Technical How do I unplug this?

[MultiPa]

My 2001 bug failed it's MOT today on one poxy item - a non functioning horn!

It was working this morning - it seems to have a loose connection at the fuse box. The mauve wire going in to the brown connector on the left of the image is the live for the horn, and it used to be the case that if you wiggled it, the horn worked. Can I get it to do that now? No

I've tried to unplug it so I can clean the contacts and check the wire is sitting properly, but I can't get it out - I'm not even sure if just the brown bit comes out, or the brown bit and the white bit, to be honest.

Any tips on how to unplug it much appreciated. The whole car is laid up for this one connection issue.

Also, if anyone knows what those other wires do I'd love to know - my front interior lights don't work, so if that's the wires for it I may have solved a few problems.

Cheers.

 

[Zundapp]

On my last Multi, I had an additional (rather loud) horn wired separately to a push button on the right-hand side of the dash.

If nothing else it would solve your MoT problem...

 

[MultiPa]

I did think about that but electrics aren't my forté.

I guess if I cut the masuve wire and connectd it via a switch to another live (from the cigar lighter or something) the horn would work?

 

[SGThirkell]

My 2001 bug failed it's MOT today on one poxy item - a non functioning horn!

It was working this morning - it seems to have a loose connection at the fuse box. The mauve wire going in to the brown connector on the left of the image is the live for the horn, and it used to be the case that if you wiggled it, the horn worked. Can I get it to do that now? No

I've tried to unplug it so I can clean the contacts and check the wire is sitting properly, but I can't get it out - I'm not even sure if just the brown bit comes out, or the brown bit and the white bit, to be honest.

Any tips on how to unplug it much appreciated. The whole car is laid up for this one connection issue.
Also, if anyone knows what those other wires do I'd love to know - my front interior lights don't work, so if that's the wires for it I may have solved a few problems.

Cheers.

Hi, most of these type of connectors have a locking mechanism so they can't vibrate loose. You can't just pull them out without unlocking them.
From the picture these look quite difficult but it looks like you need to push the white pieces into the brown body before pulling out the whole brown/white piece, a sort of "pinching" action is needed if you see what I mean.
Hope that works.

 

[MultiPa]

Thanks for your help - I needed the car though, and didn't have the time to look at it myself - or the confidence really; Fiat don't seem to believe in leaving much slack in the cable bundles!

I paid an autoelectrician to fix it in the end - the fault was underneath the fuse box apparently, and he agreed with me that it looks like something has been spilled in to the fuse box at some point.

All working now, MOT certificate issued (with a few advisories).

 

[MultiPa]

Just to reply to my own thread again, in case it helps anyone later:

The car was actually fixed at work (my wife and I work together) and I've just found the relay the auto electrican left with her.

The relay was definitely clicking, but as you can see it's in a bad way. From what I've heard it's beneath the fuse box, but I don't know if it's a fusebox out job, or an up through the footwell job.

Any way - hopefully this will be useful to someone at some point.