MusubiMayhem

Hi guys new here, just picked up a 05 LS430 in white and am loving the car. Previous owner stated it needed an 02 sensor in Bank 1 sensor 1 but after inspection I found a black wire pulled out of the wiring harness side of 02 sensor connector.
This plug is super hard to get too but im wondering is it possible to simply shove this wire back into the plastic pin at the back of the connector or do i need to open up the connector remove the pin and reeinsert it? I would love to do this the clean proper way but the work area is super cramped and I have minimal tools.
Is it possible to buy the wiring, harness side of the connector that simply clips into the harness on one end and 02 sensor on the other? or would this need to be spliced in?

DrVlikhell

If the black wire came out bare and without the pin attached, you'll need to fix it properly by removing the old pin and either reattaching the black wire to it, or attaching a new pin to the black wire, and then reinserting the pin into the connector. If you just shove a bare wire into the back of the connector, even if it makes a connection good enough for the O2 sensor to work, it won't work for long. A few good bumps in the road and it'll be falling out again. If the detached black wire was on the O2 sensor side you could cut and splice a new connector onto it or just replace the O2 sensor. But on the car side of things you need to repair it properly. I haven't seen the car side of the wiring harness available for sale, except for with a used engine harness loom on ebay.

My suggestion is to watch several videos on de-pinning/re-pinning connectors and get a cheap set of pick tools, like the little orange ones at Harbor Freight for $2, and then a decent wire cutter with teeth at the end of the nose for crimping in tight spaces. One like the Klein 1010 or Channel Lock 908.

MusubiMayhem

Ok, yes the black wire harness side came out clean without the pin. Looks to be a bugger of a work area. Its so far up and wedged between stuff on bank 1 sensor 1. Im worried I will not have access to the clip to take it apart and attempt a de, and repin.

I Found a wiring harness mentioned in an 02 thread here that was a harness side wiring that had connectors at both ends ( Part Number 90980-10869)
so I thought perhaps you could unclip that section for an easy plug and play solution. I was not aware they had crimpers for tight spaces like that thank you for the heads up I will look into it. If I repin there is no need for crimping the wires correct?

DrVlikhell

When I looked up that part number I find the O2 sensor connector for the vehicle side, but you would still need to cut off all of the wires on your existing connector and crimp them onto the replacement connector. I think I see the part you're talking about with connectors at both ends, but it appears to be just an extension for the O2 sensor connector. It may be a good idea to buy a replacement O2 sensor connector in order to play with it and disassemble it outside of the car to get an idea of how to take apart the one that's on the car. Also the pin inside the original connector may not be salvageable, so you may need a new pin from another connector. If that's the case it may be easier to use a pin taken from a new replacement connector with the wire already attached to it and crimp that onto your existing wire. Or maybe not, I'm just imagining possible scenarios.

Also, there are a lot of weird tools for working in tight spaces. For example there are double jointed, extended reach, straight nose and bent nose pliers that might help. If you search for "extended reach needle nose pliers" on Amazon you'll find lots of weird things that could be useful, some even up to 16 inches long.

MusubiMayhem

Funny you say that I had my eye on a set of 16" needle nose pliers but have never seen the double jointed ones before! Did not realize that was simply an extended 02 sensor clip wiring harness but you have a good point on ordering a backup connector. I see your in Florida, just moved to Miami Beach myself. Anyways Thanks for the insight, Cheers!