JSutter

iTrader: (46)

Ok this is going to be long so here it goes.

I wanted to change my wimpy 9004 bulbs to 9007. At first glance the bulbs look identical, but in fact they are quite different. The 9004 bulb has a wattage rating of 45 watts on low beam and 65 watts on high beam, where as the 9007 bulbs have 55 watts of low beam power and 65 watts of high beam power. Already we know that the extra 10 watts are going to help. Differences don’t end there. The socket looks the same but the wiring is different. For a 9004 bulb the terminals are high, low, and ground. For a 9007 they are high, ground, and low. Also, the bases have different indents for the nubs that stick out inside the headlight housing. The bulb like a key and it only fits into the headlight one way, and like keys they are not interchangeable. The 9004 bulb won’t fit 9007 housing and vice versa. The upper one is the only one in the same location. Now the biggest and most significant difference is the orientation of the filaments. The 9004 bulb uses transverse filaments meaning they are perpendicular to the bulb base. The 9007 bulb uses axial filaments, meaning they are parallel to the bulb base. Plain and simple the beam patter of a 9007 is superior to the 9004. If you haven’t noticed, Nissan doesn’t use 9004 any more. This should mean something. I should also mention that out 9004 housings were not designed for 9007 bulbs. Now this in a way is a bad thing. We are not getting the full potential out of the much-improved 9007, but the improvement is still very noticeable. Also the output is not uncontrollable like a HID conversion kit, which is actually very dangerous. Our housings cannot be aimed properly and because of this HID retrofits produce terrible oncoming glare. 9007 is the next best thing. Now that you know the story lets get modding.

You can do a basic 9007 install using the stock wiring. First swap the low beam and ground wires on both harnesses. Either pull apart the connector to switch the wires or cut the wires and swap them. The low beam wire is green with a yellow tracer for the driver’s side and blue with a black tracer for the passenger’s side. The ground for both sides is black with white dots. Then file down the two lower nubs on the housing where the bulb goes in. Put the 9007 bulb in and plug it in. Aim if needed. That’s it.

For an upgraded harness you could buy one and modify it slightly for the differences between the 9004 and 9007 wires. Or you can also get more involved by making an upgraded headlight harness. There is a great write up to be found at http://www.geocities.com/craigbrace/. I used these directions for my set up. I have a plug and play set up, meaning no cutting or splicing wires. If I want to I can use 9004 bulbs with the stock wiring at any time. What I did was use an old bulb, took it all apart, and soldered the wires directly to the terminals. This is the harness that triggers the relays: high, low, and ground. Pretty simple but it’s not fun taking apart a bulb. To keep the passenger’s side stock harness clean I used another bulb to make a water tight seal. It’s just the plastic base with the end full of hot melt glue sealing up the holes.


You can do this for the cost of new bulbs. The Xtravision are $10 each, pretty good deal if you ask me. You can buy everything you need to make your own from Wal-Mart. They have the 9004-9007 sockets, 12 gauge wire, solder, soldering iron, electrical tape, wire loom, miscellaneous connectors and terminals. I don’t think they have the relays and I know they don’t sell the Xtravisions. I have at least $30 into my harness. If you don’t have a lot of electrical stuff lying around you’re better off buying a ready-made harness. APC sell an upgraded harness for $40 or so.

I drove last night and this morning in the pitch dark. The low beam is much brighter, spreads better, and the cut off is more abrupt. The high beam patter is totally different too. It’s like having high beam and low beam on together. The light is great with visibility much improved. My fog lights are not really needed anymore. I will take beam pattern pictures soon, with a comparison between 9004 and 9007 high and low beam. One huge note is that I’m using 9007 Sylvania Xtravisons that are supposed to be 20% brighter anyway. The color temp is the same as stock but it is much brighter. I do like he color of my 9004 Wagner Truviews but I’m sure they are not as bright as the Xtravisions.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

And the pics


This is the driver's side harnes. It shows my plug and play connector using a regular light bulb base.


This is the passenger's side harness. It shows my cover to keep the OEM socket clean. It's another bulb base.


This is the hole where you insert the bulb into the housing. Notice there is only one nub remaining. The other two have been filed off so the 9007 bulb can fit into the hole.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

Here are some close ups of the two light bulb bases I modified:




Hot melt glue is my friend.

Beam patter comparison:


On the left a 9007 Sylvania Xtravison with the 12 gauge headlight harness.
On the right a 9004 Wagner Truview with stock headlight harness.

EDIT: 1/30/05
Where to plug in a ready made 9007 harness:

Just remember to swap the stock low beam and ground wires when using this.


EDIT: 7/23/05
This is how I made my harness

No modification to the stock wires is needed. I did not use the diode, so at this time I dont recommend it. I may try it though I dont want to over heat anything. I just included it if any one wants even more light.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

the advantage of a new harness is brighter lights and for using over watt bulbs.

God I love these lights. I don't mind the stock color knowing I can see much better. I was driving at about 6:00pm on a cloudy afternoon and I could see the beam patter on the road. I'm telling you these things are sweet.

the harness takes power directly from the battery and sends it to the bulbs all with big heavy duty wiring. This keeps the resistance low for optimal light.....more power equals more light. also the ground wires are connected right to the chassis.

Here are some Beam patter pics.

9007 low beam

9007 high beam

9007 on left 9004 on right (low beam)

This is the beam pattern on the 96 SE with 97+ TYC headlamps. The bulbs are 9004 APC Sim. HID....crapola.


Here is a pic showing the 3 nubs inside the hole where the bulb goes.


aznprid972 I really recommend converting to 9007. 9004 bulbs are so out dated. I also recommend the harness. I had the same harness in the 96 with the 9004 APC bulbs and it made a noticeable difference. Think of the harness as the power wire going to your audio amp. If the wire gauge is too small then the amp will not work to its full capacity, over heat, or sound crappy. The same is true for light bulbs. The stock wiring is thin with much resistance. This makes the light output weak.

Max Noob yes you can just cut and switch the wires, and an upgraded harness is not a necessity just helps get the most out of your light bulbs.

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

This seems like a great mod but I'm worried about the beam pattern. I already got tons of people flashing me when I'm on low. So I just flash 'em back. If you do this is it even harder on other drivers? This comes at good timing for me because my Sylvania Silverstar just burned out. I really like them and might just replace them. Not sure though.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

I just noticed something odd in the pic from above. You can see right through from the back to the glass.



My '98 headlight has that silver cap over the headllight bulb.

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

You will just keep throwing money down the drain with Silverstars every year.
They don't last long, although they do look good.

Jatan

iTrader: (3)

The 95-96 headlights are all glass, but the 97-99 are plastic, but they have that cap thing (I'm guessing to help spread the light better or something). Nothing to worry about

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

The pics that BlackCat is wondering about...the first pic is a 95-96 headlight. I replaced the headlights on my 96 and i test fit the 9007 in these housings. The 2nd pic is the 97-99 TYC headlight with all the nubs. They are the only lights I had in stock form to take a pic of. The 95-96 and 97-99 lights are actually compleatly different. Good eye BlackCat. BTW I still love these lights.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for clearing that up! I thought you had missed a step and had to cut off the lid of that cap with a dremel!

Hmmm...now I'm curious as to what would happen if I had gone and done that?

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

So Silverstars are known for not much longevity? I wasn't aware. They are cheaper than PIAA's though. How long to PIAA's last on average? Is the extra $20 worth the extra time of life? I really like the way the Silverstars look. They are nice and bright without being blue and ricey. IMO, classy white light. Not dingy but not blue. Actually on a white wall there is a tinge of purple toward the top. But not visible when veiwed on the ground or from the front.

OneToughMax

crap! i just bought a pair of silverstars. i wish i would have seen your thread a day sooner. great write-up. i'm putting my silverstars on ebay and putting in 9007's tomorrow!

[edit] i just thought of a question - did you file the "nubs" down, or cut them off with a sharp blade? i would be worried about getting plastic shavings inside the housing. i bet a blade would do the trick [/edit]

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, the longevity of the Silverstars is poor. I like the way the light looks too, but it is not worth $40 every 10-12 months to me to get new ones after one or both blow out. I mean, I can put up with a little more yellow in the light, for like a third of the cost for some regular bulbs.

With the 9007 bulbs, it might just be the output that I need.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

OneToughMax I used a coarse file to remove the nubs. I had the headlights out so I could file and I then blew out the shavings and dust. You could try the blade if you want.

A note on the Silverstars. They are regular wattage, colored glass bulbs. They claim to be brighter...and I know they look very nice. The colored glass actually lowers the light output so Silverstars did something to the filament that makes it brighter. This compensates for the colored glass but also degrades the life of the filament. They actually dont shine brighter then stock....heck they were dimmer than my Wagner Truviews, which are dimmer then stock IMO. I've tried so many colored bulbs and finally got a brain and bought Xtravisions.

Another note: when cool blues came out I shelled out the almost $20 per bulb. I still have them too. I was dissapointed in the color output. When compared to other bulbs the 9004 always had the least amount of blue. I remeber reading Sylvania's Cool Blue booklet at the auto parts store. Every other bulb has better light output with a higher color temperature. In fact my 9004 CB's looked stock next to a Accord with CB's (bulb 9006). 9004 bulbs really pi$$ed me off.......hence the 9007 conversion!!!!!

Oh and I may as well mention it while I'm rambling on. My dad's 96 had APC Simulated HID 9004. I used to think these bulbs were rather bright. Boy was I wrong. I drove it back to back with my car. I swear to the Light Bulb Gods that I couldn't see shiet. He has OEM Sylvania's in there and the light output is still nothing compared to mine. I have side by side pix of the beam patter and it looks as if his lights are not even on.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

I did the conversion last night without taking out the headlights. Since I wasn't using my heavy duty harness due to several disappointing bulbs I swapped the wiring on that instead of the stock wiring.
I used my dremel to shave off the sides of the 9007 bulb instead of shaving those nubs on the headlight housing. What I did was stand up the 9004 bulb next to the 9007 bulb and look at the little slots for the nubs on the sides of the bulb housing. On the 9004 the slots are at the 12 o'clock, 4 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions. On the 9007 the slots are at the 12 o'clock, 5 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions. I marked with a felt pen where the 4 and 7 o'clock positions should be on the 9007 and used the dremel to shave off the excess plastic. I had to shave it twice to make the bulb fit. It was alot easier than pulling out the whole housing and shaving off the two nubs.

Btw my Sylvania Xtravision 9007's cost $15 Cdn apiece. I haven't driven at night yet but looking forward to see how its like.

I didn't take pics but here's a pic I just put together:



Stand up the bulb on a table top.When you look straight down at the bulb the small plastic tab sticking out at the base is the 12 o'clock position.
The yellow shaded area in the pic is the 7 o'clock position while the slot to the left of it is at the 8 o'clock position. The yellow area is where I dremelled the side flat to be the same depth as the nub. I then dremelled on the other side at the 4 o'clock position.

I hope thats as clear as mud!

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

i didnt mod the bulb because well... im sure Ill have to replace the bulbs sooner or later and I dont wanna do it again. But this is a great idea. Nice work.

myke321 i have the 96 headlights. Maybe I can toss them in sometime and share the results. I remeber the 96 lights cast a more narrow beam, but heck my 97-99tyc are more narrow then my 98 stockers. Could just be the aiming. But i know everything else it the exact same.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

Maxima10to1, did you have to reaim your headlights? When I left the underground parking at work I noticed the cutoff was a bit high, high enough to shine in the faces of the drivers coming into the underground lot. When I got home I parked in my garage and marked on my wall 2' away the cutoffs between the 9004's and the 9007's was 3/4" higher for the 9007's.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

I had to lower the lights after installing the 9007.

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

That is not necessarily a bad thing to have to lower them. That just means that you are truly getting more output from the light conversion. If I was not so lazy, I would probably try this.
I will the next time I need lights.
It doesn't seem to hard to do.
Also, I can just do the mod to the lights rather than just the housing. That way, if I don't like it for whatever reason, I can always switch back. Although, I don't know if I ever would switch back from 9007 to 9004....ha ha.

I think that might be a good idea.
They should have a better beam pattern than the retro fit kits that you see now.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

Yep, that's why I went that route with the bulb housing. Too much of a bother to pull out the headlight housing and I can easily switch back to 9004 if I need to.

Man I had to turn those vertical adjustment ***** alot last night. Not sure about the lights now as the cutoff didn't seem to change on my garage wall but the headlights are sure bulging forward than they ever were before.

These are Sylvania Xtravision 9007 halogen bulbs. I certainly notice the increased brightness when I drive down into the underground parking lot.

I'll be out tonight so I'll see what its like at night, unless the sun hasn't completely set.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

hacim105 The 9004 that were in my max were fine, but my dads 9004 are junk. The night I took the pics I tried every 9004 bulb i had and the brightest ones were stock Sylvanias. I dont know how he sees at night, or how i used to drive it. My lights next to his...its a night and day difference.

I drove my moms Voyager last night. It has 9007s and the beam pattern is terrible. I couldnt see crap. Weird huh? I think the Xtravisions are the shiet.

myke321

Maxima10to1 Is it easy just to pull out the wires and switch them? I mean, is their a risk of messing up the housing? Or are they really easy just to pull out and switch the low and the ground? Cause i'm not big on cutting the wires if can just swap them. Thanks.

ManualMaxima

iTrader: (10)

i use to be afrid to cut wires too, but once i did it and found out it is easy ad what all can be done i cut up everythign now.......it is real easy, and you get the satifaction of doing a acual good mod.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

I tried to take apart the stock connector with no luck. You could go to Wally World and pick up the 9007/9004 sockets and some wire taps or male quick disconnects to hook to the original wires. Or just cut them cuz solder is your friend.

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

Just got through installing the upgrade harness to 9007 bulbs and the difference is night and day. I don't know how I managed to go so long with those crappy 9004 bulbs. Even my PIAA Xtreme White 9004 bulbs sux in comparison with the 9007. Thanks Maxima10to1 for this great mod idea.

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

I bought the 9007 harness upgrade w/ bulbs from ebay for $50 shipped. The seller was ntbk and I got the kit in 4 days after I made payment. The kit is good quality (12AWG) and only lacked inline fuses. I have since solder some 30A fuses into the harness that I purchased at Autozone for $1.29 each. The cable length is perfect and the relays fit perfectly in the fuse box right behind the driver side light so everything is nice and hidden.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

I tried to reaim the headlights by turning the vertical adjustment. Right now the tops of the headlight assembly are tilted out past the leading edge of the hood by a good 3/4 inch. I've noticed no difference in the cutoff line. Just wondering if anybody else has run into this problem or not.

http://suvlights.com/

They've got the 9004/9007 harness.

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

ntbk lists the 9007 harness under the guise for different vehicles but they are all still the same harness so they are universal. Just pick the cheapest one and you will be fine. I think the kits w/ bulbs range from $35-$37 but there is no difference in quality or components between the two. I ended up getting the $35 kit with the bulbs since it was only a few more dollars than just the harness alone and was alot cheaper that going out and purchasing the bulbs seperately. The bulbs he sends you are made by Opti and are rated at 100w/80w and give off a very nice super white with no blue tint even though the bulb casing is blue. One final note, make sure you swap the low and ground wires on the connector for the 9004 socket on the harness since the wiring for 9004/9007 is differenet like Maxima10to1 stated in his first post. Let me know if you have more questions.

Ladzio

iTrader: (8)

I got harness from ntbk yesterday and my question is, do I need to replace present relays in the car with the ones that came in the package?

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

you dont need to replace the OEM relays.

meanbean

iTrader: (1)

The 9007 harness kit is supplementing the existing wiring so you are not replacing anything. Just plug the relays that came with the kit into the wiring harness. Connect the 2 ground wires (black) to the same ground points that are used by the 9004 wiring. Then connect the 2 power wires (red) to your positive battery terminal. Remember to disconnect the negative battery terminal first then disconnect the positive battery terminal. Reverse to reassemble. Remember to swap the ground and low beam wires on the socket end that you will connect to the 9004 driver side socket. Finally, insert the new 9007 bulbs into the sockets and test out your lights. This is a very simple mod so read through Maxima10to1's tutorial if you still have questions.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

Hey meanbean i know you like the output, but could you go depper into the new beam pattern? I drive around and laugh at how much i can see. Its like I have quadrupled my light output. And high beam is soo sweet. The light stays close to the low beam pattern but adds more light up high and far away.I mean its like having high and low on at the same time. The only thing i would like is to have a better cut off. I mentioned befor that the cut off was better, but I now dont think so. The OE assemblies scatter the light too much. Id love to have projectors....maybe some day?!

Ladzio

iTrader: (8)

Question for those who used new harness.

Did you bother to remove stock harness? Because I see it will take a lot of time taking of all the tape and getting wires out and installing new wiring...

I can't get where to plug in the connectors on opposite end of wiring from those that go into bulbs. Took two fuse and relay boxes apart on both sides and don't see anything like it....

It's either I am real dumb ot just tired and don't see the obvious. Looked and pics again and it looks like new harness has to go between! old harness and bulbs, but not substitute it adn take power directly from battery....

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

The new harness plugs into the stock drivers side headlight connector. Remeber the stock connector needs the low beam and ground wires switched. It should look like this:

The new harness gets grounded to the chassis and gets 12 volt + power straight from the battery. Then you jauts plug the new harness into the bulbs. You cant remove the stock harness because you need it to activate the new relays. They are what turn on the lights and switch the high and low beam.

Ladzio

iTrader: (8)

ALRIGHT!! Got it working! It was real easy, it is just me that makes simple things complicated. Thanks man for clearing that out ones more!

Light output does seem to be much improved. Waiting for night to align lights and take a drive. BTW, harness did make a great improvement, I first tested 9007 on stock ones and in low beam they were so bad that gave out this yellowish output.

endus

iTrader: (1)

Ordered a wiring harness from SUVlights...will let oyu know how it goes.

I guess the question is do I convert the harness -> stock connector to 9004 or convert one of the stock wires to 9007. I'd like to leave the stock wires as they are...but I think it'll be cleaner if I just get a 9007 socket and solder it on the end of the stock wiring.

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

Yep, you'll lose the daytime running lights.

Ladzio

iTrader: (8)

I don't know what you are talking about. I did not loose anything..

As to the harness, endus, you do not need to do anything to the stock one. The harness you'll get just plugs in with one end to existinng 9004 connector (to read when you are running low and hight beams) and with other end into 9007 bulbs. It will also have outloets to positive terminal of battery for power, negatives to the body and it's own relays.

endus

iTrader: (1)

I actually went to autozone yesterday and FINALLY realized (heh heh) that the connector for 9007 is the same as the one for 9004. Isn't that what he was talking about in terms of switching the wires though? So, I'm pretty sure I need to swap the low beam and ground wires, which I will definitely do by just cutting and resoldering them on the new harness, but other than that it should be plug and play.

Can't WAIT to do this.

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

Perfect timing!!! I was about to start messing around with my headlights. I was also thinking of that idea but wasn't sure if the end-result is worth doing. You answered that question for me! BTW, with only one nub to hold the bulb in, is that enough to keep the bulb seated tightly? Any issues with moisture entering your headlight housing especially during very cold wet nights? Also, the 9007 beam pattern looks real good in pitch black roads. Ever tried to take a pic of your beam pattern while cruising along a lit freeway or street, any noticeable difference between 9004 and 9007? For me, it's harder to see the headlight beams up ahead with the Silverstar 9004's (aboout 6 months old). Just curious if the 9007 will make a difference there. I like what you did with the harness, totally reversible back to stockers if need be. Great work!!!