HELP - Installing illuminated kickplates on M37 [pics]

[Brian35XR]

Hi nicoclub it's been a while since I posted on the M35 forum but I now have an M37 and one of the things I missed was the illuminated kickplates which my M37 did not come with. I bought these kickplates on ebay for the M37/M56 that were brand new still in their factory packaging - ebay link.

This should've been a simple job but I've been spending two days trying to figure out where these things plug in to. The instructions located here indicate there is some mystery wire harness these plug into near the lower driver instrument panel near the lower fuse box:


I can say with confidence there is nothing like that on my car. Here are two pictures of what it looks like with everything removed:



The only thing I can think of is since the M37 doesn't come with illuminated kickplates as a base option (like the M35), only the ones that have them pre-installed will have the harness secured to those two holes I highlighted in red. This doesn't make sense though since I found COUNTLESS forums with people installing the kickplates on their G37, FX35, Q50, Rogue, etc...

Has anyone ever installed illuminated kickplates on their M37 that did not come with them from the factory? Can anyone with the kickplates already installed attest that there should be a harness there?

Thanks!

[Frog]

I get home in 4 hours. I have them installed. I’ll check then.

[Brian35XR]

I get home in 4 hours. I have them installed. I’ll check then.

Thanks.. when ever u get around to it it'd be greatly appreciated! I've been racking my brain since it appears to be plug & play on other Nissan/Infiniti.

I must be missing something but worst case i might have to tap a lead for power into the door light which I'd like to not do if i can help it.

[satown210]

I have the illuninated kickplate but want to add the under car courtesy lighting. I had a Q50S loaner that had it and I liked it. Thinking about tapping into the kickplate harnesses.

[Frog]

Sorry I got busy cooking for Family on Sunday I’ll get to it on Monday standby

[Larz]

I'm wondering if you can't just run the wires to the courtesy lamps at the bottom of the doors. Just run them under the side molding up to and through the existing tube that carries the other wiring to the door and then down to the courtesy lamps. You will need to add a length of wiring to cover that distance but they will illuminate when the doors are opened.

[reggiebrown40]

Hi nicoclub it's been a while since I posted on the M35 forum but I now have an M37 and one of the things I missed was the illuminated kickplates which my M37 did not come with. I bought these kickplates on ebay for the M37/M56 that were brand new still in their factory packaging - ebay link.

This should've been a simple job but I've been spending two days trying to figure out where these things plug in to. The instructions located here indicate there is some mystery wire harness these plug into near the lower driver instrument panel near the lower fuse box:


I can say with confidence there is nothing like that on my car. Here are two pictures of what it looks like with everything removed:


The only thing I can think of is since the M37 doesn't come with illuminated kickplates as a base option (like the M35), only the ones that have them pre-installed will have the harness secured to those two holes I highlighted in red. This doesn't make sense though since I found COUNTLESS forums with people installing the kickplates on their G37, FX35, Q50, Rogue, etc...

Has anyone ever installed illuminated kickplates on their M37 that did not come with them from the factory? Can anyone with the kickplates already installed attest that there should be a harness there?

Thanks!

The harness is there, Brian. It's buried on the backside of those two wirelooms, taped to one of them. Very hard to find and I almost gave up the install. I bought the illuminated kick panels a few months ago and spent about 2 hours trying to find the plug.

Facing forward, locate the second wire loom. start from the bottom and work your way up. It's in between the looms and its about 12 inches up off the car floor. Hope this helps.

[emm3seven]

Brian35XR - were you able to find the harness? I'm looking at installing these in my 2011 M37x and would love to hear a success story.

Thanks.

[emm3seven]

I completed the illuminated kick plate install myself yesterday, and decided to take a series of detailed pics to help others find this plug. Apologies in advance for the nasty foot well - I just got the car and am slowly undoing 6 years of sloppy Canadian road salt.

Also note that (as these pics will show) you don't have to take off all of the driver's side interior trim pieces that are called out in the official instructions. In this diagram from the instructions, I left 11, 12, and 13 in place. I also didn't have to take off the rear inner kick plates (1 and 6). YMMV.


Finding the plug
To get oriented, take off trim pieces 3 and 5 in the above diagram, move the driver's seat all the way back, stick your head in the right side of the driver's foot well and as close to the driver's seat as you can get it, then look towards the fuse block. You can just see the top of the white plug we want poking up above the black tape in this pic:


Enhance...(1 of 6)


Enhance...(2 of 6)


Enhance...(3 of 6)


Enhance...(4 of 6)
This is staring straight on / square at the fuse block.
The harness that feeds the left side of this fuse block splits into three plugs, as you can see in the center of this picture.
If you follow those three plugs up towards the top of the car, they combine into one harness. On my M37, the plug we want was taped to this harness.


Enhance...(5 of 6)


Enhance...(6 of 6)
Now we're staring right at it.


Some careful tearing of tape with a blunt plastic pry tool (no sharp objects near the wiring harness, m'kay?) and the plug is free.


Hope this helps the next person!

[Ilya]

Good work folks...adding to FAQ.

[Brian35XR]

I've been meaning to get back to this thread.. Thanks to everyone who posted and awesome tutorial emm3seven. I actually ripped the under panels apart again and took a deeper look a few days after I posted this and found the plug. The guy who said it was TAPED to one of the other wire looms really helped (I did not expect the entire plug to be physically covered in black electrical tape). I also took a few pics:






Thanks again for everyone's help.

[DCHammer]

Apologies for dragging this thread back from the dead but I arrived very late to the M37 customization game.

Where does the passenger side sill connect? The wire is not long enough to reach the driver side where the existing harness connection is located.

[VStar650CL]

There should be an accessory connector on the passenger side just like the one on the driver's side. It will be taped back to the Main Harness someplace just behind the glove box or underneath the kick panel.

[reggiebrown40]

Apologies for dragging this thread back from the dead but I arrived very late to the M37 customization game.

Where does the passenger side sill connect? The wire is not long enough to reach the driver side where the existing harness connection is located.

The wire is supposed to run along the foot well from the driver's side to the passenger's side. There is no connector on the passenger side that I'm aware of.I installed this on my M56 years ago and that's what the instructions said to do. Sounds like you might be missing a wire because the one that ran along the footwell was very long.

R

[VStar650CL]

The wire is supposed to run along the foot well from the driver's side to the passenger's side. There is no connector on the passenger side that I'm aware of.I installed this on my M56 years ago and that's what the instructions said to do. Sounds like you might be missing a wire because the one that ran along the footwell was very long.

(Sigh)
The M's must be different from literally everything else Nissan. (But I guess we knew that)

[DCHammer]

Thanks for the replies. I have not received the plates yet. Purchased off ebay used. The pictures don't seem to show a long enough lead on the passenger side to reach the drivers side. Worse case is that I have to snip the connector, extend the wires and connect to the harness on the drivers side.

Hopefully that's not the case but that's a pretty minor modification compared to what I'm planning to get the Takeda long tube cold air kit in.

edit:

So a little more research explains it. Made a bad decision buying used. When they pulled them, they didn't pull the wire that comes with the a new set that runs from the driver side harness to the passenger side sill.

Guess I'll wait and see what condition they're actually in when they arrive. Might decide to just swallow my pride and toss the used set in the bin and buy new. That'll teach me for getting excited and not doing my research. FML

[Chipinator]

I will be shocked if someone replies but its worth a shot. My 2011 m37 driver side kickplate is not lighting up but the passenger side is working. Is there any way to fix this easily or would i have to replace the whole driver side kickplate?

[Bonkle]

I will be shocked if someone replies but its worth a shot. My 2011 m37 driver side kickplate is not lighting up but the passenger side is working. Is there any way to fix this easily or would i have to replace the whole driver side kickplate?

Have you taken it out and looked at it? I think it's just a loose/corroded connection, especially since it's the driver's side.

[VStar650CL]

IIRC each side has a separate inline fuse, too. You should definitely pop the kick panel and sill plate to take a look. If there's nothing obvious with the wiring, put a test lamp across the wires and see if it lights. If it does the LED's in the plate are shot, if it doesn't then there's a wiring issue.