spidgeon

So I just replaced both of my brake and turn signals with 1200 lumen LED bulbs. Here's a video..will post another one when the sun goes down.

spidgeon

Here's the night time one...video doesn't do the lights justice. Looks pink in video, but very red in person. I will say that I replaced the drivers side first and closely compared with the factory halogen on other side. The halogen at certain angles seemed brighter than the LED during the daytime. Overall I'm pleased with the results.

jinzen

Cool, can you share the LED bulbs you used and where you purchased? Was this an easy swap (some tabs from the trunk liner)?

denormalize

Are they yellow LEDs?

spidgeon

I used the red color JDM AStar 7443 LEDs. Bought the load resistors too to prevent any hyper flashing, but didn't end up needing them. Bought directly off their website on cyber Monday (it was cheaper than Amazon that day) both brake and turns came to $60.

Extremely easy install. In fact it's the same as the 7th gen. You'll need to access the trunk and on each side pop off the two tabs.

Locate the two tabs shown here.




Use a flathead screwdriver to pop this tab up off its base...once popped up, you'll need to put your screwdriver between the base and the trunk liner and remove the base part.




Peel back the carpet liner and locate the two bolts. Using an 8mm socket loosen the bolts enough until they've reached the end, but don't remove them. Keeping them on will prevent the light from flying out of your hands when you go to remove it

Standing on the side of the car, grab the side of the tail light where it's a 45 degree angle aka (the boomerang) and gently slide towards to the rear of the car. You'll know when it's out because it sounds like a pop. Now completely remove the bolts you loosened earlier, and you can safely remove the light. (Be careful not to drop the tail light and scratch your paint)

Here is the light removed.




Next just remove the two larger sized circles to remove the brake and turn halogens. Don't disturb the smaller one, this for the LEDs that surround the tail light.



Pop in your LEDs, and reverse your installation steps. Depending on the LEDs that you use, you may need to add resistors to prevent hyper flashing.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: I did end up needing the 50w load resistors...make sure you order these and install.

spidgeon

I used red LEDs. Best practice is to always match the color of the lens. If you use white bulbs in a red lens they'll look pink when the lights are on. The front turn signals are my next project.

solariis

So you used red LEDs for the brake and yellow for turn signals? And all of them you installed specifically the JDM a-star type, you had to use resistors on? Or was that only for brake?

spidgeon

Yup, went JDM Astar for brake and turns because they were 1200 lumens...pretty bright. Both brake and turn signals in the rear are red LEDS to match the lenses. The front turn signals are the only ones that are yellow. Load resistors are only needed only for the turn signals, and you'll need one per turn signal.

solariis

Thanks spidgeon.

Only reason I asked about your used of yellow in the rear was how the color appeared in your videos when you had your hazards on. Makes sense though and appreciate the info!

spidgeon

No prob. Yeah the video doesn't do the lights justice at all. Definitely all red, and will appear very red in person.

Enjoy!

Salms

Have you replaced the front turn signal bulbs? If so, any tips on how to get access to them?

dragam

New to the forums, was curious how you mounted the load resistors for the rear turn signals?

White Fang

Bump



Looking at the photo, is it as easy as just splicing the purple and green turns ?

umanajimmy16

Hey!
I know this is like an old thread but I am trying to get LED Turn Signals on my Maxima but don't know how to add them to the car safely.

robtroxel

I was always disappointed that Nissan cheezed out on not making the rear brake lights and turn signals full LEDs. As one of the 1st buyers back in 2015 I never even thought to check that since the regular tail lights were so cool. Thanks to many of you chiming in, I was able to get what I wanted and yes, resistors are needed for proper LED operation when turning. Nissan evidently agreed since the 2019s are now full LED tailights.

umanajimmy16

I know I don’t like how Nissan didn’t make them Full LED until the 2019 model. I believe those can fit the 8th gen but that is still to be seen. But my question is how to add resistors to the back taillight. Where do they go mounted with out melting anything of the taillight.

robtroxel

Best to get guidance from your LED vendor on where to wire these resistors. I just can't recall how my 16 was done. (Not a major task though)

MaximaGuy14

I just came across this thread a week ago and ordered the bulbs and load resistors from JDM astar myself but the problem I ran in to was having too much wiring and the added sockets from the 2 load resistors per tail light preventing me from being able to install the tail light back in place. Care to explain what you did? Thanks.

umanajimmy16

Can you post to show us how you added the resistors to the back of the light for the turn signals that would be awesome!! Thank you

jsimon26

You should only need resistors for the turn signals not the brake lights. The resistors just prevent the turn signals from hyper flashing.

MaximaGuy14

That's what I thought, but the brake light bulb will not fit into the OEM harness socket. I thought I got the right bulbs. I'll put a link to the bulbs I got.

jdmastar.com/product/170/3030-SMD-High-Power-7443-7440-LED-Bulbs-Set-of-2.html