I had to yank a pin out of an ECU connector today so I could add a pin to the ECU connector in my 2G for my flash port (using a blackbox ECU), so I thought I would make a little guide on how to do it. It is a very simple job, but can easily be very aggravating if you don’t know what you’re doing. This article is done with 2G ECU connectors, which is the same exact connectors as an Evo 8. 1G ECU connectors work a little differently, but the process is the same.
Words By AJ Hunsinger // Images By AJ Hunsinger
Being able to remove ECU pins can come in handy for tucking a wiring harness. Anything you delete on your car, AC, emissions, EGR, FIAV, etc. isn’t 100% fully deleted until you depin the wiring and pin from the harness.
The only tool you will need is a pick. You can use anything small enough to fit inside the pin holes. I usually use a mini flathead, but half of the time when I am doing this, I can’t find it. In this tutorial, I am using one of my daughters ear rings. You can use a dental pick, small key ring (flattened out), tiny allen wrench, paper clip, etc.
The first step of the process is to pop open the upper and lower external locking brackets. There are little “ears” on the sides, 4 in total, 2 on each side, one upper and one lower of each side. You need to spread the tabs on the side apart to free up the ears, then pop open the upper and lower locking brackets.
Here is what the ears look like when the locking brackets are open.
Next, you need to insert your pick tool of choice into the front of the connector. Each pin hole has an internal lock that locks the pin into place. You need to insert your pick in between the pin and the lock, then pry the lock up, away from the pin. This frees up the pin and allows you to pull the pin out the back of the connector.
Here are more pictures of the locks.
This is what the pin looks like after it is removed from the connector.
Note that the pick tool you are using only needs to go in 3/4″ or less, as seen from the picture below.
Putting the pin into an empty pin hole is very easy. All you do is push the pin in. Once it’s all the way in, the lock will “click” and the pin will be locked into place.
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