DrPhantum

As soon as I get my camera to snap a few pictures, I can post them up... but for now, hopefully someone can help me without them...

I just bought this set of LED tail lights on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWN:IT&ih=004
(Notice how it says "EASY TO INSTALL, DIRECT BOLT ON, NO MODIFICATIONS NEEDED, as well as PLUG AND PLAY" Yeah... right)

I just got them yesterday, and when I went to install them, I noticed that the plugs were not compatible with my factory harness. The factory lights have (I would assume) two bulbs, because there are two connectors on the wire harness coming out of the body of the car. One has two pins, and the other's got three...

The tail lights I received have some kind of weird black plug that has the wires on the outside of the connector (like the middle of a USB port) where the 3-pin connector would be, and just two wires (black & white) coming out where the 2-pin connector should be.

Now... you may say: "DrPhantum... They had to come with instructions... just use those!" To that, I say to you: "Yeah, right." I can't wait to post a scan of the instruction sheet I got. I can tell that it was scanned from a color photo and then printed in black and white (not grayscale) on a laser printer or copy machine... and everything went to hell.

Can anybody that has done this install offer me some words of advice? The words in the instructions told me it would be easy...but I think it was translated from Japanese (or other translation-unfriendly language)... which makes we wonder if these lights are even US-spec lights, and if they can even be safely installed on my car.

Thank you all for any help you can offer... and I will post pics as soon as I find my camera and snap a few off. Please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any suggestions. Thank again!


PS... I have asked the seller about this issue... but I know I will get faster, better help here. Thanks again!

CEO350Z

iTrader: (21)

if your car is 03-05, that middle usb piece is supposed to go into where the stoplight bulb is. just pull out the bulb and plug in the piece.

won't work on 06+

DrPhantum

Wow... quick reply. Awesome.

OK... I'm almost with you so far. I've got an '05 Touring Roadster, so I should be OK, then. But, I don't know where you're talking about. I'd appreciate some more detail, if you could. What stoplight? My factory lights have two sockets. They twist in, and they're circular. More importantly, the wire coming out of my car has a compatible round socket of the opposite gender. The "USB piece," as we'll call it, does not fit into anything. Then... what do I do about the two wires sticking out of the new tail lights? Those most definitely do not just plug into anything.

Please forgive me if I'm ignorant of something obvious. I'll admit that it started raining right when I started to do this yesterday... so I didn't really look too closely at everything... but I was pretty sure that everything was not how it should be.

Thanks again for your quick reply!

CEO350Z

iTrader: (21)

when you pull the stock light assy off, you'll see 2 cords. unplug those and you'll see a bulb on each cord. unplug the larger of the two lightbulbs and plug in the usb piece into the socket.

DrPhantum

Cool. I can handle that... I'll take your word that it'll go just like that and easy for the USB piece... But what about those two wires?

Thanks again for your help, CEO350Z. Sorry to take up your time on a workday... I'm sure you've got a company to run. (Get it? CEO?)
Sorry... lame joke

DrPhantum

Update: CEO350Z hit the nail right on the head with the USB piece going into the socket where the incandescent light bulb normally goes... I hadn't thought of that, but it makes perfect sense. Now... what about the other socket? There's another incandescent bulb in the factory tail lights that comes on with your headlights, and only two wires to match it coming out of the new lights.

Now... I tested the wires by sticking them into the socket for the smaller bulb, and a small LED lights up on the top of the red ring around the LED cluster (see auction link in the first post for picture)... but am I supposed to secure these wires like that somehow? Any suggestions, CEO350Z? You definitely knew your stuff for the main bulb... but you haven't mentioned the smaller "headlights on" light or the two wires that are supposed to go with it.

Thanks so far for your help.

DrPhantum

bump
Any input on these two wires? I don't want to just let them hang there... Is there any harm in my making my own connector to use? Or should I wiretap them onto the existing bulb socket?

DrPhantum

Bump...

Because these tail lights may also be causing trouble with some erratic revving of my engine.

Here's a link to the other problem I'm having: https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance-and-repair/292060-5at-erratic-revving-when-shifting-gears.html

(I'm just as surprised as anyone else about this... I'm trying to get more information. PM me if you have/want the info as well)

cheshirecat79

iTrader: (9)

This has been popping up more and more on the forums. The LED lights draw too much current and the ECU flips out, which makes the car run like crap. If I remember right there was a post somewhere where someone soldered some resistors in-line with the lights and fixed the problem. Good luck.

DrPhantum

Thanks... I'll look into the resistor thing. While we're on the subject... do you have any idea about the "other two wires" sticking out of the new tail lights?

dutchboy350Z

iTrader: (5)

Buying the factory OEM LEDs would have saved you a lot of time and effort. It took me 30 minutes to install them, plug 'n play.

DrPhantum

How much were the OEM LED lights? Sometimes I'd rather save money than "a lot of time and effort." haha

Plus... I like the look of the ones I got. Some may prefer the stock lights... but I've already got stock lights. (Not LEDs, but to me, there's not much of a difference between the two)

dutchboy350Z

iTrader: (5)

I got them last for $183 a piece (might be cheaper somewhere else) and the ground shipping was $20.

IMO the two bulb vs. 20 LEDs in each taillight is a huge difference.

The parking lights setting alone are brighter the two bulb brake light.

DrPhantum

You're right. They do look good. They're clearer than the stock tail lights to let the LEDs do their thing, too... which I like.

But, needless to say, you paid a lot more than I did. I paid $135 shipped for both. And, they match my PA DARE license plate (see below)... which I like.






(I haven't taken any pictures of both installed yet... but a creative mind can imagine what they look like together)

(On a side note... I haven't been pulled over or ticketed since I got the DARE plate)


As far as the "time and effort" involved... I enjoy these kinds of activities. Coming from someone that "modifies" everything he owns... PS1, PS2 (no mod for the PS3 yet), Xbox 1, Xbox360, Wii, GameCube, my printer (to print directly onto CDs and to suck ink from a car battery-sized ink tank rather than the small expensive canon cartridges), and other things... It's fun to overcome obstacles to make something "mine" the way I want it to be. I also have fun when I get the absolute lowest price I think I can get on something other people pay more money for. (I know yours are OEM, and more expensive by nature... I'm not talking about you specifically)

I don't think these LED tail lights I got will be much of a problem or more time and effort, now that I have seen the light. I'm pretty sure that all I have to do is wire some resistors in series with the LEDs to bring the current back to a normal level so that my ECU will be satisfied, and this weird engine revving issue will subside. As far as the other smaller bulb and bulb connector, I haven't decided what I'll do yet. I'll probably make a connector for them to plug into the stock harness.

Dutchboy, do you have a picture of the rear (installation side) of your OEM LED lights? I'd be very interested to see exactly how Nissan did it with the connectors. Thanks!

dutchboy350Z

iTrader: (5)

I don't have a pic, but all it is one female plug that fits perfectly with the larger of the two male plugs. The smaller male plug is no longer needed.

DrPhantum

That's exactly the same as mine, only I have an extra two-wire lead going to a single LED on the red ring around the LED cluster. I think it's just for style... but I wanted to hook it up to the smaller connector, so the ring lights up w/ my headlights.

So, what did you do with the other smaller connector? I just took the bulb out and wrapped it up in electrical tape... No sense in burning out a bulb and dropping voltage if the stock bulb is going to light up with nowhere for it to shine, right?

I'm curious how the OEM lights would behave any differently when it comes to circulating currents if they hook up the same way. Maybe Nissan took the time to series a resistor with the lights?

Do you remember any resistor packs or extra components sticking out of the back?

Thanks for your input, by the way. This is helpful.

dutchboy350Z

iTrader: (5)

I just taped up the unused male plug and tucked it away. I would bet that Nissan made the OEM LEDs with the 03-05 factory current/voltage specs in mind. It probably wouldn't have been very cost efficient to make a resistor "patch" for each LED taillight so they could run properly without effecting the ECU.

SuperBlack350z

iTrader: (59)

It's very straight forward. Make sure you tape the unused wire harness up so it doesn't rattle against anything in there. I just used electrical tape. This is for you. hope it helps.

DrPhantum

Thanks for the input, SuperBlack... I would have liked to have seen this nice color picture when I did mine. But... your picture is exactly what I've already done to install mine. I've still got two problems not addressed by your post:

Big Problem: The LED tail lights have different electrical properties (lower resistance, I assume) than the stock incandescant tail lights. This actually causes problems at the ECU, because throttle response, cruise control, etc. are tied to the brakes, and the car thinks that the brakes are ON when they AREN'T. See this post... toward the end, the LED thing comes to light: https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance-and-repair/287984-z-seems-to-lose-power-after-5000-rpms.html

Small problem: My lights, pictured above in an earlier post, have two "sets" of LEDs. The big cluster that every LED tail light has... and a single LED that lights up the ring around my LED cluster. The large one, like you, your girlfriend, and your picture all confirm... is an easy hookup. The SINGLE LED is the one that I'm puzzled how to handle. All I have is two bare wires (black/white wire jacket) that go straight to the LED. Do I tap these into the smaller "taped up" connector so that the LED ring lights up with the headlights, do I tap into the LED cluster connector so that the ring only lights up when the brakes are applied, or do I source a constant voltage supply from nearby so that the ring is always on?

This is the smaller problem because I think it's more of a preferential thing, since I have come to realize that most LED tail lights only have one connector on them. Mine seem to be the exception, and not the rule, since it has that *decorative* LED on the light ring. This explains your ignorance of the extra two wires on my new LEDs... my lights must be the only ones that have them. (I'm using the dictionary version of "ignorance..." not the derogatory one, by the way. Take no offense)


Thanks for the help!

SuperBlack350z

iTrader: (59)

hmm, thats a tricky one. Maybe you can call up the manufacture or us distributor and see the right way of doing it.