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Distributor plug issue

blu3fan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arizona
Hey guys.
on my 92 cherokee the clip on the distributor plug. engine harness side broke off.
I currently have it zip tied together. but its just not enough pressure and I have found that wiggling the wire makes the car stall. so I think I have found my misfire issue.
is there a good replacement option or good DIY fix for this.
Been to the junkyard. all the plugs are gone.
Cant find one online.
I was thinking about trying to create a clamp using two long bolts and making a vice type mechanism.

ideas or maybe someone has a better way to do this ?
 
Remove the pins from the connector and SLIGHTLY. Pinch them tighter. It likely has poor or loose terminal tension. Then just ziptie it.


I thought about this too.
This year of plug is all plastic'ed in place so that is not an option.
could I strip some wire and use some small sections to bolster the connection by sticking it between the pins ?
never done this before with a plug.
 
Might be better to splice in a new connector.

Since you can't find a direct replacement in a junkyard, consider buying a weatherpack connector pair with the right number of pins, and transfer all the wires to it one-by-one. easiest method would likely be to set up the weatherpack with 6 inch tails on all pins, then use heat-shrink butt-splices to tie it into the vehicle harness.
 
Might be better to splice in a new connector.

Since you can't find a direct replacement in a junkyard, consider buying a weatherpack connector pair with the right number of pins, and transfer all the wires to it one-by-one. easiest method would likely be to set up the weatherpack with 6 inch tails on all pins, then use heat-shrink butt-splices to tie it into the vehicle harness.

***** I was wrong. the engine side plug can* be taken apart. the distributor cannot.

so,
She fully died today on the freeway.
I balled up some strands of wire and forced them into the holes on the engine harness side of the distributor plug.
she runs perfect now.
but I do not consider this a perm fix.
I am gonna hit a few junkyards around town and see if I can find a oem plug.
 
Yikes, cutting out on the highway couldn't have been fun. Reminds me of when my bulkhead connector failed, though in my case at least when it blacked out the truck on the road it was at the bottom of an off-ramp.

Good luck hunting down a replacement connector.
 
If you can't get zip ties to go between the wires there is still another way. It probably requires 4 zip ties. One zip tie goes around the wires above the male plug, essentially creating a ring above that plug. Another zip does the same thing on the female plug. Then the other two zip ties go through those two rings and get cinched down in order to hold the plug together.

You may have to fiddle around with adjusting the diameter of the rings, and you need to keep tension somewhat balanced between the two sides that are holding the plugs together, but for a plug in the middle of wires it should be feasible. It becomes problematic when dealing with a plug that is molded into the body of a sensor or accessory of some form that will not allow a ring to be created on that end.
 
^ This works.
 
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