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Golferbill's 2002 Xterra questions and ideas...

1K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Golferbill78 
#1 · (Edited)
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. I have been tinkering and have some questions on my 2002 Xterra. I am a newbie to this Xterra world and need some direction. I have lived in Northern Colorado for a year now and spend a lot of time in the mountains during the summer fishing and camping. I have grown addicted to fly fishing and sleep in my car many of nights during the summer. I thought this was important as there are a couple of customizations I want to do to make doing this a bit more enjoyable. But before we get to the customizations I want to get a couple of things fixed. When reading below about the fog lights realize that I will eventually want to put some kind of light bar/flood lights on the front of the vehicle so I am at a crossroads with that. Here are the issues at hand as of now. Please chime in if you have read this and have any direction. I have tried my best at the search function but I am still figuring this site out but happy to be a part of it. Thanks in advance for all the help and education.

First, is the 2002 a First Generation? Just curious as I want to know what threads to look at on this site. I think it might be a first generation but not sure and thought I would ask.

Second, the cigarette lighter doesn't work. I pulled it out and been looking for a replacement but it seems as though there is a relay on the back of it or something. I did change the fuse and that is fine so I assume it is the actual lighter. Any direction on where I can find a replacement that won't cause me to cut the adaptor off on the back of the dash?

Third, the passenger fog light doesn't work. I pulled it off and realized one of the wires is cut. Can I splice this wire with butt connectors that I used to install my stereo? I am not sure there is enough wire but wanted to check and see if that butt connector or wire nuts would do the trick?
-Do people with light bars/flood lights use their fog lights? I am thinking about forgoing this if I can not splice the wire back together in order to invest in aftermarket lighting.

Fourth, I took my roof rack off and sanded it. Decided that I didn't want to paint it myself so I took it to a Powder Coater and it should be back shortly. When I reinstall it is it sacrilegious to not install the wind dam? I can't decide if I want it there or not. Just curious your thoughts.
- Fourth A, the sticker is gone from the air dam but the NISSAN is still there faintly. Any way of removing this permanently so it never shows up again?

Fifth, the headlights are the biggest detractor from this car. I can't tell if they were painted or what. Most of it is black but there are some spots with silver/gray penetrating through. I realize the car is 13+ years old but I really don't want to start getting a spray painted look to it. I am scared that if I were to paint the lights then all of a sudden I would be painting the grill and it would go on and on and in 10 months or so it would look bad. Please tell me you have successfully painted the plastic and it doesn't look painted after some time? Then tell me how to do it. :)

Customizations:
1. I want to have some lights in the cargo area of the vehicle as well as on the hatch. When it gets dark I want to be able to see for rigging rods and other stuff. Direction to a thread where someone has done this would be appreciated. I need some ideas....
2. If the air dam is not reinstalled I am thinking about installing a light bar. This would eliminate the need for upgraded fog lights. I am just overwhelmed with how many different light bars there are and how much different in price they are. I am looking for the best value so what should I be looking for?


As I said, I don't mind reading these threads as it would give me ideas. I just need some direction as to how to find the threads that are pertinent to me. Seems like every thread I read is about an X that is much newer and gets off topic fairly quickly. Lastly, how can I find the For Sale Section? Been looking for it and can't find it.

Really do appreciate all the help guys/gals...

Best,
Bill
 
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#2 ·
Floor mats: When I look on Weathertech it tells me that the holes will not line up with vehicles that have one retention clip on the drivers side. I found some weathertechs today at Autozone and they are generic that you cut to fit. The price is fairly attractive at $49.99 -10% this weekend. Should I order the ones from Weathertech.com or just buy the ones locally?
 
#3 ·
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. I have been tinkering and have some questions on my 2002 Xterra. I am a newbie to this Xterra world and need some direction. I have lived in Northern Colorado for a year now and spend a lot of time in the mountains during the summer fishing and camping. I have grown addicted to fly fishing and sleep in my car many of nights during the summer. I thought this was important as there are a couple of customizations I want to do to make doing this a bit more enjoyable. But before we get to the customizations I want to get a couple of things fixed. When reading below about the fog lights realize that I will eventually want to put some kind of light bar/flood lights on the front of the vehicle so I am at a crossroads with that. Here are the issues at hand as of now. Please chime in if you have read this and have any direction. I have tried my best at the search function but I am still figuring this site out but happy to be a part of it. Thanks in advance for all the help and education.

First, is the 2002 a First Generation? Just curious as I want to know what threads to look at on this site. I think it might be a first generation but not sure and thought I would ask.

Yes, first gen. You might see it referred to as a 1.5 too.

Second, the cigarette lighter doesn't work. I pulled it out and been looking for a replacement but it seems as though there is a relay on the back of it or something. I did change the fuse and that is fine so I assume it is the actual lighter. Any direction on where I can find a replacement that won't cause me to cut the adaptor off on the back of the dash?

I would check to see if it's getting power with a volt meter before buying anything. If it is bad, you could try a junk yard or courtesyparts.com

Third, the passenger fog light doesn't work. I pulled it off and realized one of the wires is cut. Can I splice this wire with butt connectors that I used to install my stereo? I am not sure there is enough wire but wanted to check and see if that butt connector or wire nuts would do the trick?
-Do people with light bars/flood lights use their fog lights? I am thinking about forgoing this if I can not splice the wire back together in order to invest in aftermarket lighting.

Sure you cab splice it. It's a wet environment though so I would put some dielectric grease on the connection and seal it up with shrink tubing or similar

Fourth, I took my roof rack off and sanded it. Decided that I didn't want to paint it myself so I took it to a Powder Coater and it should be back shortly. When I reinstall it is it sacrilegious to not install the wind dam? I can't decide if I want it there or not. Just curious your thoughts.
- Fourth A, the sticker is gone from the air dam but the NISSAN is still there faintly. Any way of removing this permanently so it never shows up again?

Some people run without it, but most keep it. For the decal try Goof Off?

Fifth, the headlights are the biggest detractor from this car. I can't tell if they were painted or what. Most of it is black but there are some spots with silver/gray penetrating through. I realize the car is 13+ years old but I really don't want to start getting a spray painted look to it. I am scared that if I were to paint the lights then all of a sudden I would be painting the grill and it would go on and on and in 10 months or so it would look bad. Please tell me you have successfully painted the plastic and it doesn't look painted after some time? Then tell me how to do it. :)

Painting works very well (spray paint). I just wouldn't use any kind of gloss or semi gloss - I think it looks awful. Not sure about satin. But think about factory trim - it is never shiny.

Customizations:
1. I want to have some lights in the cargo area of the vehicle as well as on the hatch. When it gets dark I want to be able to see for rigging rods and other stuff. Direction to a thread where someone has done this would be appreciated. I need some ideas....

Check around here: http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16434

2. If the air dam is not reinstalled I am thinking about installing a light bar. This would eliminate the need for upgraded fog lights. I am just overwhelmed with how many different light bars there are and how much different in price they are. I am looking for the best value so what should I be looking for?

The cheap ones seem to work okay but accumulate moisture on the inside. Some people definitely think it's worth spending on a good brand.

As I said, I don't mind reading these threads as it would give me ideas. I just need some direction as to how to find the threads that are pertinent to me. Seems like every thread I read is about an X that is much newer and gets off topic fairly quickly. Lastly, how can I find the For Sale Section? Been looking for it and can't find it.

http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=126

Really do appreciate all the help guys/gals...

Best,
Bill
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