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Hello to all. During my rewiring of my 1950 Packard, I need to get the new wires into to Flasher base. It is a 3 pin unit.I believe there is a way to push the pins out for rewiring but I'm not sure how to unlock them. Does anyone know how?

Dave O

There is a chance the terminals are partially molded into the socket and are non removable to the point trying to remove them will damage the socket and you will need to replace the entire assy. Amazon has universal sockets with pigtail wires which will need to be spliced onto the loom wire if that is the case. You may be able to find an older socket more in line with the original on ebay or some specialty suppliers but the removable terminal fixed purpose sockets are becoming harder to find.

On your socket, if you can grab a wire and wiggle it and also see the terminal wiggle in the hole it MIGHT be a removable type. Release method on those depended on the mfg of the socket but the vast majority of the removables have a ledge molded into the plastic socket at the base of the terminal. A small tab on the back of the terminal needs to be compressed or flattened slightly so it can clear the ledge as the terminal is pulled out. A very thin jewelers type screwdriver or special tool is needed to slide down the special opening to get inside the hole and reach and compress the tab. Take care not to damage the hole or tab by forcing in too large a tool.

Looking at the illustration below, if the hole in the socket is a rectangle with flat surfaces on both sides without the space to insert a thin screwdriver like tool, even though the terminal might wiggle, there is a good chance the terminal was a push in one time only type with some proprietary holding arrangement or has multiple tabs and is not designed to be easily removed. On those, if removable, it typically needs a special thin sleeve like tool that slides down over the terminal to reach any tabs at the same time. Without the tool it may be very difficult if not impossible to compress any tabs without destroying the plastic.

Generally, once flattened the tabs stay flat so to reinstall the terminal the tab will need to be GENTLY bent outward again before inserting the terminal back into the socket. I say gently because sometimes the metal is hardened and very brittle so tab will break off the terminal if bent too much or aggressively.

Here is a photo showing the Amazon univeral socket and another from the 56 manual showing the terminals used on the electric shift plug. The tab seen on the back of that terminal and shape of the hole in the plastic socket is typical of most removable type female terminals.

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There's tools for that. I have big set, Most likely the packard 56 connectors with the tab for 3 prong. Insert the flat tool in to depress the tab as HH shown, then the wire can be pushed/pulled. There's a twist base flasher, but if it's 3 prong blade, it's probably a "Packard"(electric) connector.
Need a special crimper to put those connectors on. It crimps the wire and the insulation. I'm not sure what wiring is in the '50 but my '49 has the old mice food cotton coated rubber.
If you local parts store doesn't carry/can;t order, there's places online, DelCity, etc that sell the connectors, crimpers, etc.

Well I have not had any luck removing the pins. I will just have to buy a new one.

I appreciate your advice, and help.
Dave O

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Those may be what I call "hand grenade" terminals. They push in easy and then hand grenade into locks. You may be able to shine a small beam flashlight into the connector and see what kind of tabs are holding them in place. My guess is there are two tabs at right angles to those contacts. That will require a standard Lisle terminal tool that has two blades that slide between the connector housing to release the tabs. Then they pop right out.

I have dozens of terminal tools and harness makers are constantly changing terminals. There is no standard practice anymore. Thus, dealers sometimes maintain inventories of different terminals at very high cost. My explanation for such chaos is the Vice President For Customer Disatisfaction was working overtime on wiring harness designs.

The best terminal tools for most of the modern junk are ones I made by milling T-pins.

Below is the Lisle 56500 which still handles a number of modern applications.

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Can't you pull out the braided wire fragments one at a time? Like, just pull them out?

Not really; What you see is the wire going in, not down a little farther where it is crimped solid. To reuse unit I need to pull the copper terminals out, open the crimp,clean it out, insert the new wires and re-crimp. The re-insert the pins.

Its really not a big deal to just replace it for $3.60 its just I like to reuse as much as possible.

I have never tried on one of those sockets but on other crimped terminals I have had luck gently drilling out the old copper wire and then sticking a new tinned piece in the drilled hole and soldering it in. Fairly easy with a drill press but no idea if it could be done with a regular handheld drill.