I just got xenon bulbs for my clearance lights on my new 99 gle. of course, i am trying to put them in in the dark, but im having issues. first, theres a screw holding the clearance light to the headlight assemble where the ball joint was on my 96 gxe (that makes two screws, including the one on top). i didnt know that before i pried it out with a flathead and totally stripped the plastic. im assuming theres a way i can get to the head of this screw, but im not seeing it.

second, the light doesnt appear any brighter than the stock. additionally, it doesnt get brighter with signalling, regardless of headlight status. and the amber bulbs in my clear bumpers that i added to day seem really dim.

what am i missing? do 99s have screws rather than joints? am i missing a ground or something? im going to screw with it more tomorrow, but its really ticking me off. thanks!

 

Try reading the sticky how to again. You have to strip off the nub, and insert the bulb in backward, oh yeah, and those bulbs don't have any Xenon ... And on 99's, you wont notice a difference when signaling etc so it really can't be referred to as a clearance light, that's only on 95/6's. What bulb are you using, 1156 or 1157?

Here's the link

http://www.foums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=305426

 

i was just trying to change the bulb, i wasnt trying to do the "make your clearance lights brighter" mod yet. on that page you linked, it says "Look into the gap, near the bottom, find the ball and socket joint holding the light in. " on the left corner light at least, that is a screw! as for the light itself, its a ...i dunno, bulb doesnt say, its an ebay "maxima corner xenon" lol

is that brighter corner light mod a good idea? everytime the thread pops up, people say both ways. 'yeah, its great, no probs' "waah, it cracked my lense" are people just doing it wrong? is there a way to do it where only the brighter filament goes rather than both filaments?

 

I did mine the cheap way by taking an 1157 and clipping off the nub (I don't remember which, if you want to know I can go check.) Put electrical tape around the base to cover the one you clipped off then set it in the socket backwards.. it works because the base is spring loaded, so even though it sits higher then when inserted "correctly" the spring base still comes up.

The original bulb for the clearance light is also an 1157, the way the socket is wired is to power the lower wattage (7w i think?) filament rather then the brighter filament... there is also a way to simply re-wire the socket so it powers the brighter filament rather then then hacking it up also; but personally I don't know how that is done.

The easiest way to get the light out is to pry it open (away from the edge of the headlight) a bit with a flathead screwdriver wrapped in a cloth (probably about 1/4-1/2 inch open) and if you look straight into that hole you should see a slim rectangle going right across the opening and you can see a joint where it meets (the car and the clearance light.) Put your flathead inside this and twist to pop the ball out of the little socket, then the light should easisly pull straight towards the front of the car... it's very easy once you know how, no yanking involved at all.

If you want I will go take a pic of the thing so you can see it, let me know; I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

Ok I got bored and did it anyways, a lot of people still ask this and I've never seen anyone post pictures...

I exaggerated a bit from my recollection of how to do it easily. Make sure you take out the screw inside the engine bay, then you can pry the top away from the headlight ONLY (the bottom is still stuck by this socket.) In this pic it's hard to see but you can make it out slightly where it is, and in the following picture.

When the top is seperated from the headlight if you look down through the crack you can see it.




This is what you want to come apart, put the flathead inbetween and pop out the ball socket.



And wha-la, you're done.

 

It is spelt voila

 

Haven't had french for 5-6 years now ... been writing too much code to remember anything else anymore

 

okay, upon inspection in the daylight, the screw is how the ball part of the ball joint is held into the cornerlight...

sorry..


is there any reason not to do the brighter corner mod? i dont want to break my dmn corners!

 

Do 99's have a different clearance light? I've never heard of any being different before...

What do you mean a screw, what does it go into?

 

well ****. i got it all figured out and i dropped the dmn bulb. so i made the stock ones brighter and put them back in. i guess ill order amber ones this time. anyone know of good 1156 or 1157 ambers that match the bumpers?

thanks

 

I went to autozone and just bought all the same brand 1156 for blinker, 1157 for clearance and (156?) for the side marker so that they would match ... I hated having mismatched ones myself also.

 

sounds like a plan, thanks. on my 96, it was white, blue, and amber, looked kinda dumb. now that i have to buy bulbs again anyway, ill just make the headlight different and match the rest. i wanted to make them all white, but i dont feel like taking care of a ticket some **** cop gave me

my headlights are looking really yellow. i dunno if its the housing or the bulb. im going to do the 9007 conversion first chance i get and try to clean the housing exterior. hopefully thatll make a big difference