This should be a no brainer

[bruisedFingers]

I have a 2000 Mercury Villager. It has a tranverse V6 engine.

I need to replace the starter. It should be a no brainer. BUT:

There is a connection to the solenoid that is not part of the main
battery current connection.

This connection has a connector that is designed like a Chinese
puzzle that I have not figured out. In order to get the starter out
of the car this connection has to be disconnected. I want to do
that without damage to the wire harness. I could cut it out and
instal an after market electrical spade connector. BUT I am concerned
about why the connector is such an f'ing problem to separate.
Does it contain a resistor or some other necessary electrial component?

I am retired and I have done my own auto repairs most of my life.
I do not think that I should have to spend in excess of several hundred
dollars for a mechanic to do this. The starter costs enough by itself.

Thank you for time and attention

 

[Avocet]

I have a 2000 Mercury Villager. It has a tranverse V6 engine.

I need to replace the starter. It should be a no brainer. BUT:

There is a connection to the solenoid that is not part of the main
battery current connection.

This connection has a connector that is designed like a Chinese
puzzle that I have not figured out. In order to get the starter out
of the car this connection has to be disconnected. I want to do
that without damage to the wire harness. I could cut it out and
instal an after market electrical spade connector. BUT I am concerned
about why the connector is such an f'ing problem to separate.
Does it contain a resistor or some other necessary electrial component?

I am retired and I have done my own auto repairs most of my life.
I do not think that I should have to spend in excess of several hundred
dollars for a mechanic to do this. The starter costs enough by itself.

Thank you for time and attention

Are you able to post up a picture of the offending connector? Generally, there is always a way to release these connectors, but every connector manufacturer seems to have a slightly different way of managing the release mechanism. Some you squeeze, some you pull a trigger, others you push the trigger... it's absolutely infuriating when you see someone on a YouTube video doing it in about half a second!

 

[bruisedFingers]

I have included an image of the connector. I have clipped the electrical wire that was connected to the starter.
The part that appears to separate from the connector is the visible part with the red and white wire entering it.
It looks ragged because I have been trying to get it appart with pliers. There was a plastic harness over the
visible end of the connector. That is what is some what torn up.
On top of this the body of the connector was attached to a metal braket. That has a clip that protrudes inside
a slot in the connector. I broke of the bracket trying to get the connector separated from it. I have seen a lot of
these connectors. This is by far the most difficult to figure out.

 

[Burnerman]

For sure, these things can be a right pain - sometimes things are more difficult due to corrosion ingress or electrical overheating.
Still, it's not the end of the world, I'd try looking for a similar connector elsewhere on the vehicle which is possibly easier to investigate or slide a thin blade screwdriver between the top of the lighter grey socket and the black plug.
There's every chance the electrical connection won't be compromised but you can always solder a bullet connector on in place of the original.
Good luck with it!
John

 

[Belle427]

Looks well mullered now!
Usually there will be a release tab to press to enable it to be parted, a small screwdriver may be needed now to act as a lever to release it if that tab is broken. May be easier to cut it off and properly crimp some connectors on there.
Id have cut it off within seconds probably

 

[Avocet]

I have included an image of the connector. I have clipped the electrical wire that was connected to the starter.
The part that appears to separate from the connector is the visible part with the red and white wire entering it.
It looks ragged because I have been trying to get it appart with pliers. There was a plastic harness over the
visible end of the connector. That is what is some what torn up.
On top of this the body of the connector was attached to a metal braket. That has a clip that protrudes inside
a slot in the connector. I broke of the bracket trying to get the connector separated from it. I have seen a lot of
these connectors. This is by far the most difficult to figure out.

View attachment 346334

It does look like the black tab at the top, needs to be squeezed slightly down towards the wire. Sometimes I find that you need to push the two halves of the connector further INTO each other, ever so slightly, to take the pressure off the plastic barb that's preventing them from coming apart, and THEN press the tongue down and pull at the same time.

Does this look like it's the same animal? I so, you can see the locking barb that needs to be pressed down.

Starter solenoid pigtail connector harness for 93-02 Mercury Villager 6 cyl | eBay

(both 3.0L AND 3.3L motors). This is the single lead (male) pigtail harness that plugs into the starter solenoid. The newly crimped ends should not give any slack at all. If the wire(s) begin to pull out away from the butt connector, cut the butt connector off and repeat the process with a new...

www.ebay.com

 

[carmanmemoranda]

If it won't pull apart.

Very very carefully cut/split the outer casing and peel it back, open.