Ian C Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 The coil pack connectors are becoming a weak point as the Supra gets older. Now, one of two things could be happening. Either the plastic case is brittle and self destructs, in which case it's "new connector and pass me the soldering iron" time (see pic 1), OR, you've got a bit of a misfire that can't be explained with new coil packs or plugs, and it only seems to have happened after swapping these aforementioned items about... As the Refurbing your ECU connectors article describes, a lot of plugging and unplugging can result in a marginal connection, and this describes how to tighten up the coil pack connectors so that hopefully your mysterious misfire will go away. All you need is a sturdy flat bladed precision screwdriver and some patience... Carefully unplug the coil pack connector. Pop the two tabs shown in pic 2 and pull out the first part of the housing. Now pop out the white plastic centre by applying outward pressure with the screwdriver as shown in pic 3. At the halfway out point this part will need a bit of a tug to remove it, make sure you pull straight. To get the pin out, there is a tab that you have to push the screwdriver blade into and upwards to detach it from locking the metal pin in place. This is an acquired skill Hold the connector by the wire that is attached to the pin you wish to remove. Pinch the thumbtip and fingertip right up against the housing so that as you grip the wire your fingers are forcing it back and away from the connector housing. This way, as soon as you prise the locking tab out, the pin will pop backwards and can then be removed quite easily (!). See pics 4 and 5 for the tab that you have to poke at. Some will come out easily, some can be a 'mare. Once the pin is out, you'll see how much of a gap there is for the coil pack pin to sit in (pic 6). The coil pack pin is usually rather thinner than this gap which is what can cause your misfire problems. We need to tighten this gap up, so, looking at the pin from the other direction (pic 7) you can see the metal tab that we are going to push down and away a bit, thus bending the internal metal of the pin closer together than it currently is. Inset is an idea of the bit you are aiming at (in blue) and a blue line across it showing the angle of the screwdriver blade to achieve a result. Don't go mad, you can't press too hard anyway it's such a fiddly job, but you should be able to get it like in pic 8. You can see the difference in pic 9 between the original big gap and the nice new narrow gap. Putting it all back together is easy, I promise - everything clicks into place. I recommend doing one wire at a time though so you don't inadvertantly wire your coil packs up the wrong way around! -Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Great post, just what I needed! Does the housing come complete with the white insert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Useful post. Might help with some weird misfires people have that might be wrongly blamed at plug gaps. Mercifully we are also spared from closeups of dirty fingernails:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomer Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Marvelous - I changed my plugs and all the plastic bits had pretty much disintegrated. I have been planning to replace them and this will certainly help. Thanks for taking the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need4Speed Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Bob - yes you get the white inserts. Note: on Toyota's parts system this part number also refers to "condenser". This is an error on their system - the picking slip says "housing" which they are! I recommend doing one wire at a time though so you don't inadvertantly wire your coil packs up the wrong way around! The wires are coloured with blue or white seals - the white one goes next to the connector locking tab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chiefvinso Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 Useful, thanks Ian. One question though, is there a rough guidline on the coil packs life expectancy/mileage? Cheers, Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 I have no data on that. The only thing I can say is that putting a big single on will show up weak coils that were perfectly OK running a less powerful turbo setup, and once they start to misfire they degrade very quickly. -Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Great write-up Ian, gonna give this a go on mine first chance i get. One question though, looking at your pics, the connectors themselves look like they are "held" in place by plastic so that they cannot move around in the Housing. Is this right, because my first 2 (unsure of the rest as was only having probs with the first 2) there is no such plastic, the connectors are just free to move where they want. I will try to take a pic tonight and post it up but may not get back till late, Bloody Ikea shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 The little white plastic bits should be there - I they're usually the first bit to disintegrate though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Hmm i think i may have found my problem then. Seems ill have to buy some new housing clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 94 Supra TT Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Just done this to a Supra, it made a huge improvement in the car's spark and general running note at idle - much much smoother, and for a total spend of less than £35 for 6 new coilpack connectors it is must do job if your connectors are past their best!! If you follow Ian's instructions you'll be surprised how easy it is to do... I found that upon removal that in most of the connectors the white plastic centres were breaking up and that also the rear of the grey plastic casing was very brittle... I replaced all the plastic casings and white centres as per Ian's instructions. However I found the easiest way to remove the metal pins was simply to "pinch" the wire(s) at the rear of the connector and they would simply pull out as the plastic was brittle enough for them to come out quite easily. If the pins don't come out after a gentle pull do not force them and revert to Ian's method, as some casings will be in better condition than others. If after you have removed the first part of the housing and the white plastic centres you get really stuck in removing the pins another method that worked for me was to use a pair of pliars to gently "crack" open the remainder of the casing/housing, (as it is to be replaced with a new one anyway), this way ensures that you do not pull the actual wiring away from the two metal pins... the pins then simply "click" back into the new casing very easily... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob wild Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Just a quick question when you buy the above connector does it come with new white and black retaining piece's inside? or are they separate if so does anyone know the part no. ? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 woohoo I've done something before Rob... The connectors come with all the plastic bits (white and black). I'l try and find the part numbers for you Rob. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob wild Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 woohoo I've done something before Rob... The connectors come with all the plastic bits (white and black). I'l try and find the part numbers for you Rob. Mike cheers Mike although you and wires worry me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 these aren't wires - they're little pieces of plastic - I believe the part number is 90980-11246 from this thread edit: and this picture in Ian's first post doh Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob wild Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 these aren't wires - they're little pieces of plastic - I believe the part number is 90980-11246 from this thread Mike Cheers Mike Will get them order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevansio Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Just followed these & took me 5 mins to do the lot, great write up Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADD Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Just followed these & took me 5 mins to do the lot, great write up Ian same here dude, the old ones fell to pieces!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markssupra Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Good write up Ian, made the job easier with the pics. Didn't take long at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekymonkey Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Would just like to say I've done this today and it was really easy to do - especially if you are replacing the connectors and use the "nut cracker" method of removing the originals! My connecters were so brittle just light pressure with pliers to the whole body caused them to disintegrate around the wires. Easy peasy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony1 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 On the connectors where the wires actually go into the plug, there is a little number 1 and 2. Does is matter which way round you put the wires in? (I mean can the red wire go in either 1 or 2)? Thanks Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy442 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 The wire nearest the catch or clip if you like is the 12v, the other one is the earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony1 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Thanks Swampy442. That has confirmed what I did not want to hear. I have plugged the cables in the wrong holes on one of the connectors. Now I cannot get them back out to swap them round. Looks like I need to take a trip to Toyota in the van and get 1 more connector because I can guarantee I will break it trying to get the cables out. Lol Thanks Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoke_U Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 The coil pack connectors are becoming a weak point as the Supra gets older. Now, one of two things could be happening. Either the plastic case is brittle and self destructs, in which case it's "new connector and pass me the soldering iron" time (see pic 1), OR, you've got a bit of a misfire that can't be explained with new coil packs or plugs, and it only seems to have happened after swapping these aforementioned items about... As the Refurbing your ECU connectors article describes, a lot of plugging and unplugging can result in a marginal connection, and this describes how to tighten up the coil pack connectors so that hopefully your mysterious misfire will go away. All you need is a sturdy flat bladed precision screwdriver and some patience... Carefully unplug the coil pack connector. Pop the two tabs shown in pic 2 and pull out the first part of the housing. Now pop out the white plastic centre by applying outward pressure with the screwdriver as shown in pic 3. At the halfway out point this part will need a bit of a tug to remove it, make sure you pull straight. To get the pin out, there is a tab that you have to push the screwdriver blade into and upwards to detach it from locking the metal pin in place. This is an acquired skill Hold the connector by the wire that is attached to the pin you wish to remove. Pinch the thumbtip and fingertip right up against the housing so that as you grip the wire your fingers are forcing it back and away from the connector housing. This way, as soon as you prise the locking tab out, the pin will pop backwards and can then be removed quite easily (!). See pics 4 and 5 for the tab that you have to poke at. Some will come out easily, some can be a 'mare. Once the pin is out, you'll see how much of a gap there is for the coil pack pin to sit in (pic 6). The coil pack pin is usually rather thinner than this gap which is what can cause your misfire problems. We need to tighten this gap up, so, looking at the pin from the other direction (pic 7) you can see the metal tab that we are going to push down and away a bit, thus bending the internal metal of the pin closer together than it currently is. Inset is an idea of the bit you are aiming at (in blue) and a blue line across it showing the angle of the screwdriver blade to achieve a result. Don't go mad, you can't press too hard anyway it's such a fiddly job, but you should be able to get it like in pic 8. You can see the difference in pic 9 between the original big gap and the nice new narrow gap. Putting it all back together is easy, I promise - everything clicks into place. I recommend doing one wire at a time though so you don't inadvertantly wire your coil packs up the wrong way around! -Ian Hi! what other parts can go brittle with age?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackso11 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 anything plastic, and rubber. Most rubber bits seem to become plastic with age, hoses turn really hard and breakable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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