rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

Has anyone yet tried these colored #74 bulbs off of ebay to use in your instrument clusters? I mean these are the correct bulbs for our 98-99's right? If they work, does anyone have any pictures of 'em?

jdmmax

iTrader: (6)

no they are not the correct bulbs. they are accually smaller. i bought some from pep boys for my cluster. ended up being smaller and does not light up the cluster as well.

rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

is there anywhere where i can find the right ones besides the dealership? i'd love to find some red ones. if not, im just gonna take a red sharpie over it.

jdmmax

iTrader: (6)

well no after market bulb company that i know of makes the right size cluster bulb. i ended up buying replacment bulbs from the dealer i work at.

DAVE Sz

iTrader: (2)

98 MAXIMA uses #74 in the dash. The 5 or 6 to change the color of the gauges. You shouldn't rely on what jdmmax says cause he has a 99.5 and we all know that model is more messed up than any other year. It's the transvestite of the maxima family. I used #74 in my buddy's car and they worked fine.

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

If you're not too scared then just solder some 168 bulbs to the back of the gauge cluster after you dremel it a little so the bulb can fit through the holes. FYI, 168 bulbs are brighter that 194 and only draw a little more voltage. I have done this on my gauges and have had no problems. Check the How-2 section as there is a good TUT on this subject. Good Luck.

rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

I was too thinking about that seeing it on the how-to recently. the pictures it showed were really detailed on how to do it. how hard is it to solder? anything i can practice on before i risk the chance on my cluster?

jdmmax

iTrader: (6)

uhmmmm yeah......... not really 99.5 maxima is still under chassis: A32B in nissan fast program which is used for looking up parts for a nissan. and guess what its not a #74 bulb. plus i never said #74 bulbs did not work. i said they were smaller and were not as bright. by the way just FYI inside the computer it shows that 94-98 production year vehicles used the same bulb. once again its not a #74.

right 99.5 is the variant but not everything is different. nice try though.
when any of the guys on the org come by my work to by parts i am usually the one that helps them.

what you could have said is jdmmax may be a little more **** about using the right parts for his car. BUT a #74 bulb works fine.

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

Well, soldering is very easy. There are some basic rules to follow. Make sure to pre-tin all the wires being soldered and you apply some flux to the surface being soldered to. Pre-tinning the wires is just applying some rosin soldering flux to the wire and then melting some solder to the wire so that it has a thin layer of solder surround it. The flux allows the solder to adhere better to the wire or connecting surface. When you are ready to solder the wire to the surface, dip the soldering iron tip in some tip tinner. Make sure you are applying the soldering iron to the wire so you are heating the wire and not heating the surface with the soldering iron. Apply additional solder to if need and remember no blobs; less is more in this case. It only take a few seconds for the wire to be soldered to the surface when correctly prepped. If you have any old electronic devices you can probably practice on that. All the soldering parts necessary can be purchase from Radio Shack for less than $20. Remeber, All dayers were newbies at one point in time so don't be afraid to try something new. Good Luck!

rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

thanks meanbean for the input. it's so hard to try to put up a post and have someone make an arrogant remark just because you are a newbie. people like yourself make this site a joy to come get information. thanks again!

ryan

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

NP. Happy to help.

DAVE Sz

iTrader: (2)

95-97 year maximas use 194 bulbs for the gauges. I still have 5 or so left from my own car. If you're talking about the bulbs for the warning lights( CEL, oil, air bags) and the center console then thanks for that as everyone was saying they WEREN'T #74. But the 99.5 is really a TRANNY maxima. It has parts from the 5th gen and the 4th gen.

bigleman

iTrader: (4)

The 98 does NOT use 74s. I bought 10 red ones, and they are to small. You can make them work, all you have to do is mess with the clips a little. The red ones look GREAT in my SE. I wouldnt mind if they were brighter, but they work good enough.

rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

Can I see a picture of your dash with the red lights?

sean carter

Does anyone have a pic of their guage cluster with #74 bulbs in it?

rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

meanbean- which bulb do i use? the 164 and 194 bulbs either have a little plastic thing on them and some do not. which one do i use? here's an example of one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2455647495

and here's another:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2455664324

silvermax2k2

iTrader: (1)

your a dumb as*.


no seriously... you are.


amazing you still have not learned your lesson yet.


don't post shi* you don't know about.


"You shouldn't rely on what jdmmax says cause he has a 99.5" stupid statement. the 99.5 max's have the same bulbs as the 98 and 99...

and yes you can use #74, but they suc*.


-Chris

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

I recommend that you only used incandescent bulbs and not LED bulbs to light your guages. LEDs will "spotlight" the guages so you will have dark spots where as the incandescent bulbs will evenly light your guages. Most people choose LED bulbs because they come in many colors where as incandescent bulbs only have a few colors to choose from. Remember, go with 168 bulb size if you can find it in the color you like. Otherwise, just settle on 194 bulb size. As far as the choices that you have listed, the first is a red LED bulb and the second is a hyper-white incandescent bulb. From the selection, I would go with the hyper-white bulb. However, the choice is yours. Have fun.

rwatt1981

iTrader: (2)

thanks for all your help meanbean...you answered all my questions....thanks again!

ryan

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

NP. We're all here to help each other.

Nismo

iTrader: (18)

so my 97 has all 194 bulbs in the dash for everything? how many are back there?

sorry I got confused with all this #74 and 98-99 maxima stuff.