95pathyguySD Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 SO, an interesting thing happened and I thought I would share here with you all. My Pathy had the 1157 Kioto bulbs for 9 years since I bought her used. A few months ago driver rear brake went out (park lights were fine) and was replaced with 1157 Sylvania LL bulbs from Autozone. Replaced it and it worked so didnt think anything of it. I didnt drive the Pathy much at night and then last night noticed the driver brake light out again. So I open the access door tonight and inspected the bulb. I didnt see anything out of the ordinary with the bulb. I kept the old Kioto bulb so I could find some more and noticed the contact points were slightly different. The Sylvania are rounded and the Kioto are flat. I interchanged the passenger Kioto bulb and it would worked and then back and then decided to change the good Kioto bulb in the passenger brake light with a Sylvania and replace the right bulb with the Sylvania. Now everything works. The only thing I could think is the contacts were not making correct contact with the bulbholder. I was gently flexing wired to see if there's a intermittent wire short and didnt find one. Everything seems to work both brake and park lights and while I was at it did a full walkaround and checked all the light functions with my helper. I'm happy again and legal on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF600 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Some of those cheaper bulbs, the silver bottom, are not very good. I prefer the gold colored bottom bulbs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 And the problem is back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 Any recomendations on a quality brake socket manufacture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 Another thing I noticed is both brake lights works fine during the day, but when you switch on the headlights and the running lights then apply the brake the light will go out. I'm tempted to just replace the whole assembly but I really just wanna try to address the issue as both lens are in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF600 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Possible corrosion on the socket? My guess is there some resistance somewhere. Put more power to the wires and it pops the bulbs. The fuse should go first. Check the fuse. It sounds weird but maybe there is an issue with it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Genuine nissan part 26551-41G00 is the part number for the wiring harness. Subtotal $24.06Tax $1.80 Shipping & Handling $9.72 Order Total:$35.58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Thank you RF600 for your response. I looked at the bulb sockets and it was neglected previously (9 plus year ago by the po) so decided to order a new genuine harness to get a baseline. I get scared with wiring for some reason. I really need to take a class or youtube lessons or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF600 Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 (edited) Wiring isn't that bad. It is time consuming. Can be frustrating. I still get confused on wiring. It's not easy. Glad that is was an easy fix. Hopefully the new harness fixes it. Please reply back and let everyone know. Edited November 25, 2015 by RF600 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 +1 on wiring being a PITA. Sounds like a bad connection or bad ground to me. New plugs aren't a bad idea, just make sure the ground lead you hook them into is solid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terranovation Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I remember paying $54 for a brand new tail light after a little car park shopping trolley incident lol. I accidently backed into a stray trolley, it broke my tail light. I was just glad it was a lamp and not actual body work that was dented. The new tail light (after market not genuine Nissan but identical) came with bulbs and wiring harness to plug into the original connector. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damuho Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I'd suggest checking the ground wire as stated by Slarti. When I got my Pathy one of the quirks that came with it is how the brake lights worked: The parking lights work fine but when I depress the brake pedal, the parking lights will go out and only the driver side brake light works. I checked the voltages and grounding on the sockets and found that on the driver side, the socket ground does not exist. The wire is physically attached but electrically, appears disconnected. I did a quick test and disconnected it and inserted it temporarily between the bulb and the socket and everything worked as it should. I then soldered the wire to the socket to secure it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 **How to install a new rear tail light harness with sockets.** Order a genuine Nissan part #26551-41G00, in this case for a 1995 Pathfinder XE . I avoided the lense disassembly to avoid any mishaps. It makes the process a little bit awkward but I really didnt want to have a problem with the lense if I could avoid it. Remove the light access cover to the light backing by pressing the tab and pulling cover away. Turn each plastic light socket counterclockwise to loosen, remove each bulb and set aside in a safe place. Take note that there's two light grey and one black socket. Take note that two bulbs are single filament and the brake light is the double filament and have offset tabs and only fit back a certain way. The white clip connector has a release on the underside. Firmly press it and it releases by pulling away from lense. There is a plastic slotted clip that holds part of the harness on the lense backing. This clip is not detachable. You will see a black sleeve which holds the wires together. It basically needs to be pried away carefully slightly to free the harness. With your finger pinch the sleeve to make the wire slim so it comes out of the slot. There is one screw that holds the white male connector to the lens. ***Pay attention to this screw as you have a chance to possibly lose it in the body panel. There is a black tab that aligns it, do not attempt to remove it, its just there to align and should come loose from it. Loosen the screw with a phillips and then with your fingers back it off the rest of the way, hold it securely and set aside safely. Remove and inspect your old part with the new part, make sure it looks similar in quality and construction. I found it easier to put bulb grease and the bulbs in while the harness is out for inspection. Use grease as directed on label. Replace the bulbs and correct sockets into the lense backing by turning clockwise into the lock position. Pay attention to the tabs as they only go in one way. Replace the wiring harness into the split tab by firmly pressing it back in, you might need to work at it some gently. Place the metal tab from the harness on the black plastic guide then secure the screw by starting it with your fingers then using the phillips to finish off. Connect the male and female white connector. Test the lights by turning on all the lights and testing all signals and brake and reverse functions. Have someone help you with testing if mirrors or surface dosent reflect lighting. Be Sure your brake lights have standing markers and bright brake when depressing your brake pedal. Replace the access cover to the light backing. Clean your area and secure your vehicle. Have a great day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terranovation Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Nice write up - I disconnect mine by opening the plastic access then by just unclippibg the male female white connector, this way the bulbs and attached wires remain in the sockets when you remove the lamp. The top screw can be hard to get to, you need a rachet bar to get to it. I remember the middle nut and bottom one are fairly easy access. The hard part of it is you can't really see much and you have to go by feel. Easier when you have the new tail light then you have an idea where to feel for the, ahem, nuts to unscrew. Oh and the original tail lights have some sort of glue holding the rubber gasket to the body. On mine it was really aged and after a good wipe with a wet rag it comes off. Also be careful tightening the new tail light in. Only go as tight until the rubber gasket surround is making contact with the body otherwise you might crack the lenses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Nice write up - I disconnect mine by opening the plastic access then by just unclippibg the male female white connector, this way the bulbs and attached wires remain in the sockets when you remove the lamp. The top screw can be hard to get to, you need a rachet bar to get to it. I remember the middle nut and bottom one are fairly easy access. The hard part of it is you can't really see much and you have to go by feel. Easier when you have the new tail light then you have an idea where to feel for the, ahem, nuts to unscrew. Oh and the original tail lights have some sort of glue holding the rubber gasket to the body. On mine it was really aged and after a good wipe with a wet rag it comes off. Also be careful tightening the new tail light in. Only go as tight until the rubber gasket surround is making contact with the body otherwise you might crack the lenses. Thanks Terranovation. Thanks for the pointers if others choose to remove the lense or need to in a case of a damaged lense. My question is about the glue. What type of glue was used originally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialWarr Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Although there is one bonus of living in that salty part of the northeast: is that every nut and bolt stays inside the socket until you pull them out... free nutholders! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I was going to ask, do you have a trailer harness installed? I had this issue on mine as someone tapped into the ground on my old pathy, and there was literally one strand of wire actually making contact. So when you hit the brakes the tail light would go out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95pathyguySD Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 adamzan, No harness in sight, but that's a great point. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terranovation Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 The glue they originally used looks like some sort of double sided tape which was easy to remove because of age. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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