97-99 cars running rewired front corners and side markers
I was working on my friend's 98 Max rewiring the corners to utilize the 27 watt side of the bulb, but I had the problem that I kept on blowing the 7.5 amp "tail" fuse on his car. I thought I had done something wrong and that the wire kept grounding out. This one had me really puzzled, cause my rewired corners have been rewired for over a year with no problems at all. There was one variable that I did not account for, was that he was running side marker lamps. I got technical and brought out my basic EE skills. In a 14.4 volt system, one watt is equal to about .06944444 amps. Since they are light bulbs, the tolerance isnt as tight as say a computer's power supply. Anyway, the tail light fuse is 7.5 amps, and it includes the corner light, the front marker light, the rear marker light, tail lights and the license tag lights. On my car (without side markers), with the rewired wattage of 27 watts and all the other bulbs using aboug 5 watts, this comes out to about 104 watts being consumed. Since watts= amps x volts, here 104 watts divided by 14.4 draws about 7.2 amps it is not enough to blow the 7.5 amp fuse. Now since my friend has 10 measily additional watts for his side markers, this brings the equation to 114 divide by 14.4 equals 7.919 amps that WAS enough to blow the 7.5 amp fuse. No wonder I was sitting there scratching my head why his fuse kept blowing. It also explains why when he took out one of the 27 watters (which we thought was grounding out), it didnt blow, cause that would have put him well under 7 amps. We replaced it with a 10 amp fuse, and so far its still working. I believe the 10 amp fuse should be OK for his wires, but I told him since we did up the wattage to check the wires to make sure nothing is melting. So, if you rewire your corners and have side markers or additional lights wired to the tail light circuit and you scratch your head why its blowing, this is the reason why. All it took was an additional 10 watts. Same thing if you run trailer lights on the "tail" circuit.
I have been seeing "Diamond Cut" Clear corners on ebay and for sale on the site, are these just the same old clear corners?
No, the Diamond cut clear corners are actually much different looking. They are more clear than the regular clear corners. The regular clear corners are sort of foggy. These are as clear as your headlights. There IS a difference between the two. Expect to pay $40-50.00 for them.
To visualize the difference, think of the difference in appearance between the 95-96 headlights and the 97-99 headlights.
How do I rewire my clearance lights so that they're brighter? (95-96 and 97+)
This mod is very simple, but since theres tons of different writeups on it out there, and lots of rumors, it can be confusing. But this is a great way to help your Max look better. Here goes:
Stuff you need: Phillips head screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, nailclippers, electrical tape
1)Remove your clearance light housing. It's pretty simple, just pop the hood and remove the screw that holds it in. With a little bit of tugging, you can pull the side closest to the doors (not the front side) out (it goes behind a little plastic flap). look down into the hood and find the little ball joint socket that holds the clearance light in. take a screwdriver (flathead) and pop it out of that socket. there the light is out.
2)Remove the bulb from the light by twisting it and pulling it out. Place the clearance light housing onto the ground.
3)In your hand you should have the bulb in socket connected to the wires for it. The bulb can be removed from its socket by being twisted and then pulled out. do so now.
4)Look at the bulb closely. On the metal base (below the glass) you can see two metal "nubs." Take fingernail clippers and snip the one CLOSEST TO THE GLASS (the higher one).
5)Cut a strip of electrical tape about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch high. Wrap this tape around the spot where the nub was so that it covers the spot (but not the other nub). This is to ensure a secure connection in the socket.
6)Look down into the socket of the bulb. You can see two notches where the nubs were to be secured (one for the higher nub and one for the lower nub). The bulb, however, now has only one nub (the lower one). Heres the tricky part: you want to put the bulb in so that the lower nub (the remaining one) goes in the spot that the higher nub was supposed to (dont worry if the electrical tape gets pushed a bit).
7) Now that the bulb is back in socket, replace the socket in the housing but dont put the housing back on yet. Flip your lights on to make sure that the job worked (I haven't seen it fail when you use electrical tape). Once your confident that it worked replace the housing (make sure its in there!).
8)Repeat on other side.
Thats it! Took me less than 10 minutes to do!
What do I do if I want to get rid of the Red/Amber tails on my 95-96?
The options here, sadly are rather limited. While the 97-99 models have a part made by
www.custommaxima.com, 95-96 owners are kind of left in the dumps.
Here are your options:
1) Cruise ebay and the Parts for Sale Forum like a vulture and when a set of red/clear tails for the 95-96 pops up, jump on it. (You have to get lucky).
2) Buy a set of completely clear tails (ebay). Then using paint paint the bottom half red and the top half white. (Very hard to do/match the existing paint. Also paint has been known to fade with time.
3) Do the mod detailed below.
If you have a 95-96 this is the only way you can get red/clear tails until someone starts manufacturing them.
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I've explained this alot of times but i thought i'd write a clean explanation on how to "red-out" your tails. This really goes out to all the 95/96 owners who want to at least get rid of the ugly ambers on their tails. This process requires some effort but is worth it in the end. There are 2 ways to red them out... using red tape or painting them. This is how to use the tape. Of course the real red/clears look great but this is a pretty simple $3 cosmetic mod!
Things you need:
-HeatGun or BlowDryer (heatgun works better)
-Soapy water (water mixed w/ dishwasher fluid works)
-Red Translucent Vinyl Tape (can be purchased at a hobby store... one sheet would be enough to cover both ambers; $3 per sheet)
-something flat and hard... a credit card works perfect
Procedures:
1. Wash/Clean both tails so that there isn't any dirt on em
2. Now, apply LOTS of soapy water on the tails... let it run down, it doesn't matter, but they need to be wet as you apply the tape. The reason for the soapy water is to avoid any air bubbles or having the tape annoyingly stick onto the surface where u don't want it to be.
3. Now place the tape on the ambers and position it. With the water under the tape, you will be able to move the tape and adjust it properly.
4. After adjusting it, use the credit card to squeeze out the water underneath. Start from the middle, then move outwards. Keep scraping the top of the tape so that the water underneath will squeeze out from the ends of the tape. Don't worry, the adhesive will still be 100% sticky.
5. Now that you've squeezed out as much as u can on the most flat surface and the tape is stuck to the ambers, you will realize that u have to do the outwards of the ambers where they curve. For this to be done properly, use your heatgun/blowdryer to heat the tape so that it "melts" or become softer and stretchable.
6. As you heat up the curved parts of the tape, stretch the tape out as hard as you can w/o ripping it hopefully to wrap around the curve and not form any air bubbles. CAUTION: Don't burn your fingers!
7. After doing a satisfactory job w/ the tape stuck to the ambers, use an exactoknife or razor to cut the excess tape off. CAUTION: Don't cut yourself in this process.
Voila! No more ambers.
As you read this instructions, you may start to realize this is EXACTLY how tinting windows are done. Basically you are doing a tint job on your ambers. Good luck!
References:
Here's a website that show's you how to red out the tails on an RSX... but it's the same process provided w/ pics. For fun... can you see a reflection of the maxima on the body of the RSX??
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Visual Instructions (RSX)
Pics of the red out done on a superblack '96:
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http://npx1.cjb.net
Option #2:
Credit: drivinmax
Make Your Own Red And Clears 95/96
If You Own A 1995 Or 1996 Maxima You Are In Luck. If You Dont Want To Spend 300 Dollars For A Set Of Red And Clears.
Things You Will Need:
-outter 1st Gen Euro Lights
-your Stock Outter Tail Lights
-silicone
-clear Ceiling Plastic
-duck Tape
-testors Candy Red
-testors Clear
-masking Tape
-dremel
-cut Off Wheels
What You Are Going To Do Is Remove The Lenes From The Stock Lights And The Euro Lights
Then You Are Going To Paint The Lower Half Of The Clear Euro Light Lens And Then Put The Red And Clear Lens That You Made On The Stock Housing And There You Go You Have Red And Clears
***i Know This Would Be Better With Pictures But I Did It Awhile Ago And Never Took Alot Of Pictures****
Remove Your Stock Tail Lights From Your Car
Remove The Lens From The Housing On The Stock Lights Using A Heat Gun
Also Remove The Clear Lens From The Euro Lights
After Removing All Lenes From The Stock Light And The Euro Lights,
Use A Dremel With A Cut Off Wheel And Cut Out A Piece Of Clear Plastic To Go Over The Upper Half Of The Stock Tail Light Housing.
Use Silicone To Glue It To The Housing Use Duck Tape To Hold It Down While It Dries
Clean And Paint The Inside Of The Clear Euro Light Lens 3 To 4 Coats Should Do It Clear Over The Red
After The Silicone Dried Remove The Duck Tape And Reheat The Glue On The Stock Housing And Attach The Painted Red And Clear To The Stock Housing
How to Install Clear Corners
How to Install Clear Bumper Lights
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Linear Mode
