IR port cable insert to HDD cable bent - intermittent "?" Folder?

Dear all,

I have a MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2009. I have inserted a OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD 240 GB in the main drive bay. This only works now since I replaced the HDD cable with a replacement. (I used an earlier drive - same model - in the optical bay previously but it failed and I got this new replacement SSD drive). When I changed the HDD cable over, it was quite hard to insert the IR sensor cable into the plug of the HDD cable. The IR sensor cable may be bent and perhaps the contacts broken. As far as I can see I have not damaged the newly inserted HDD cable, and the SSD has barely been used. System works fine most of the time, but unfortunately I get the "blinking ? folder" symptom from time to time. Does this have anything todo with a short in the IR cable latch or is the cause more likely something else? Kind regards, Paul