOTE]


As of a few weeks ago BMWNA no longer allows preventing the cede to the pin with wire attached.

Originally Posted by Ron Stygar

As of a few weeks ago BMWNA no longer allows preventing the cede to the pin with wire attached.

That stinks. I will try to order some 61 13 1 376 191s and 61 … 202s
and see what happens.

Originally Posted by JoeCinVa

Do you have a source for those separate (w/o wire) AMP contacts? I've had limited success with BMW.

How about an AMP source for the pin extracting tool (88 88 6 611 132), too? BMW can't be the only one with 2.5mm pins....

Well, Southpointe BMW in Sarasota doesn't have the 61 13 1 376 191s -- they cede to the new ones with the wires attached (and have only 3 of those new ones at that).

Originally Posted by phrider

Well, Southpointe BMW in Sarasota doesn't have the 61
13 1 376 191s -- they cede to the new ones with the wires attached
(and have only 3 of those new ones at that).

I was able to get all the 191s and 202s I ordered yesterday,
from my dealer's regional warehouse in Hannover. Hannover actually
sent 13 more 191s than I ordered. I am not sure what that means.

On a third AMP contact, they sent a substitute with wires, even though
there are supposedly some 20 000 unwired contacts in the system. My
dealer's parts guy said he would start calling about them after
Christmas.

We finally received some snow last night but it will probably melt by
Christmas eve!

Originally Posted by johnf

On a third AMP contact, they sent a substitute with wires, even though
there are supposedly some 20 000 unwired contacts in the system. My
dealer's parts guy said he would start calling about them after
Christmas.

I ordered some AMP mod iv contacts (M&F) from Mouser to see what they look like. Will be here next Monday.

Originally Posted by Ron Stygar

I ordered some AMP mod iv contacts (M&F) from Mouser to see what they look like. Will be here next Monday.

My dealer's part manager says the ... 776 BMW/AMP contact is in stock and available. He will order some.

OFF TOPIC - The stock Hella E36/5 headlights are 207 Euros a side and display the following certifications: E1 (ECE Germany), DOT SSB 384, and SAE HR 93. It is a little strange that U.S. cars didn't get them.

Pleading ignorance... what is the 776 BMW / AMP contact? Is that a new p/n for the old contacts?