DIY:REAR Fog Light install with New harness for US spec 370Z + Radar hardwire w/pics

[AK370Z]

We all know that our US spec 370Z do not get the rear fog light. This fog light is standard in 370Zs ALL OVER the world! We had to settle with a false blacked out plate. In my opinion, it looks horrible and do not flow with the taillights at all. Ever since I bought the Z, I wanted to install the rear fog light. Due to my busy schedule and recent family emergencies, I had to hold off this install. Today the fog light was installed and in the next few paragraphs, I'll try to write down as much info possible about the install. Please feel free to ask me any question (or request high res version of any pictures below).

First of all, I'd like to thank The Z Store for providing me a functional rear fog light and [discounted priced] BRAND NEW harness for the fog light. My car is the FIRST CAR in the United States to have this harness installed. I'm basically the beta tester. I have been trying to find a good switch to install in the cabin so that it doesn't look out of place. I bought the Roadster conv. switch , took it apart and tried to figure out how to hack it. I wasn't so lucky . Then I also bought a set of seat heater switches but technically they are for seat heaters. Using it for fog light is okay as a last resort but I really wasn't too happy about it. When I was told about this brand new harness, I wanted to jump on it regardless of the price. I know many members(i.e. Mr. Robert Nash) spent hundreds of dollars having the fog light installed at the dealer and still had to settle for the seat heater switch.

I also would like to thank MATT (bigaudiofanat) for doing the install and SIMOTA1 for writing the initial fog light DIY



Fog Light:







Fog Light Harness:









This is basically the complete fog light installation idea.





Removal of Rear Fog Light:

In order to remove the rear fog light, first you have to take off a black backing plate. It's held by 3 small clips. Due to dirt and exhaust heat, these 3 pins were really stuck pretty well. Have patience and they will come right off. now, once you remove these, you will have access to the fog light bolts. It's held by two small bolts. PLEASE BE VERY VERY CAREFUL not to ruin the bolt by turning with the base since Nissan decided to put so much locktite. It'll def be a good idea to soak them with some sort of WD40 before you start the install. Matt couldn't open these bolts as they would turn with the base. So, he sprayed some of these




and heated the bolt so that it expands and locktite melts. I mean we were this close ----> ll to simply giving up and take the WHOLE rear bumper off. That would have def add more hours to our install.




Installation:
First we took the front dash off to gain access to the accessory power (+) line. You can find plenty of step by step on how to take these off HERE and HERE . Connecting the fog light switch via accessory power will prevent you from accidentally keeping the fog light on when the car is off.

Matt basically started putting everything in place just to get an idea how the fog light will be installed and where to feed the wires. We ran the wire under the armrest to the trunk area. We fasten the orange relay right below the switch inside the armrest area. Here are some pictures








Please NOTE we used the Driver side (LEFT sided) existing rubber grommet for this install. We previously ran the rear camera wire through it and it worked beautifully for this install as well.




Here Matt is installing the fog light.




Comparison picture.




It was a bad day out today. It drizzled during the first hour and half of the install. VERY light drizzle. We HAD to install it today since tomorrow both of us are busy. Here's a pic




As you can see in the following pictures, wires are routed very neatly (thanks to Matt) and followed through the inside of the armrest to the front.








ALL THE WIRES were soldered and heat shrinked professionally.



We had the Install cat - TIGER look over everything and she gave us green light on the install. I mean this cat is always watching over the install when my car comes in. Heck, I think I even stop paying attention sometimes but TIGER, not even a blink! So, if your install is NOT approved by "Tiger the Install cat", then you're pretty much on your own! Lol



There are 4 ground bolts by the shifter. Feel free to use whichever one you like. We used the top right and rear right bolts.





Simply plug in the harness to the switch and you're all done! Push the beverage/switch holder in (it's not held by any bolt. Just pull up to remove and push down to install).






Final pictures:








The awesome thing about this switch is that it has a illuminated fog light logo that lits up with THE SAME ORANGE OEM COLOR as the interior accent!



You can see it more clear here



Exterior



Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ociHEZLxgvg



Another cool feature about the harness is that it automatically resets as soon as you turn the ignition off meaning you don't have to guess or physically turn off after each session. You turn the car off and fog light will not be on when you start the car (kind of like how VDC switch but opposite). If you need it, simply turn it on.




Impression:
I'm VERY happy with the way the fog light is installed. The quality of the harness is fantastic. I'm glad I didn't had to settle for cheap auto zone switch or the heater switch. Pricing and info thread for this harness should be released soon by The Z Store. Please keep your eyes open in the Sponsor Marketplace. If you have ANY question(s), do not hesitate to ask.

Thank You.

A. Kaiser