# 98->97 headlight swap prob



## chucky200 (Jan 3, 2003)

Hey guys!

I'm changing my headlights from 200sx '98 to '97. I have them all installed and ready to go, but then I realized that when I turn the lights on the highbeam light comes on the dash. and when I turn on the highbeams, the light stays on only gets fainter/normal lights (reversed). Upon inspection, I found that the '97 has 9004, and the '98 uses 9007 bulbs.

So when I pop in the '98 bulbs, they function normally, but they wont fit with the grooves in the '97 headlight. So I can only use the 9004, but my wiring is not the same.

sooooo, what should I do? Does anyone know how you have to modify the wiring to get them to work properly?

Thanks


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## Triple_T (Mar 18, 2004)

chucky200 said:


> Hey guys!
> 
> I'm changing my headlights from 200sx '98 to '97. I have them all installed and ready to go, but then I realized that when I turn the lights on the highbeam light comes on the dash. and when I turn on the highbeams, the light stays on only gets fainter/normal lights (reversed). Upon inspection, I found that the '97 has 9004, and the '98 uses 9007 bulbs.
> 
> ...


Well i would go to a junkyard and mybe pull the 97 wireing for the headlights, maybe not the whole thing, just a cut of it, or just go for the projectors, they look better and are nicer


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## cgnizmo (Apr 3, 2004)

i actually chiped that litle notch in the opening on both lights and the fit really snugg in the holes


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## chucky200 (Jan 3, 2003)

cgnizmo said:


> i actually chiped that litle notch in the opening on both lights and the fit really snugg in the holes


Damn! What a smart Idea! I'm going to work on that the next day I have off! So much easier then swapping wires and crap.

Triple_T, I can't afford projectors. Although I'd much prefer them! I only got the '97 lights b/c they were $25, and I got the grill for free. Time for a change!


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## nizzan4u2nv (Apr 14, 2004)

Thats what I did. Just get a blade and trim those off, the 9007s will fit snug.


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

Hey Chucky200,
I have a question on your headlight swap. Did you do anything about the gap underneath the headlights and center piece? I always thought that the 98s weren't compatible with 97 and below headlights because of the new bumper, center 'gap' and different-shaped headlights that came on 98's.
I have a '98 200 also and would like to see pictures of your car! Thanks man and hope the bulbs ended up working good for you.


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

chucky200 said:


> Hey guys!
> 
> I'm changing my headlights from 200sx '98 to '97. I have them all installed and ready to go, but then I realized that when I turn the lights on the highbeam light comes on the dash. and when I turn on the highbeams, the light stays on only gets fainter/normal lights (reversed). Upon inspection, I found that the '97 has 9004, and the '98 uses 9007 bulbs.
> 
> ...


why did you change the lights?? got any pics?? do you want to sell them?? give me a price, i might buy them from you.


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## 200sxOuTKasT (Feb 24, 2003)

Curious why as well...unsightly gap under the grill? 9004 over 9007? and cloudy white headlights over the clear 98 ones? Doesn't make any sense to me at all as well but oh well.


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## nizzan4u2nv (Apr 14, 2004)

I like the squarish look rather then the round look. Plus someone hit me so I thought i would change it, now i would never go back.


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## chucky200 (Jan 3, 2003)

Well, I did as you guys suggested and shaved off the three "notches" on the headlight and the bulbs fit in perfectly! Thanks SO much again for letting me know, I would've started swapping wires  



Greg200SE-R said:


> Hey Chucky200,
> I have a question on your headlight swap. Did you do anything about the gap underneath the headlights and center piece? I always thought that the 98s weren't compatible with 97 and below headlights because of the new bumper, center 'gap' and different-shaped headlights that came on 98's.
> I have a '98 200 also and would like to see pictures of your car! Thanks man and hope the bulbs ended up working good for you.


There's nothing to do about that gap. in fact, you actually don't even notice it unless you really inspect and focus on that particular area. Look at all the '97 grill pics. Only the first "head on" pic is the one you can see the bad alignment. Otherwise the car looks normal! I should mention the way the grill was painted. I got it custom done my stock bright blue pearl, however only the "tips" of the horizontal lines were painted blue. the rear half of the horizontal lines are black, and so are the vertical line at the back of the grill. This makes the gill a little less bright, and gives it almost a black look at certain angles. (see pics below)



azkicker0027 said:


> why did you change the lights?? got any pics?? do you want to sell them?? give me a price, i might buy them from you.


I changed the lights b/c I've always hated the "mouth" that the '98 has. I dunno, I love the clear headlights, but I think the gap just makes the front end look cheap. esp looking at it from the side (how it sticks out so much). Yes the '97 lights are more dull, but in my opinion, the '97 light grill combo really closes up the font end and as a while makes the car look much better. The clear corners also match the '97's better. It all in matter of personal opinion though, a lot of ppl have told me they like the '98 better. But I don't care, it's what I'm happy with and that's all the counts 

I won't be selling my '98's. I'm keeping the grill and lights for use in the winter so I don't chip my beautiful custom painted grill. In addition, I always keep all stock parts I remove incase there's one sad day I decide to sell her.


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## Triple_T (Mar 18, 2004)

chucky200 said:


> Damn! What a smart Idea! I'm going to work on that the next day I have off! So much easier then swapping wires and crap.
> 
> Triple_T, I can't afford projectors. Although I'd much prefer them! I only got the '97 lights b/c they were $25, and I got the grill for free. Time for a change!


hey man i agree, if i had enough money for projectors, i would do them, what exactly isnt fitting? if its the headlight into screw holes then use bondo, if its the headlight wiring, try either pulling the whole 97 harness, or just clipping the harness, and like u said the high beam light in teh cluster is reversed, just do electrical work to flip it back


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## nizzan4u2nv (Apr 14, 2004)

Stop calling her man, shes a woman. Looks good now chucky.


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## Greg200SE-R (Feb 5, 2003)

Hmmm the lights did work out well, looks good. Thats a great color too, definitely an eye catcher. Nice job on the grill, did the paint shop have a hard time matching your car color?

I have a "Platinum Gold" color (which just looks like silver) but damn the body shops around here have a hard time matching the color. I may have to pay a lot of money to color match a new wing that's arriving in the mail soon.


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## chucky200 (Jan 3, 2003)

Triple_T said:


> hey man i agree, if i had enough money for projectors, i would do them, what exactly isnt fitting? if its the headlight into screw holes then use bondo, if its the headlight wiring, try either pulling the whole 97 harness, or just clipping the harness, and like u said the high beam light in teh cluster is reversed, just do electrical work to flip it back


It's ok now  I just had to shave off the 3 little notches that are around the hole in the headlight that the bulbs go into. It's working perfect now!



nizzan4u2nv said:


> Stop calling her man, shes a woman. Looks good now chucky.


Why thank you!  Just like you said, I like it a hell of a lot better! Too bad I waited this long! (and no worries about calling me "man"; it's a good assumption on the car forums  nizzan4u2nv just knows me from sr20forum. Thanks for mentioning it; I usually just let it fly  



Greg200SE-R said:


> Hmmm the lights did work out well, looks good. Thats a great color too, definitely an eye catcher. Nice job on the grill, did the paint shop have a hard time matching your car color?


I went to a professional collison shop in the city where I had a hook up on the price from the parts manager at Nissan. (half off) anywho, the guy said $110 (that's canadian, with the half off), he took my color code, and ask me to drop off my present grill so they could match it. I went back a few days later and it was already done! Color matching done all by computer. It's a *perfect* match. I was nervous coughing up that money for something that may look like poo, but as I said, I like a lot better then b4! Oh ya, that price also reflects that the grill is two colors. if you're only doing one, probably be a lot cheaper.

:cheers:


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

wow, that does look nice.


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## nissansofspokane (Oct 30, 2003)

i did the 98 swap to projectors and used the 98 sentra grille, that grille is the best factory one in my opinon because of the honey comb in it.

i will sell my 98 200sx lites and fog lites i any one wants them...


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## chucky200 (Jan 3, 2003)

I like the honeycomb style the best too. but I was not willing to pay for it when I could customize the free '97 grill.

Maybe sometime in the future when I'm working full time I'll get the projectors and honeycomb grill.


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