Okay, to be honest, this isn’t really a horrible, awful, difficult installation… But I had a hard time myself finding any sort of comprehensive write-up on how to do it, or simply prepping yourself for it, so I’m hoping that this can possibly help someone else along. Despite the large number of forums for this car, there’s nothing straight-forward out there.
Overview:
It took us maybe an hour and a half? I’m really not entirely sure, we ended up having to run and get wire connectors before we could get started. Basically, you take it all apart and replace it! Stupid easy, right? The only part that takes some extra effort is crimping the wires together. To make it easy, have everything you need and do it in the daylight. Preferably when it isn’t raining too.
Supplies needed:
- Wire stripper, crimping tool
- Wire connectors (18 gauge) We had two packages of 16 to cover the job.
- Tail lights, duh. To have a complete kit, it should come with: the four main pieces, the bulbs, new sealant and a replacement lock. Yup, you need all of it to get the job done right.
The boring details…
I don’t think I need to go over too much, no? Just some pictures to go along with it all and a bit more to expound upon.
First off: My car is a 1990 S13, and the tail lights are the JDM 180SX Kouki lights. This little write-up is specifically for that combination. No, I don’t know about the installation of any other lights on the same car. All I know is what I went through and did.
Why it’s not a straight plug and play install: The wires are the exact same, it’s the plugs that aren’t. So what you’ll need to do is cut the plugs off the USDM lights, cut the plugs off the JDM lights and, well, put the USDM plugs on the JDM wires. I know it’s simple, but I had a hard time confirming that this was all needing to be done. All I wanted was someone to say this outright. Now, though, I can tell you this: Swapping the plugs is the only complicated part to the whole process.
Okay, here’s a brief write up and some pictures to go with it:
Gather up all the necessary supplies, open hatch and feel free to start with the removal of the tail lights. We did it in the order of: middle panel (with reverse lights), bottom center piece, two tails. There were also three people, so while one crimped all the plugs, the other two of us worked on removing the stock pieces.
Butt connectors are all that's not included from the order from FR Sports.
They're stupid cheap from RadioShack. 2x packages of 16.
Thanks to a wiring expert helping, it took really no time at all to get all the plugs swapped over. The tail lights were a bit tricky to remove, one of the screws is sneaky and easy to miss. Just make sure all the screws are out (five I want to say) and feel free to use some force. The studs and the sealant doesn’t don’t make them come out as easy as one would like.
Readying the tail lights for the install.
Remove all of the old sealant, as best as you can. The old stuff is a pain to remove, and the new stuff isn’t the easiest to put on. You’ll also need to swap out the lock — the stock one is too short for the middle piece of the lights. In the end, they do stick out a bit further than the hatch… Honestly, it doesn’t look horrible though and isn’t noticeable to the point of being crass.
Remove the old sealant as best you can, but it doesn't have to be perfect.
The new stuff goes on fairly easy, it's just sticky... And hard to do at night.
After all the crimping is done, the stock bits removed, the sealant replaced and the new lock in, simply put in all the new stuff! We did it in the reverse order of removal, which made it super easy.
Lastly, make sure to test it all out. This will tell whether you did a good job crimping or perhaps just forgot to plug something in. Not sure if it was just ours, but the reverse lights don’t work. Then again, we can’t remember if they worked before or not, so… I can’t vouch for that part at all.
Oh, and then there’s getting to admire the great new look. Totally worth the price!!
Ta-da! It's totally worth it, isn't it? Beautiful!!
Conclusion
This write up was probably wholly unnecessary, but hopefully will answer some questions out there about it. For me, I was confused from what little bits I did read… Was it the bulbs that were the problem or the plugs? Are the wires the same or not? Now I know both answers: the plugs are what’s different, and the wires match up exactly… Same color and everything.
All in all, it’s a fairly simple process that produces results that are nothing short of amazing!
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Great write up. I don’t have a 240sx but to owners of a 240sx this sure can be helpful. The jdm 240sx tails look better too me because of the circular tails sticking out. Yes it’s worth it. I have in my attic oem dark chrome
altezza rear taillights from Japan. Its covered with a Tom’s rear tail eyelid. I cant wait to install it.
Thanks! It was my first attempt at a write-up like this. Japanese tail lights FTW.
Butt connectors key to automotive electronics! Nice write up.
Thanks! They only help if you know what you’re doing, that’s for sure.
I am very non-electrically-inclined, so having someone who knows what they’re doing is a must for me.
Ya a lot of it is confusing, I can wire up a stereo like a champ but most other things are a mystery. Couldn’t imagine doing a custom wiring harness anytime soon.
good write up!
Thank you.