Hi All

Just a quick write-up on rear bulb replacement. I only replaced the signal and reverse but you could replace the little lights at the bottom too for full LED effect.

As always be careful and take your time. I am not responsible if you damage anything.

1. Remove the carpet lining. This involves removing several "push pin" things. It's pretty straight forward if you look at it.



2. Remove the wire holder clips from the bolts:



3. Remove the 2 8mm nuts:



Once removed, shift the light out a little from that side

4. Carefully place a dulled (I have one that I rounded from the front for things like this) flat-head screwdriver in a towel or cloth. Wedge that near the clamping points on the light. There are two. The pictures below show the clamping pints from inside so you get an idea of where they are. There was enough space for me to get the screwdriver in and pull back while also pulling the light with my other hand. (Having someone to help pull the light is great too).




These are pins you are trying to loosen out



Here is where they go into the body



My passenger side light came off real easy but the driver side took some more effort. Don't just wedge the screwdriver in one spot and pull. Keep creating a little space then wedge the screwdriver at a higher or lower spot and slowly loosen out the light.



5. Pull the light out and rest it in the empty space



6. Remove and replace the bulbs you want. (no pictures - very straightforward)

7. When replacing the light make sure to slide the guide at the corner of the light on the the pin. Here are pictures for clarification.





Final Product:

I changed my signals to RED LEDs. It's great. Fills the light nicely. Here are some bad cell phone pics. I will try to get better pics up soon. The reverse lights are bright as heck.

Signal Only


Lights and Signals


Reverse
See post 25

Everything on


NEW PICS ADDED POST # 25

Thanks and Enjoy modding!

 

What kind of changes from stock did you notice? Is it brighter, does it change the look, etc... ? Brighter brake lights may not be a good thing, blind the guy behind you might not be the safest decision.

 

Brake lights are still stock LED. I just changed the rear turn signals and reverse bulbs. I went to red led for the signals. I think the red signal fills the light real nice. Definitely a smoother on/off and more light than the stock amber bulb. The reverse are really bright and looking through the rear view camera is much better at night with them.

Main reason for the write-up was because a lot people mentioned having issues removing the tail lights.

 

wish the installed pictures weren't so blurry....

 

I will take the regular camera and get pics tomorrow hopefully.

 

hey where did u get the red led turn signals? i was looking for them and couldnt find them

 

Thx dude....waited a long time for this. What u think about the relay flasher for hyper flashing?

 

Got them from autolumination. The second one down.

No problem. I used load resistors when I did the front (here) so I didn't have to worry for the rear. If you want to do front and rear led replacement get the 3 ohm resistor like I did. If you are just doing one or the other you can get the 6 ohm.

 

"I changed my signals to RED LEDs. It's great. Fills the light nicely. Here are some bad cell phone pics. I will try to get better pics up soon. The reverse lights are bright as heck."

What bulbs did you use for the reverse lights and where did you get them? Been looking but not finding anything that looks 100% correct.

Thanks!

 

I got these http://autolumination.com/906.htm - first one on the page.
However another member posted some that might be brighter:
http://forums.maxima.org/7712054-post456.html

 

Thanks! Checked that second link but $63? I think $12 will do the job

Last question, I was just doing the rear turns do I need a resistor in line? Just trying to not cut wires if I can avoid it...

 

Yes you will. It's better to just install the 3 ohm in case you decide to add from led signals. This way you won't have to add another resistor. You will not really be cutting any wires. It uses those clips that splice into the wire and can easily be removed when you want.

 

hey gonna order the led's for the turn signals....where do i get the 3 ohm resistors tht u say u need to put in.....do they come with the bulbs?

 

No, you will find them on most automotive LED selling sites. For example:

http://autolumination.com/equalizers.htm

 

Which one did u buy hamzer which is the 3 ohm

 

I got these. It's a good price for the pair and I was already ordering the front signal bulbs.

Another member told me afterwards that "nissanclub" gets a 15% discount.

 

Thanks for the instructions on removing the tail lights. It is much appreciated.

 

I am looking to do all th outside lights in LED also.

hamzer11: I am looking to do all red LED's in the rear even the turn lights.Reverse white of course though.

But,I see on Vleds site and ebay store for the front you can get:White,5K white,6Kwhite.Which matches 6K HID FOG's and LOW beams best?Its hard to tell from the pics.

 

It's always tough to match up lights based on pictures. I got the 5K for mine and I think they match pretty well. It's tough to get a 100%. Even the LED strips next to the fogs are 5K but they don't really match the 5K front parking/signal bulb. And both are from the same company (VLED). You are talking about changing your front turn signal lights, right?

For the rear, I would say go for it. I think red turn signals is the way to go for our cars. They look very nice.

 

Yes,i am talking about changing the 194 and 3157 bulbs up front. The rear ill just use reds.

 

Hamzer which led bulb did u use for the front signal/parking lite?? Was it the switch back bulb??

 

Yes sir, they are the CK type ones from VLED. Check out my other thread for info and a write-up:
http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...ng-subtle.html

 

Thanks

I was cheap about the 194 and I regret it a little now. I had two lying around from the interior LED kit from ebay and put those in. They give off a blueish tinge which I don't like. Not that big a deal because they are way overpowered by the 72 led 3157 bulb. That one I got from VLED at 5K.

 

How do we know this code nissanclub still works?can you enter in on the site at check out or do you need to call it in?Ill place my order today if somebody knows this answer.

***UPDATE*** USE COUPON CODE: QTVZ89 FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS FOR 15% OFF YOUR ORDER

 

As promised, new pictures...







Reverse

 

For the rears did you go with the 7440 (Single Circuit) or the 7443 (Dual Circuit)?

 

7440...and I may add I just did all my exterior LEDs by veld and the quality is great!now the exterior light all match and match very well.I also bought just the reattach turn signals from autolumination,but the rest is now veld.I must have sent 10bulbs back to that eBay maxima 180 kit which keeps failing.

 

Put some pics up. I just ordered some of my exterior lights from VLEDs the others are on Backorder.

 

FYI VLEDs is having a killer sale and offering an additional 15% off stuff is you use the code VLED. Happy lighting everyone.

 

God D@mn those bulbs are a GRIP! Looks great though

 

The only part that made me unhappy was the tiny 194 led in red in the lower part of the tail light.They just dont look any different.They seem a lil more dull if anything.The rest of it is a must have in my eyes.

Oh, and before I forget.I love when people do a full write up with pix.It helps lots of peopel here.I wish I had some time to contribute in write ups.But for now big ups to those who do it.Thank you.

 

PLEASE HELP!! Trying to replace my tail light bulbs. I've got everything off except those stupid clamping points. I just can't get the lights to pop out. What am I supposed to do with the those plastic clamping points sticking out? The tutorial says to wedge the screwdriver in and keep creating space. Those things are not moving. There's no space happening. Am I supposed to pry them up? I'm pulling on the lights and they're not budging. I feel like I'm going to tear apart those clamps. Please give m some support here. Thanks

 

Best way I found to get them off was to get a rubber mallet and pound the living **** out of those bolts that stick out basically pushing the light out from the inside of the trunk. Be careful not to miss and hit some of the metal around the bolt, I hit that little metal piece next to it and had to bend it back into shape...

The first time I took them off I was hammering on the bolts forever going back and forth between them until it started moving out. I seriously thought it was never going to come out but I stuck with it and it eventually came out. Getting it out the 2nd and 3rd time were much easier I only needed to hit the bolts a few times.

 

I didn't think those plastic pieces came out with the lights. Aren't the lights just stuck into them? It's like you have to pop the long metal piece out of them.

 

Looks like this (right side) when they're out - the two holes are where the two metal bolts were sticking through. I took off that wire with the plastic caps on it and obviously removed the nuts from the bolts before trying to rubber mallet them off. Don't worry about trying to push anything else out just work on the metal bolts and the whole thing should slide out backwards as it gets loosened. If it's just not moving, then to help you can follow the instructions above for using something on the outside to help pry from the outside at the same time as you're hammering the bolt.

The metal piece at the bottom is what you want to avoid smashing up like I did...

 

MOD GONE WRONG!! I really messed this one up. The passenger side ended up coming out without a problem. The driver side was giving me some trouble. I changed screwdriver sizes and was really being careful not to put too much force into it, and then pop. I'm so freaking pissed. And I nicked up the paint a bit too.

Anyone know where I can pick up an oem tail light assembly cheap?

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6464112...in/photostream

 

yeah man that happened to me too...thats why i ended up going the mallet route and recommended that way as well...i just glued the piece back on with superglue and wetsanded the spot lightly and it didnt look too bad, nobody ever notices it until i point it out. that sucks though bro

fyi the tails arent cheap they're a few hundred...

 

Just wanted to say thanks and recommend a sticky for 7th gen tail removal. I decided NOT to pry on the outside with a screwdrive and went mallet route. It really wasn't hard at all. Driver side took a little more effort but still not much. I might add that I also tapped on the two studs that the 8mm bolts came off of. When I did that, it really made it easy for the two pins to come out. I'm trying to decide best place to put the resistors now.

Anyway, THANKS guys!!
TK

 

So I need a new taillight cus I broke the edge of mine trying to take it off. Can't find any used ones that aren't broke.