All the research I've done is about the exact opposite, trying to get the newer on the older models... Can anyone help?


I have the tail light off, and the connectors aren't the same. Some google took me to a post trying to explain how to splice it, but they were too vague for me, and my tail lights have extra wires that (from what I've been told from my car guy) need to be hooked into the parking light.


07 tail light and plugs:



plug still attached to car


07 stock tail assembly


new tail light and plugs:




new tail light


So, from what I gather, I need to unscrew the connector from the old tail light and cut the wires before that circle, cut off the 4 cable connector from the new tails and splice the new tails onto the old connector. I know the two black wires just get put together, but I'm not sure how to pair up the green/red and green/yellow from the connector to the red and green cables.


Can anyone provide advice? My main questions are:
1. Do I connect the green/yellow to green and the green/red to the red?
2. If I get it backwards the first time and blow a fuse, where is my fusebox and what fuse do I need? (I can look this one up if needed)
3. How do I find the parking light cable so I can connect these extra black/white wires to them?


If anyone in norcal wants, I'd be happy to give these tails away (or pay cash) in exchange for onsite support. I took this to the guy I had install my head lights who said he could do it (I talked about the different connectors with him via phone), but when I got there his brother was there and said they couldn't do it and that dude was wrong on the phone.


any help is greatly appreciated.

 

What are you trying to achieve, exactly?

What's wrong with the heads and tails already on the car?

The '07 already has the best heads and tails you'll find, so I must be missing something. I'll tell you this, if youre trying to remove the OEM parts and splice in some sh!tty aftermarket replacements, for the "look" or something else, you be in a world of disappointment very soon. Aside from poor performance, you'll have problems with the ECU/BCM, and that's a very risky proposition.

 

Oh I'm just trying for a different look and I'm not really a fan of the jdm tails... But if it's going to cause all those kinds of problems, geez I'll just stick with what I have
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Wise decision. There have been plenty of threads here over the years about this topic.

 

yup...you got aftermarket...probably junk. The 03-08 all share the same connector...so why would that light maker even put a connector on the end that doesn't fit....well because theyre stupid.

Anyway...search about the problems...ECU thinks the brakes are on or something. Causes you to not go above a certain rpm, no power.

 

Yeah I saw that thread, but I don't think my car has vdc, so I thought I might be ok...

Then I saw all the wiring inside the stock tails vs the ones I got and now I'm like we'll **** lol

So what are my options then?

I was looking for something with a dark look, but I didn't want to just tint them which is I went with the bug eyed ones - which I already know all y'all hate but I absolutely adore.

should I try cracking them open to swap the electronics? Anybody know of good choices? I can't seem to find anything but clear jdms as my alternative... And to say I'm not really a fan of them is an understatement

 

Hate to say, but here us a list of best lights for the Z

1. OEM 06+
2. JDM 06+
3. 03 to 05 OEM

The rest are total crap. Look like crap , and can cause problems.

 

If you want to add some unique lighting to your Z, check out this site:

http://zledslights.com/home/#!/Servi...&sort=priceAsc

I've purchased several of his items, and they're top-quality, custom hand-made to order.

 

Assuming your new lights are EM, the connectors are all the same. The difference is that the 2006 and up do not have light sockets. If you want to install the 2003 tail lights and I can't imagine why you would want to, you just need to purchase the light sockets from the dealer or from a junk yard if you can find them. I don't know of any way to correctly connect the parking light so that could probably be left out without causing any problems.

 

I don't think it's that simple. The ECU sees the load from the tails (incandescent versus LED) as unexpected, and it limits the output from the engine because it thinksk the brakes are applied.

 

Thanks for the site I hadn't seen them... Too bad they don't do tails.

Maybe I'll pick up that brake/reverse/turn bumper light to handle the braking and just put my tails in unplugged...

 

I'm not so sure. I converted from the 2003 tail lights to the OEM LED tail lights and had no problems. My ECU was used to reading the voltage for the incandescent lights and I haven't had a problem with the LED lights. I think you can switch the OEM lights but there have been problems with aftermarket LED lights.

 

That's right, but think about it. In your case, the conversion went in the other direction, incandescent to LED, and that has been done many times without issue. The '07 would be going from LED to incandescent, and that's where the problem occurs.

 

As a JDM tail light owner... I would never have anything else =)

 

As A jDm TaIl LiGhT OwNeR I WoUlD nEvEr HaVe AnYtHiNg ElSe

 

Cute, that's how aftermarket lights look to me.... this is NOT a civic and should not be treated as such lol

 

They said it couldn't be done, they said it would be ugly af...they might be right on the second part but they were definitely wrong on the first!
Got them in with no blown fuses or limp mode on the first try.

Had I known more about cars, what kornercarver said would have been easiest and fastest way to get them in. Thanks for that advice! Android/Chrome's not letting me detail everything in this post so I'll add another one with details on what we did after I deal with the wife and kid.

 

Wrong picture I'll remove the other later

 

You put those on your car?

 

Sure did! Took us 3.5 hours, but a lot of it was fumbling around and testing wires.