Well you were right. It did just take what I'd consider an inordinate amount of force. Luckily nothing broke. Hopefully going back in I'll have the same luck... this definitely will make troubleshooting and cleaning up this electrical system much easier though!

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2010 Mercedes E350 4Matic - 77k miles
1986.5 Nissan D21 V6 4x4 - 276k miles
1987 Mercedes 190D 2.5 Turbo - 3??k miles
1983 Mercedes 300SD turbo parts car
2017 Honda CBR500R - 15k miles
2016 Suzuki GSX S1000 - 9k miles