OK, OK, I get the point. Next time I'll take it outside, or at least "get a room".
Reply to mreid: Yes, I am told by my local MB dealer that this a diagnostic connector that they can use to download information on a car. But in this instance, we are dealing with the device that is usually plugged into that connector. That device is a sender that reads information from a sensor in the engine that indicates when a car's # 1 piston is at Top Dead Center, or TDC. This device reads how many times per minute the sensor has reached TDC, and transmits that information to your tachometer where it is displayed as RPM.
Reply to shoe: It's "where's" :p
Richard has addressed the other weak part of this assembly. The interior IS hollow, and the only support for the connector pins are the three pairs of "clips", or "opposed locking fingers" as Richard calls them. However, there is one other weak area. So, when testing to see if the plate that holds these connector pins is loose, don't push very hard, or you are likely to dislodge one or more of them from the plate that they are fitted into that is held down by the three pairs of "clips", or "opposed locking fingers" (whew!). These connector pins are simply glued into that plate, and not very well. Also, don't bother with the center, as that is just the latex potting compound, and pushing on that won't do you much good.