How to easily access under dashboard wiring to get my car working again?

July 25, 2019 9:10 AM

Installing an aftermarket radio in a 2002 Acura 3.5 RL and and the only thing I have left to do is connect it to the parking brake. The wiring I'm working with is in a particularly cramped area under the dash and I was hoping someone with experience in this area might provide some tips on easier access to the necessary parts? More details and photo inside.

I need to splice an additional wire with the two severed ends of the green/red wires seen in this photo. This is a very difficult task given the cramped space under the dash where these wires live. Tech support at the company I bought the radio from stated that there should be some sort of clip/release somewhere on the body of the part that the lower portion of wire (bent downward and to the right) is connected to, but I'm unable to locate it and I can't see the other side of the white plastic piece due to limited space (my iPhone won't fit back there to take a photo of any clarity, either.) Any advice on how to get this thing off for an easy splice? I have tried wiggling and mild tugging on the plastic but am unable to slide it off any further than what's displayed in the photo, and given my inexperience with these parts and the ease with which the metal seems to bend, I'm afraid to do something stupid and cause irreparable damage. Any help you can provide is appreciated.

(Also, I'm aware there are components you can install which bypass the parking brake connection entirely. I actually own one, in fact, however I'm not interested in going down that road for both safety reasons, and practical, as I have already cut the wire.)

posted by Rewind to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

Best answer: The white piece with the blue paint on looks like a spade terminal to me, so should just pull back off that connection. It looks like you have partially pulled the sleeving back against the spade terminal, and I don't see a release clip so, again, you should just be able to pull it back, but it's hard to tell from the picture.

If those two bolts are all that is holding that bracket in, I'd undo them and pull it off so I can see what is what.
posted by Brockles at 9:41 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

Yeah, looks like a standard terminal. You should be able to just grab the plastic piece with pliers and pull the female end out. Go to any hardware store, get another female end (something akin to this), strip your wires, crimp them in and reattach to the male end.
posted by homesickness at 10:37 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks to you both. You were correct - while it didn't exactly slide off a good yank on the thing was enough to get it to release. Ran into a little trouble with the splice due to the cramped quarters and location of the other wires, but it's held together (relatively) tightly with electrical tape now which should hold until I can get a professional mechanic to solder it while addressing some other routine maintenance.
posted by Rewind at 2:41 PM on July 26, 2019