ECM Harness Protector Removal Question

[awbazar]

On a 2001 Nissan Altima GXE 2.4L vehicle, the factory service manual frequently indicates that measurements be made from the ECM harness connector to other points. The ECM harness side terminals are accessible only if the harness protector is removed.

Can the harness protector be removed without turning out the screw which appears to back off the ECM connector harness first. Turning the hex screw in the the middle appears to begin disengaging the harness side connector from the ECM side? I am guessing that turning the hex screw all the way out will separate the ECM harness connector from the ECM. Although the instructions do not say it ahead of time, it sounds as if the protector can be removed to make measurements from the wire side of the harness possible but it seems that the entire harness side must first be separated to do so.

The "Trouble Diagnosis" page, EC-98, does not explicitly state it but other documents indicate that the negative battery cable should be removed prior to separation of the ECM harness connector from the ECM with no apparent loss of stored memory.

I need to get access to pin 103 on the ECM harness side connector and would like to remove the harness protector without disconnecting the entire connector but that may not be possible. The way the harness protector is snapped onto the harness side of the ECM connector is not obvious to me and the instructions do not say anything about turning the hex screw out to remove the harness protector which is snapped on by some tricky means.

Any advice on this operation would be helpful since I do not relish the thought of removing and replacing the ECM connector if it is not absolutely necessary with the prospect of pin damage/bent pins/slipped connectors, etc.