9004 lights to 9007 conversion write up and pics

[endus]

Originally Posted by 2DaMax

Whooaa!!! You had to use a dremel???? The knubs on mine came right off with a sharp buck knife. No debri or saw dust in the headlight housing. Done in less than 30 seconds.

I actually did try to cut it, but didn't have much luck. I would have rather done it that way but...oh well. Did you manage to get them pretty flush? I found I had to really flatten them out completely. Dremel was like butter though. Compressor got out pretty much all the debris...

[jdm71488]

i also used a dremel... but after i shaved one nub, i hooked a vacuum up to it to get most of the debris out.

[DR-Max]

Yea mine sits really flush. It went in really snug though so the bulb made a good seal as well.

Originally Posted by endus

I actually did try to cut it, but didn't have much luck. I would have rather done it that way but...oh well. Did you manage to get them pretty flush? I found I had to really flatten them out completely. Dremel was like butter though. Compressor got out pretty much all the debris...

[GKET36]

excellent mod. I do a lot of night hwy driving and it's awesome with the xtravisions once u get the aim correct. I also used a dremel adding 2 new grooves on the bulb.

[Loe max]

I did a variation of this..I turned the bulb so that the 5 oclock nub is facing straight up and held in place by the 12 oclock stub in the headlight housing. This in turn makes your highbeam filament lower than your low-beam filament, so I tapped and switched the wires for the highbeam and lowbeams and now I have a 65watt 'low-beam' with a 55watt 'high-beam'

[Oblongshapes]

Ok, Ive read this a couple of times and correct me if I am wrong...

(I have a 96, I bought 97 Smoked Headlights, the new ones from custommaxima, and I want to do this, without buying a harness)

Do I just switch the Low Beam/ and ground wires that go directly into the connector/harness of the light bulb? And does the 9007 bulbs bottom fit right into the 9004 connector/harness.

Is this picture what im supposed to do




then after this just cut off the 2 bottom nubs and Im good to go?>?

[Loe max]

yes that is correct.

[BlackCat]

Originally Posted by jdm71488

i also used a dremel... but after i shaved one nub, i hooked a vacuum up to it to get most of the debris out.

I dremelled the light bulb (yellow area) rather than the nubs on the housing. You'll never know when you're going to switch back to 9004's.

[95BLKMAX]

Originally Posted by BlackCat

I dremelled the light bulb (yellow area) rather than the nubs on the housing. You'll never know when you're going to switch back to 9004's.

Last week I did the conversion, and honestly after seeing the benefits of the 9007s over the stock 9004s, y in the world ould anyone want to go back to 9004s? Especially after having switched the wires around, why go through the trouble of rewiring back to 9004s?

I just filed off the nubs on the housings. I thought it would be much easier and faster than dremeling the bulbs and risking slipping my elbow on the bench and hitting the bulb with the dremel, lol. Also, when these bulbs go out, I won't have to dremel the bulbs everytime i have to change them. I'd just slip em right in, connect the harness, and done.

[Guttermouf5150]

i did this, and it looks good. i did have to aim them down though.
and then, of course(something had to happen), the plastic tip on the adjuster, the part you put the socket on, came off of the screw, and the splines are totally gone on it(the plastic piece, not the screw). i called the dealership, and they said they didnt show it. anyone know where i can get one?

[aznxjz]

I'm very sorry to be asking this, but I'm in the middle of converting from 9004 to 9007 and I have no idea what I'm doing. I read all 6 pages of this post, but there is an assumption that I know something about wiring a car..and I don't... So please can someone help me?

I bought the ntbk 9007 upgrade harness from ebay. On in there are two plugs which fit the 9007 bulbs that were included with the harness (there is a black wire, ground, which is just sticking out of it. Where am I suppose to connect that to?). There is also another blue plug that I'm assuming plugs into the existing headlight harness. There are white, black, and red wires. I'm assuming that black is ground. Now I'm not sure which one (white or red) is high and which is low. There is also two smaller plugs left over which fit the "12V relays" which came with the package. I connected them and I assume that is correct. Finally, there is a plug with 2 red wires running into it. it is plugged into another connector which has two black wires on it. I have no idea what to do with that one.

The description kind of sucks, but I'm in the middle of doing this and it's about to get dark. If someone could help me out i would REALLY REALLY appreciate it. My AIM SN is bondsno25 and phone number is 9144664402

I really hate to be a dumbass, but I am completely clueless

Thanks,

Jacob

[95BLKMAX]

Originally Posted by BlackCat

I'm thinking ahead to the time when I'll sell the Max.

I thought of that too. My solution: when you sell the car, let the buyer know what you did, why you did it, and how you did it. If the buyer is an old concervative person, chances are they won't like the idea. Oh well. When time comes around for me to sell it, if I don't sell it to one of my friends or fellow Maxima fan, I'd just give it to the wifey. I do all the maintenance on it anyways, and its my 1st car, so just selling it to a stranger would be vey tough for me.

[aznxjz]

Thanks for the help Vlad. I got the lights set up. I think my problem yesterday was that one of the bulbs had the low beams blown out. and that was the one i was using to test my wiring. SO right now I have one bulb on one bulb off in low beam, and both are on in high. I'm about to head down to autozone to get another pair ....one question though...when I turn my lights on and off, they make a loud "CLICK" noise...not sure if that's normal...

Thanks

[DR-Max]

This is purely a what-if situation:

Let's say you're driving at night. It's going to be a long drive and one of your headlights goes out. You find an autoparts store to get a new bulb(s) but then you can't put it in your headlight because you have to dremel a piece off the socket. Unless you carry your dremel with you and its cordless, your pretty much screwed! You can prepare for the unexpected and have spare dremelled bulbs in your glovebox ready for swapping. It's not when one would switch back to 9004's, its when your bulb decides to go out on you. Just my 02 cent.

Originally Posted by BlackCat

I dremelled the light bulb (yellow area) rather than the nubs on the housing. You'll never know when you're going to switch back to 9004's.

[meanbean]

Originally Posted by aznxjz

they make a loud "CLICK" noise...not sure if that's normal

This is normal so there is nothing to worry about. Be sure to reaim your lights to avoid being highbeamed all the time.

[aznxjz]

TWO questions.
- The bulbs ntbk includes are 100W/80W. I went to autozone and the silverstars there were 65W/55W. Does this necessarily mean that the 100W ones are better? I emailed him to see if he would send me a replacement, but if he doesn't, is there a 9007 headlight set that you guys recommend? (i'm probably gonna have to get 2 b/c I don't want them to be uneven)

- I can smell something slightly burning when I get close to the relays that are included in the kit (12V). is this normal?

Jacob

[meanbean]

Higher wattage bulbs don't necessarily mean better light output. I would go ahead and try the Sivlerstars and see if you like them. You can always return them if you don't like them. As for the burning smell, can't really say since I haven't notice any such thing when I installed my harness. Make sure that you don't have any exposed electrical connections near those relays. You can them test the harness by leaving on your lights for awhile to see if the problem persists.

[DR-Max]

When I did this swap, I should have tried the Sylvania Xtravisions first. It's been mentioned that they are 20% brighter than stock and I would assume they are not hyper white or bluish or anything like that. Its just the normal halogen color but brighter. I currently have the Nokya Arctic White StageII (100/120watts I believe) and as soon as these bulbs burn out I'm going to try the Sylvania Xtravisions next before spending more cash on white/bluish overwattage bulbs. Although you can see more bluish/white beams on the road with the Nokyas, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can see everything that the beams hit. Objects ahead sometimes tend to be harder to see with such lighting unless you have real HID's. For the price of the Sylvania Xtravisions, you can't go wrong and if you don't like that stock halogen look, you can always get another bulbs. BTW, its been 4 months since the conversion and no problems yet...I wish these Nokya's would burn out soon.

[DAVE Sz]

I have a problem with this. I sanyone elses passanger bulb aimed straight ahead and not on the ground? My driver's one is OK and I know the passanger one is used to light up the road signs but damn. It kinda looks weird with only one light on the road and the other who knows where.

[DR-Max]

Being that the headlights are intended for the 9004's, you'd definitely have beam issues when you go with 9007. That's when you do a lot of the aiming work. I found out that both headlights aim differently eventhough I've adjusted both sides exactly the same. Remember, the reflectors inside the stock headlights are made for the 9004 beam pattern. Even HID folks have had to adjust big time after converting over.

Originally Posted by DAVE Sz

I have a problem with this. I sanyone elses passanger bulb aimed straight ahead and not on the ground? My driver's one is OK and I know the passanger one is used to light up the road signs but damn. It kinda looks weird with only one light on the road and the other who knows where.

[DR-Max]

If you have a digital camera, take a picture of how the bulb/socket is situated behind the headlight assembly. Otherwise, its very hard to describe everything in words. But I'll try to help.

Originally Posted by DAVE Sz

But I can't get the pattern on the road at all. I've been adjusting like crazy and nothing.

[BlackCat]

Originally Posted by DAVE Sz

But I can't get the pattern on the road at all. I've been adjusting like crazy and nothing.

You're probably turning the knob for the horizontal adjustment rather than the one for the vertical adjustment.

[DAVE Sz]

I've tried adjusting both of the nubs. The sockets are situated just like the stock ones, the clips on top. I couldn't get the passenger one to line up at all so I just adjusted it so that it's flush with the bumper and grille.

[JSutter]

sometimes you cant aim them far enough. My driver's side headlight is pressed tightly against the rubber on the bumper. You may not be able to aim them far enough down.

[aznxjz]

I just bought 2 silverstars (9007) from autozone and replaced one of the bulbs that was included with the kit from ntbk. From the looks of it, the ntbk bulbs were brighter than the silverstars when looking at them from head on. It was during the day though, so I'll see how they look at night and when I reaim them both.

Jacob

[DR-Max]

Just wanted to share this info I read from this website:

"Other companies produce halogen bulbs that are gas-filled. They still have a filament as they are halogen technology, but the gas gives the bulb a bluer color when lit. Xenon-filled halogen bulbs produce little or no more light output then standard halogen bulbs of the same wattage."

No wonder eventhough these colored/tinted/xenon gas-filled bulbs appear brighter from head on, they still don't illuminate that much better than regular halogen. So rating or comparing such bulbs by color temperature is totally useless. It doesn't truely say how bright they illuminate to help you see better at night. If anything, the blue tint can worsen the ability to see at night, even in the rain. In addition, its pretty much self-defeating to upgrade the harnesses for brighter headlight output if you end up throwing in these blue-tinted bulbs. The tinting actually blocks out the good light. It's like one step forward, two steps back kind of thing. No more xenon immitations for me, I'm just getting higher wattage halogens that my harness can handle.

Originally Posted by aznxjz

I just bought 2 silverstars (9007) from autozone and replaced one of the bulbs that was included with the kit from ntbk. From the looks of it, the ntbk bulbs were brighter than the silverstars when looking at them from head on. It was during the day though, so I'll see how they look at night and when I reaim them both.

Jacob

[jif718]

Closeup of the 9007 bulb, might be of a help to someone.

[DAVE Sz]

So yeah, can't adjust them at all. No matter how much I turn the knobs it barely moves. When I put the car 10 ft from a garage and turn on the lights, the driver's one is fine but the passanger one is 4ft higher. WTF? No one else had this problem?

[DR-Max]

The passenger side headlamp assembly might be the problem. You just never noticed it before the 9007 upgrade because you never had to reaim the headlights that much due to the beam pattern. You might want to start looking at a wrecking yard for a replacement.

Originally Posted by DAVE Sz

So yeah, can't adjust them at all. No matter how much I turn the knobs it barely moves. When I put the car 10 ft from a garage and turn on the lights, the driver's one is fine but the passanger one is 4ft higher. WTF? No one else had this problem?

[jif718]

for the ntbk kit, where do i place the 30A fuses?

[jif718]

[IMG][/IMG]

This is my understanding of the mod without harness upgrade... correct me if I'm wrong and dont tease the paint skills

[Loe max]

Yep, thats the way to do it. And if you want a 65watt low beam, you just position the bulb inside your headlight so that either the 5 or 7 oclock nub on the bulb is matching up to the 12 oclock nub on the headlamp and rewire the HB and LB in the second picture so you don't have to have your turn signel stalk in the foward "HB" position. This position gives a sharp horizontal cutoff similar to a european car, well at least on the 3rd generation, but you 4th gens can give it a try also to see if you get these results:




The beam pattern is bright white, with sharp cutoffs everywhere. The light is also aimed closer to the car, so it'll reach the area where foglights should be while also throwing light a similar distance to stock. If you position it so that the 7 oclock is at the 12 oclock, the beam is higher vs. using the 5 oclock position but strangely, the 5 oclock position doesn't glare as much

[99maxk2]

I have a couple questions, so please bare with me.. (i read all the pages on this thread)

- If I just switch the wires on the stock harness, what wattage bulbs do i have to use?

- If I just switch the wires on the stock harness, do I run a risk of melting my harness??

- What is the benefit of upgrading a harness? Does it only allow you to run higher wattage bulbs, which means more light output?

[DR-Max]

Replies are in BOLD.

I have a couple questions, so please bare with me.. (i read all the pages on this thread)

- If I just switch the wires on the stock harness, what wattage bulbs do i have to use? You have to stick to the bulbs with the same wattage.

- If I just switch the wires on the stock harness, do I run a risk of melting my harness?? Yes, if you use bulbs that are higher (over) wattage, you will melt your harness/wires sooner or later.

- What is the benefit of upgrading a harness? Allows for the use of over-wattage bulbs (brighter output).

- Does it only allow you to run higher wattage bulbs, which means more light output? Yes.

[DAVE Sz]

Originally Posted by 2DaMax

The passenger side headlamp assembly might be the problem. You just never noticed it before the 9007 upgrade because you never had to reaim the headlights that much due to the beam pattern. You might want to start looking at a wrecking yard for a replacement.

I really doubt it. The lights were fine before the switch and I can still see the assembly move as I adjust it. What would happen if I clipped the remaining nub in the headlight and only use the circle clip to hold the bulb in?

[Loe max]

Originally Posted by 99maxk2

so if I keep the stock harness, what wattage am I allowed to run?

and... what is the wattage for an "overwattage" bulb?

Standard 9007 bulb's Over watt bulbs are over the watt's of a standard 9007 bulb. I'll let you read and look up by reading the first page in the thread what wattage they are.

[Loe max]

Originally Posted by DAVE Sz

I really doubt it. The lights were fine before the switch and I can still see the assembly move as I adjust it. What would happen if I clipped the remaining nub in the headlight and only use the circle clip to hold the bulb in?

I would think that the light bulb over time will move because of structural vibrations and resonance when the car is turned on or in motion.

[wylie-c]

I've been running 9007's in my 2nd gen for close to a year now. All my nibs are now gone, but the bulbs stay put where I set them. I kind of prefer it without any nubs, If a bulb blows I simply rotate them 180 degrees then my high beams become low beams untill I pick up a replacement. I'm also using Eurolite Fusion bulbs and I am very happy with the output and color.

[Loe max]

Originally Posted by wylie-c

I've been running 9007's in my 2nd gen for close to a year now. All my nibs are now gone, but the bulbs stay put where I set them. I kind of prefer it without any nubs, If a bulb blows I simply rotate them 180 degrees then my high beams become low beams untill I pick up a replacement. I'm also using Eurolite Fusion bulbs and I am very happy with the output and color.

Awesome, I'm going to shave off my top nub now so that I can place the bulb in any position to see which gives off the best light

[Loe max]

Low will always be in the middle for a 9004, and ground will be black for a 4th generation, Just swap the middle wire with the black wire.