- Exterior lighting
- Headlights: 9003 / HB2
- Fog lights: H3 - 55W
- Front turn signal / combination lamp: 7443 (try to get bulbs with an amber exterior coating for best results)
- Tail / brake lamp: 7443
- Center high mounted stop light: 168
- Reverse light: 921
- License plate: 168
- Interior lighting
- Dome light & cargo area light: DE3175
- Map lights: BA9s (also known as #57)
- Instrument cluster: 74
- 1996 - 2000 QX4: 168
- Automatic transmission shift indicator: 168
- Manual HVAC controls: 74
- Buttons: 12v microlamps from RadioShack
- Automatic HVAC control buttons: unsure (NEO4-W LED bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs fit here; see this post for more details)
- Ashtray light: 74
- Glove box: 74
- Hazard & rear defroster switches: 12v microlamps from RadioShack
- Instrument cluster illumination: 5x 74-CWHP3
- Do note that post-facelift QX4s (2001 - 2003) have a fluorescent bulb used to illuminate the instrument cluster. You are not able to replace this with an LED.
- Instrument cluster warning / indicator lamps: Various 74-X bulbs
- Use bulbs that match the indicator's lens; for example, you will want a green LED bulb for the turn signal indicators and the cruise/set indicators.
- Do note that 2003 - 2004 Pathfinders and 2003 QX4s already have LEDs for the majority of the instrument cluster warning and indicator lamps. The turn signal indicators and high beams indicator are traditional incandescent bulbs and can be replaced. I would replace these with 74-xHP bulbs.
- Do not use an LED bulb for the "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" indicator, since for some reason there is always a small amount of power fed to that light and it will be dimly lit at night, and it will irritate you.
- You may wish to use a high power bulb for amber colored indicators (ABS, O/D OFF, etc) because a non-SMD light ends up with a rather dim mustard looking color, which may be difficult to distinguish in bright sunlight.
- Automatic transmission shift indicator: T13-W6
- Manual HVAC controls: 2x 74-CWHP3
- If you would prefer warmer color temperature, order 74-WWHP3 instead.
- Dome and cargo lights: 2x 3022-CWHP4
- Map lights: 2x BA9s-CWHP6
- BA9S-WHP9 would likely be a better and brighter choice due to the poor LED layout of the BA9s-CWHP6 bulbs; the lone side LEDs end up pointing down towards the interior, while the 2 side LEDs on each side point toward the sides of the map light housing.
- Ashtray: 74-W
- Glove box: 74-WHP
- 74-WWHP3 may be a better choice due to more bulbs (for 360 degree light output) and warmer color temperature.
It's likely not worth the expense to change the indicator / warning lamps to LEDs, but LEDs for the cluster illumination is certainly worth it as it makes quite a difference over the dim incandescent stock bulbs, and is probably the most beneficial upgrade one can make to interior illumination.
Here are some example photos of my interior LED conversion. Some pictures are out of date, and I really should take some better photos soon.
Map / dome lights:
Manual HVAC controls:
Shifter / ashtray:
Glovebox:
I have also replaced my brake / tail bulbs and license plate bulbs with success. However, the brake bulbs are fairly costly ($25 each). LED brake bulbs have the benefit of instant on / off, which potentially increases other drivers' reaction time (PDF whitepaper on the subject), as well as reduced power consumption, less heat generated, and longer life.
I used these bulbs, again from SuperBrightLEDs:
- Brake / tail bulbs: 2x 7443-R45-T
- License plate bulbs: 2x WLED-WHP5
The camera makes the license plate lights seem brighter than they truly are; the lights do not overpower the license decal sticker as it may appear in the picture.
I would not purchase LED bulbs from eBay for any exterior lighting, as I'd imagine the quality of cheap bulbs varies wildly and despite looking similar and having as many or even more LED bulbs than ones found on SuperBrightLEDs, they still may not be as bright or work as well when retrofitted in stock housings designed for incandescent bulbs.
Here is the estimated power savings as a result of a complete interior LED conversion. Assume dimmer switch is at maximum. I would include the brake & license plate light conversions wattage numbers too, but SuperBrightLEDs does not publish power consumption values for either the brake bulbs or the license plate bulbs unfortunately.
- Incandescent bulb power usage
- Instrument cluster bulbs, illumination: 4x 3W bulbs, 1x 2W bulb = 14W total
- Instrument cluster bulbs, indicator / warning: 18x 1.4W bulbs total and 1x 3W bulb
- Of course, not all of these will be constantly lit at once, otherwise you have some major problems! Let's assume a typical case of 2 bulbs lit most of the time; CRUISE and SET, which are 1.4W bulbs. Thus, power usage is only 2.8W.
- The 3W bulb is the "battery" warning indicator lamp.
- Ashtray, glove box, manual HVAC controls: 4x 1.4W = 5.6W total (figure of 1.4W each obtained from Sylvania 74 LL bulb)
- Automatic transmission shift indicator: 4.9W (figure obtained from Sylvania 168 LL bulb)
- Incandescent bulb wattage total: 27.3 watts
- LED bulb power usage
- Instrument cluster bulbs, illumination: 5x 0.4W = 2W total
- Instrument cluster bulbs, indicator / warning: 19x 0.2W bulbs
- Once again assuming only the CRUISE and SET are lit, power usage is 0.4W.
- Ashtray, glove box, manual HVAC controls: 3x 0.4W (HVAC + glove box; high-power tri-LED bulbs) + 0.2W (ashtray) = 1.4W total
- Automatic transmission shift indicator: 0.4W
- LED bulb wattage total: 4.2 watts
I hope this thread sheds some light about lighting and LED conversions on our Pathfinders and QX4s.