4th Gen LED Dome, Map, Licence, Trunk Conversion Write Up
 

Hey Guys, I've decided to do another maxima write up, I'm looking for someone in either the Toronto or Ottawa areas (in Ontario of course) to do a COMPLETELY FREE LED conversion (installation included) on a 4th gen Maxima.

Whats the catch you ask?? I need to take pictures of your car and the install for a complete write up, so I basically need to borrow your car for an hour or two (you can do all the driving, I don't really care).

Looking to get this done sometime this week and then I'll update the thread with pics and instructions just like I did with my 5th gen.

Post here or PM me if you're interested! =]

EDIT: 6 months later I finally got my hands on a pearl white 1996 Maxima!

For those concerned, I had no BCM (Body Control Module) issues whatsoever, I think that failed BCMs are due to improper installation and failure to follow basic precautions.

The Results:

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/476/96max35.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/9223/96max34.jpg

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/466/96max33.jpg

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/4412/96max32.jpg

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/526/96max31.jpg

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/4856/96max30.jpg

Scroll down to posts #16-18 for the complete writeup!

Sounds good. Someone hump on this.

Sounds good. Someone jump on this.

No, someone hump on this.

Make sure to film it and put it on Youtube.

I think that may violate several of Youtubes policies but I'll see what I can do. :D

On another note, did I mention this was completely free??

I don't understand why do you want to do it - what's in it for you?

And besides why not doing it on the newer versions - 6th or 7th, rather than our version. I have 96 I30 and am pretty happy to just keep it going, rather than doing any dress up modifications on it.
I live in Ottawa by the way.

Well first off this is arguably not only a dress up modification but is actually functional because it really helps you see at night. I already told you that I am getting pictures from the install, I guess its true that it's harder to give something away for free than to sell it.

I will be also looking for a 6th or 7th gen in the near future, I'm trying to take this one step at a time though.

PM me with your number if you're actually interested.

yea u kno u kno

I'm not even going to bother arguing this, this isn't even the purpose of my thread nor did I say anything about dashboard lights. To each his own.

When I post pictures of the install you can decide for yourself if you like them or not.

Now that you mention...uh, the subject of the thread, I've seen a pretty decent installation in dome lights somewhere on this forum. I was using dashboard lights as an example of why I don't think LED conversions end up looking good.

That said, I'm not sure why I posted that in this thread, as it's kind of just not really cool to jump in and **** all over someone's offer. So I'm just gonna go ahead and remove it.

I just did some reading on this thread, which was bumped today: http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...t-working.html, which shows electrical issues on 4th gens after doing the LED upgrade.

So I am thinking I will pass. Again my first priority at this point is to keep the car running and fixing it myself, rather than doing modifications to it.

Thanks for that info, I wasn't aware of this issue, I'm going to look into this a bit more.

Hey guys I just wanted to chime in here since I've done the LED swap-out in my 4th gen (edit: my year is 1999).

I purchased the LED's from Tyutyunnik and they came in a nicely padded envelope with everything wired up correctly (all connectors pre-fastened to the correct respective LED panel). Moreover, the install was a breeze. For my car (since I have the one with sunroof, or maybe since it's Infiniti - not 100% sure), the front map light is only 1 bulb which I replaced with a 2x3 panel. In the doors as well as the dome light I put in the 3x3 panel. I put one T10 bulb in the trunk light, and I haven't gotten around to doing the license plate lights yet. They all work great; yes, the lights aren't diffused properly because the enclosures were made for traditional bulbs, but the light output is much better and they are exactly what I wanted. I will post pictures when I have a chance, but I've been way too busy as of late to borrow a camera from a friend to take pictures. No BCM problems/etc whatever other electronic glitches yet after over ~1 month of driving.

Lastly, Alex (Tyutyunnik) has been very helpful with the LED's, checking with me if I had received my order and how the install went, if perhaps the T10 bulbs had gave me problems, etc. His initial 5th gen LED writeup was what prompted me to do the upgrade for my 4th gen; whoever is local to him should definitely take him up on the offer, it is a steal.

Thanks Michael, I'm glad to hear they're working well. What year is your I30?

You guys are starting to scare me though with this BCM horror story, I definitely don't wanna be responsible for screwing up someones electrical system just for some led lights.

How many of you with 4th gens have successfully done this mod with no issues?

Does Alex Tyutyunnik have a website? How did you get the lights from him? I purchased some "replacement" LEDs on ebay and it is about 50/50 what you get there. The bulbs are all in working order but the 1156 for the bumper lights will not turn on nor will the map light. I have read that the resistance (or lack of) in the LEDs makes the car think that the regular bulb is burnt and it will not operate. I did not have any problems with the door lights, side markers in bumper, reverse lights, trunk light or license plate lights other than not being as bright as I would have liked. I am waiting on the dome light now.
Anyway, I have plans to run the bumper lights as DRLs (I rewired these lights with the corner lights so the corners are now the blinkers and the bumper lights are now parking lights) with the LEDs installed but I am tired of having to turn on all the other lights and my clock dims. The stumbling block is that I want to use a Cruise Control switch I got at the wrecking yard as the DRL on/off switch but cannot figure out the wiring. I also have the under hood cruise relay. I have searched the forums but no one has repurposed the cruise switch to this point. There is a blank spot next to the dash dimmer to the right of the steering wheel above the key that this switch fits perfectly into. I think it will be very cool once I get it figured out.
Any help, ideas?

Starting off at the front map light. Car is equipped with a sunroof so there’s only one in the middle but the non-sunroof models may have 2, can someone confirm this?

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/3639/96max2.jpg

Cover pops off to reveal a small bayonet bulb.

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/9058/96max3.jpg

Replaced with a bayonet adapter.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/5610/96max4.jpg

Bulb goes inside. A 9SMD board should do just fine.

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/8306/96max5.jpg

Test on.

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/4503/96max6.jpg

Cover goes back on.

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/8430/96max7.jpg

Moving onto the doors, stock bulb.

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4562/96max8.jpg

Cover simply pops off like usual, revealing a small 194 bulb.

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/9144/96max9.jpg

Replaced with a T10 adapter for our upgrade.

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/4244/96max10.jpg

Another 9SMD board goes into the door.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5803/96max11.jpg

Cover goes back on, looks much better. Repeat for other door.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/1069/96max12.jpg

Moving onto the middle dome light. Stock yellowish light.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3216/96max13.jpg

Cover pops off as usual, a small festoon bulb is just asking for an upgrade.

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1017/96max14.jpg

Dual bulb festoon adapter in place.

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3927/96max15.jpg

Two 9SMD boards should do the trick.

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/3739/96max16.jpg

Cover goes back on. A major improvement.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2342/96max17.jpg

Moving onto the rear of the vehicle, almost thought that Nissan forgot these bulbs but they’re hidden in the bumper, looks like they’ve never even been touched. Remove 2 screws and one clip in the middle to get to the bracket.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/685/96max18.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7565/96max19.jpg

Some heavy rust left me unable to open up the housing so I could access and replace the bulb. Not to mention the bracket looked like it was about to disintegrate. Time to replace the whole thing.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3314/96max20.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1631/96max21.jpg

Nisan wanted $68 for a new bracket…yeah right. I decided to go ahead and make my own using a piece of wood lying around and two lights I bought from a local parts store for $5 each.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9240/96max22.jpg


The finished product

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9500/96max23.jpg

Securely mounted using the stock holes, looks pretty close to stock if you ask me.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/5421/96max24.jpg

Onto the trunk light, stock.

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/3737/96max25.jpg

Pops open with your hands. Reveals a small 194 bulb.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/3343/96max26.jpg

Replaced with a 5SMD T10 bulb.

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2158/96max27.jpg

Cover goes back on.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2508/96max28.jpg


And that’s pretty much it! Most of my time was spent making the custom bracket to replace the rusted one, otherwise everything else went smooth, no BCM issues at all.

Comments/Questions welcome. :D

where can i source the bulbs, adapters and boards from?

Whoops forgot to add the link!

http://forums.maxima.org/general-max...nk-lights.html

Question. How did you manage to get the map light to work? The map is reverse polarity, and you didnt say anything about that

Good question, I wouldn't exactly call it "reverse polarity" but it definitely can give you trouble with LEDs depending on which kind you get.

In my case, I have two types of bayonet adapters whose polarities are reversed, when the first one didn't work I just used the second one and voila. It really depends on the car and the type of bulbs you're using but its always good to be prepared. :)

I had trouble when I did mine. i ended up flipping the wires on the connectors to make it work. Like this

N>>>>>P
P>>>>>N

Have encountered this on a number 4th gens when using SMD boards


EDIT: also, where did you get those license plate lights at?

Little store we have here called Canadian Tire (not actually little at all):D

They should be available at any sort of auto parts store though, they seem to be very generic lights.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...urn.html%23lpc

The LPC-x-W2 lights are the same size as the stock ones, mine came in the mail today but I need to grab a new bracket for the lights.

Bracket-
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...t-bracket.html

nice!!!

Do those fit in the stock location? Like could I use my stock bracket?

so where did you buy the "dual festoon" adapter?? no where to be found on ebay

That's custom made using two single adapters. :)

just slap a 36smd panel in there and call it a day
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...e/IMG_3118.jpg