Help, Molex that won't come apart ! DONE :-)

[MartyMart]

Hi, searched but didn't find any "tips" on this.

Repairing my RME 800 which needs a new PSU and it arrives today.

The Molex from PSU board to main board is the large type and just will NOT come apart.

I don't want to damage the main board as this would be out of my scope to then repair !!

What can I do ?

Have tried the "wiggle left/right as I pull, it also doesn't help that one side of the main connector
is right up against a large Cap on the board - no rooms for a decent grip !!  my fingers are raw !

Heat ? Oil ? Butter /  any advice welcome or I am destined to just de-solder all the cables and
leave the Molex as it is :-(

Marty.

 

[zayance]

Did you check if there was some glue on the connector?
That's what manufacture do sometimes, i cut it with a cutter and that's it.
But it's usually something pretty visible so don't know, Molex shouldn't be so
hard to pull out...

 

[grubbyliver]

If there's enough room to get at it they can be gently levered apart with a small, sharp flat blade screwdriver or even a knife.
Personally I've never managed to get the larger molex apart without using tools to force them. It doesn't cause any damage if you're careful.
Ben

 

[MartyMart]

Thanks for the replies,

No glue - though it feels like they are "super glued" together !

Tried the flat blade screw driver etc, it's flexing the main board too much.

Not budging at all .... bloody Molex :-(

M.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Screw driver is the tool that comes to mind.

Is it possible somebody soldered inside the connector? Is it corroded?

Maybe two screw drivers one in each end.

Good luck.

JR

[edit- if risk of damaging PCB, perhaps unsolder header from PCB and replace both. Or work on it off the board.  /edit]

 

[MartyMart]

I managed to get one of the Molex connections apart ( 4 way ) but not the 2 way !
So left that one in place.

Rewired at the board and fitted the new PSU and it all seems to be working HURRAH !!

The new PSU had an extra Molex point for the AC & Ground, on the older one these were
just soldered to the board direct, so I had some 5 amp screw terminal that fitted perfectly over
the pins and I tinned & screwed the AC & ground wires direct
Probably more solid than a Molex anyway !

Super pleased to get this running as it's my main Audio I/O for my system

Cheers,
Marty.

 

[Denyle Guitars]

When I was a kid, racing R/C cars, I used to melt Molex connectors on a weekly basis, until I finally did away with them completely. Apparently, all that current passing through from a rapidly discharging battery generated enough heat to fuse the plastic together. You might've had a similar situation with your psu.