GU Christmas Tree

Hey all,

I'm am sick and tired of being flashed, tooted and hurled abuse at by angry drivers that have not seen me indicate or brake because they were looking at my enormous tail lights that just sat there and did NOTHING! I can not believe that Mr Nissan thought it a good idea to put lovely big tail lights on the back of there crown and glory (the GU Patrol!) just to tease us and make them non functioning! Other countries around the world get fully functioning lights, but us Australians get nothing but a reflector.

As such, I chose to do something about it. I found a set of aftermarket lights on fleabay that were copies of the series 3 tail lights (I have the ugly series 1/2 lights) that were already wired up and had globes fitted! Exactly what I was looking for. I then wired them up, using the original plugs. Now I have fully operational tail lights that look fantastic...if only the rest of the car looked so good!

I was amazed at just how easy it was to wire the lights up. The job could be done in a couple of hours easy by anyone with basic soldering skills. Tools required: 10mm socket and ratchet with medium extension. Large flat blade screwdriver, small flat blade screwdriver, wire cutters and stripper, solder and soldering iron, heat shrink and/or electrical tape. I will post a step by step of how to do the conversion to help anyone wanting to do the same.

:cheers:
Shayne

Sorry there were no pics in my first post, all my pic's were too large. I have downloaded shrink pic software and hope it works this time. SO...I will start with a picture of the new lights, before install, front and back. If this works I will continue with the guide!

:cheers:
shayne

AWSOME...It worked! Wow, great programe...runs in the background and automatically resizes any photo emailed, uploaded etc. no need to fiddle AND it only changes the copy being sent so you still have the original, unchanged! Very impressed....ANYWAY, on with the guide.

Upon checking my pics, I noticed I have no photo of removing the old lights. It is really easy and can be done in 2min using only the 10mm socket and the large flat screwdriver. I am doing my mates car (possibly) this weekend so I will take some pics then and add them if anyone wants them!

1/ Remove panels behind lights inside cargo area (small narrow one on left and large one on right were
jack is stowed).

2/ Undo both the top and bottom screws with the 10mm socket (on the left there is 3 screws, leave the
middle one alone!)

3/ There are two ball clips securing the outside edges of the lights to the body, so...take your large
flat blade screwdriver and (while protecting your paint work with a rag) insert it in the groove
between the outside, top lip of the old driving light and gently lift. You will fell a clip slip
out, tha'ts good. Repeat the process on the outside, bottom lip also, remembering to support the
light now as it should now easily fall out into your hand!

4/ Undo the plug at the back of the light and remove....THAT'S IT!

:cheers:
Shayne

Now, the job is REALLY HARD on the left hand side...plug the new light in! THAT'S IT!! all the wiring and the plug is already there and ready to go. lol BEFORE doing that thou, you first need to break into the loom to run wires to the right side light. On the right side there is a plug and it is pre-wired with the brake and indicator lights only and these don't work either as there is no earth. So what we need to do is run 2 wires from the left over to the right to power the park light and the reverse light. We also need to make an earth.
So, step one...break into the loom to run wires to the right side light. I broke in under the black conduit so the joints were covered and protected. You can JUST see the wires and a tag of tape comming out at the top of the first picture.

I then ran the wires under the bottom of the trim and under the rear plastic strip to the right hand side.

Two things...

1. In all fairness to Nissan it isn't there decision. The issue is forced upon them by our "unique" ADR's. Nissan have to disable/remove the 'standard' lights OR move the spare tyre so the vehicle will pass ADR.

2. You now have a vehicle that can be Canary'd as there are ADR non-complying lights fitted BUT before everyone goes ape, Yes, it would be a very unusual and I've heard of more instances of Coppers wanting to know why the "lights" don't work rather than why they do...

I went a different way and put LED repeaters on my roof rack. Looks slightly like a "Mine Pack" but works for me mainly because I have rear draws so if a globe did go in the body tail lights then it is a major drama which will definitely attract Constable Plods attention.

I tow my Camper a lot as well so the repeaters are a bit of a plus in that regard as well.

Finally, I do quite like the look of a fully lit up rear on the Patrols... just a crying shame about the goddam ADR's

Now for the hard part! The right side needed a bit more work. FIRSTLY, you need to source some inserts to go into the original plug. I tried several places (auto parts, auto electricians, jaycar) but finally found them a car stereo place. They didn't have new ones but "GAVE" me a plug that had the same size/shape pins(see photo) in it with wires still attached. So I simply opened the crimped end of the pin, cut the attached wire of level with the end of the pin and soldered my wire over the top of the remaining crimped wire. Then crimped the end over my wire...EASY! I did this to both the wires run from the left side and to a black wire I then used as an earth.

hi i did this to my 2007 gu6
went to nissans wanted $320.oo each complained and they said they can get after market ones made at the same factory
but if ordered today wont be here untill 4.30 tomorrow cost $145 each no brainer
drivers side plug and play
passanger side took off from trailer plug
reverse ran wire from drivers side under carpet
looks reelcool at night
stephen

Once you have your wires run and your pins soldered, you need to remove the black insert from the back of the plug and slot your wires through it and then simply slot them into the plug (in the right spots!). re-insert the black insert and your ALMOST done. Lastly, you need to mount your earth point. I chose one of the bolts that secure the jack mount. I must admit at this point, in the absence of the right sized crimp terminal, I did a dodgy job and simply stripped a longer length of wire and wrapped it around the bolt and then screwed it back in.:o Dodgy, it is...work, it does! :icon_victory:
Plug in the new light and mount it...JOB DONE! Put on the shades, stand back and bask in the glow of your new tail lights.:cool:

I know what you mean about the price from Nissan Stephen...CRAZY! I got mine for $190 a pair (I bought two for both me and my mate) and $20p/h. I was very happy with the price and even happier with the quality.
Plasnart, Thanks mate. I'm glad you liked it. I just hope it helps make the job that little bit easier for anyone else wanting to do it.

Great post and pics mate, thanks for sharing. That will help out a lot of members who want to do this!

Cheers!

now then all you tail light junkies dont forget to change the fuses indicators/reverse/stop as there is a greater load on the system
also the hazard fuse aswell some under dash one in engine bay
it pays to change them believe me
just think when you tow something yes there is extra lights now add on the new ones you have just installed makes sence
stephen

My pleasure AB. I will take some more pics tomorrow showing how to remove the tail lights and of the lights on at night so you can see how bright they are.

Stephen you make a good point about the added load BUT as these cars come with all these lights as standard overseas...should they not be rated for the lights already? I have a digital manual for the GU that includes the OS models and the wiring diagrams all show the same fusses so I THINK it should be fine. That said, I'm not an auto electrician and would love to hear the opinion of one. If you are one Stephen or if there are ANY others here that read this, please feel free to fill us in. Once again Stephen, great point. Something I had not thought of! Thanks mate.

:cheers:
Shayne

The easy way to find out if the fuses are up to the task is hook up a trailer and go for a drive.
Another way around it is to replace the bulbs with LED's to reduce current drawer.
Thanks for the step by step instructions.

Tony

... not an Auto sparkie but very closely related.

Stephen has a point but there should be enough overhead in the existing fuses to handle the mod.

If in doubt use those nifty LED bulbs instead of incandescents... they should also last longer for those with Draw systems.

A word to the wise about fuses while on the subject. Automotive Fusing design is rated for the current capacity of the wiring not the equipment load.

Be very wary of "just" putting in larger fuses in a circuit. When a fuse blows it is telling you that the maximum design capacity of the wiring has been exceeded

inknow the wireing can handle it but just to be safe when towing with the extra current draw it is a safer to change than going the extre expence of changing the globes to led that amount to change the gloges could be expensive
stephen

Quote:

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Originally Posted by my third

inknow the wireing can handle it but just to be safe when towing with the extra current draw it is a safer to change than going the extre expence of changing the globes to led that amount to change the gloges could be expensive
stephen

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You missed my point. I am saying that if you are blowing fuses it means the factory wiring design load has 'technically' CAN'T handle the current flowing in the circuit.

It is definitely NOT SAFER to arbitarily change the fuse. You can't just keep loading a circuit and upping the fuse value till they stop blowing as the fuse are the safety device telling something is wrong. Sure equipment that needs protection has a specific fuse for it such as say, Two Ways (2 amps maybe 5 if it is hi power) but we are talking vehicle wiring here

The quick and dirty way to determine if the wiring can handle it is...
1. Look at the existing fuse size and multiply it by 12 IE a 10 amp fuse X 12 equals 120 watts
2. Add up the wattage of the bulbs in the circuit.
3. If the total wattage is 100 or less then you will be fine
4. If it is around 120 to 130 then meah should be OK (fuses blow significantly above rating and vehicle voltage is normally better than 12 so less currrent flows in circuit)
5. If it is 150 or more definitely do it a different way

EG Brake lights (using values purely as an example) ... 2 x 21 Watt in the bar, 2 X 21 watt in the "new" lights, 2 x 21 watt in the trailer = 126 watts so just OK for 10 amp wiring.

In my case I have LED's in the repeaters on the vehicle and a couple of my trailers so only around 50 to 60 watts load so all is tickety boo

Why would you go to all the effort and expense of plumbing in a Christmas Tree and risk burning out a loom for a couple of bucks (well $20 a pair for B15's)

nice ive had a bit of a look at doin this myself but went in the anotherday basket, and now i know why they dont work i knew there must be some logic behind an other wise silly thing to do

On that note, about the wire rating...I was VERY careful to;

1/ Use the largest gauge wire possible for the earth.
2/ Match the wire I used to link the left side with the right, with the same gauge wire as the original loom I was breaking into! My wire colour wasn't the same but the gauge was! You can see the different sizes in the plug photo.

You must look at wire like a hose. It is designed and rated to handle a certain amount of current. If you try to force too much water pressure through a hose it will burst open...right! SO, if you try to force too much current/amps through a piece of wire it will...BURST!!! Result, at best the wire will heat up and melt the insulation. At worst, it will do the same and maybe even catch fire OR, once the insulation is melted and the wire exposed, cause a short and catch fire!!! This is NOT an "as if" statement but a fact that has destroyed thousands of cars, houses, etc. in Australia and killed many people.

As such, I agree that changing the fuses to a higher amp rating is a BAD idea and if there is a problem due to the extra lights (I have towed my boat trail and box trailer with no mishap thus far) I will simply change to LED's which I would like to do anyway due to both the power saving and the extra light they provide. Just my 2c worth.

:cheers:
Shayne

great info ..i have done this mod also,i found that falcon AU sedan rear tail light loom works a treat as it has rubber grometts around bulb holder's,they seal very good when you hole saw the blank's out in patrol tail light.s.just a little bit of info..cheep as from wrecker's..see yah..

AHA! I recently got my first Patrol (2006 GU) and after reading this, I ducked out and looked at my tail lights. I didn't realise that those big expensive looking tail lights were only good for indicating I was in reverse! Whenever I have previously checked the lights, I always got someone to stand at the back while I operated them!
Now.......do I need to add this to my long list of Patrol addons/accessories/tasks....
Cheers,
Steve

Edit: After posting the above I went out to "fix" my drivers side rear reverse light. LOL! There isn't one. I did find an ants nest in there so it was worth the effort looking. LOL! Thanks for the info.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frenzy

AHA! I recently got my first Patrol (2006 GU) and after reading this, I ducked out and looked at my tail lights. I didn't realise that those big expensive looking tail lights were only good for indicating I was in reverse! Whenever I have previously checked the lights, I always got someone to stand at the back while I operated them!
Now.......do I need to add this to my long list of Patrol addons/accessories/tasks....
Cheers,
Steve


Edit: After posting the above I went out to "fix" my drivers side rear reverse light. LOL! There isn't one. I did find an ants nest in there so it was worth the effort looking. LOL! Thanks for the info.

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G'day Steve,

Welcome to the world of Patrol & the forum. Mate, I was sooooo shocked when I first found out the lights were dummies. I was actually quite angry also (to be honest!) This mod makes a huge difference to the way your car looks (especially at night) and the way OTHER Patrol owners look at your car. LOL I LOVE the look of shock and confusion on the faces of other Patrol drivers when I drive past and they check out the car (as we ALL do to other Patrol's) and then indicate to get in front of them and then when the brakes are applied...it really is quite funny. As for your ants nest...LOL. Nice find. Nothing like a million tiny hitch hikers in your car.

:cheers:
Shayne

Thanks im2xtreem,
I just purchased my new lights from patrol a parts (Lilydale, MELB) and was going to pay an auto electrician to fit them but not now. Great thread mate.

Cheers,

Terry

Did this conversion to my 05 ST Patrol about 12 months ago. Used a set of replacement light casings i found on ebay (carsRus). Fully fitted out with bulbs.
Had the same issue with the stop and reverse wiring though. I also ran them under the back door carpet trim. I went to the wreckers and grabbed a wiring harness out of a previous model GU from the left hand side to get the correct clips. Looks great and would never go back. Even impressed the wife with this conversion.

I did this mod on my GQ, just stole the wiring from the lights in the bumpers as I removed them so they wouldn't smash my lights when I bend them up into the lights off road. I have plans of doing a quarter chop and building a rear bar so I will probably just put some LED lights on the bar also to comply with ADR's.

I can't wait to do mine. Just waiting for the right ones at the right price to come up on ebay!
It does seem weird that Nissan didn't make them work the first time around!

Hi all thanks for the help on the rear lights. It was easy as the left side had brake and parkers res single there and left blinker. then run a cable to right side with earth brake,parker and res lights looks great cost around $60 from auto barn

Looks good mate, I did mine the same week I picked up the car, looks a lot better now lol

Put these same lights on mine a short while ago, great if you go off road and pop out the rear bumper lights, the best part is, now i have "2" reverse lights, i can actually see behind when reversing now !

Hi all,
I too hope to do this mod soon, found some already wired up, just need to find the time to get them from the seller and put them in. Don't forget to keep the lights in the rear bumper bar to make sure the you comply with the ADR's. Looking forward to having two reverse lights and being able to see what's behind me in the dark!

I purchased a pre made loom from Vic recently so im keen to see how that goes.

Will post pics of the process.

Was told by Mr Nissan that the casings cant handle the heat from the globes so they wouldnt wire mine up at delivery.

did this myself just recently got mine as plug n play units from carsrus on the sunshine coast worked a treat did this after a boo boo out 4wding smashed one of my blanks and nissan quoted me $250.00 to replace one blank with a blank mine cost me $144.00 for the pair with loom and globes including frieght what a bargan!!! ande friggin bright too :)

About to do the Xmas tree with my GU Patrol...I'll take pics and see how it goes...lol...

My cars lights on rear plus bumper all light up since day I got car. Presumed it was normal didn't realise it was a mod

Hi Guys
I'm in the UK and we have the same silly rules over here, so our lights are useless too!
I'd like to do this mod but can someone tell me if these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nissan-Pa...item2c60c962de will fit my 1998 GU Shorty? They look the same, but I want to be sure!
Cheers
Nick

Yes they will fit mate. I have them in my 2001 GU which had the same tail lights as you. But you will need to run the wires for the rhs though.

Great post 'im2xtreem'.

Seems like they way to go, I've been gleening lots of info on this, and am keen to do it to mine.

Thankyou...:clapping::clapping::clapping:

This is a great DIY mod for Patrols...

I did mine this weekend in about 2 hours. Thanks for the great pics "im2xtreem"! I followed your advice to the letter but couldn't find the connectors so I connected all the wiring with crimped connectors. I hope they work ok...

I've included some pics of my exchange to show how I did them...they all work and look the ducks guts!

Here's some more pics...

Its was easy to connect passenger side. Then just crimped parallel connectors on correct wires, ran under trim to right side and connected...presto. Thank you once again "im2xtreem" for the great thread and pics...

just did mine, only found reverse on left factory wire not to hard to wire up cannt stop looking at them...

Ordered mine , waiting on delivery on Monday.


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