Remove headlight wires from fender

[ldj1002]

I am wanting to remove fenders for painting. The front fender wiring to lights won't come through the small hole in the fender. Only option I see is to cut wires and splice back together. Sure hate to mess up that good harness the wires are in. I have thought about cutting a large enough hole then make a patch and pop rivet and silicone back to make to make waterproof.What have some of you done?

OH OH, I just went back out and looked again. What I thought was a connector to parking light looks lite it won't come apart. So that means I would have to cut a piece out including both holes or cut just those wires and splice them back. At least they would be inside and protected.

[Ron Domeck]

The wire ends on the headlight plug can be pulled out of the plug but you need to push the tab on the connector from the headlight side. This takes a very small screw driver. The same for the park lights.

[74 Thing]

Al Caplco hooked me up with one of these tools a while back. I am not sure of the name of them. It looks like a flat blade about the size of a toothpick and you stick it in each wire hole from the backside and there is a tang on the spaded connector that it depresses and then you can pull the wire out of the headlight or ignition or rear taillight wire sockets.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=592067&highlight=headlight

Maybe it is called a terminal release tool.

[ldj1002]