In uk.d-i-y The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Same experience with the Freelander. In the end I realised that the
connector was only there to facilitate assembly, so cut it off and
soldered the wires in place.

I forgot to mention the pitch is roughly 3.6mm... but you might be right.
Since I have control over both ends, I have the option of replacing the lot.
Looks like some high-end D connectors would fit in the space (31mmx17mm) and
carry the current (eg ITW McMurdo DE9P - 500 mate cycles, 6.5A per pin, gold
plated). Leaves some extra pins to play with too...

Theo