Proud new owner with noob questions!

[etlsport]

my guess is the dome light is just a bulb problem, i pulled mine out the other day and when i put it back in the end of the bulb broke off... so theyre not the best bulbs in the world..

tips for changing your dome light.. when you open the door the dome light comes on automatically, by pushing up on the lens (where it says 'push') you can turn it off.. so make sure to do that so you dont short anything out.. other than that the dome light is pretty straight forward, to pull the cover off i just put my key in the small slot on the back of it (towards the rear seats) and twist and that pops the cover right off...

speaking of dome lights.. not that its a huge deal but i figured id share this little tid bit for when you're all workin on your VXs, to keep my dome light from staying on the whole time im working with a door open, a penny is the perfect size to hold the slider in the door jamb in the closed position to make the vx think the door is closed

[nfpgasmask]

Cool, I will check this too when I go to change the fog lamps. But, how do I know if the dome light is "ON" or "OFF" when it is burned out? Maybe I just need to look closer. So, are you basically saying that when I change the bulb out, I should be sure to have the doors closed? I don't want to short anything over a dome light swap! The shop manual says I should disconnect the battery terminal, is this really necissary?

Also, regarding the penny trick, I think I read somewhere else on this board about clipping a wire somewhere to disable the open door dome light thing. I need to find that too, but maybe I will use the penny trick! It sounds less intrusive!

Thanks - Bart

PS - I'm going to sleep now, and for the first time in many years, I can't wait to get up and drive to work!

my guess is the dome light is just a bulb problem, i pulled mine out the other day and when i put it back in the end of the bulb broke off... so theyre not the best bulbs in the world..

tips for changing your dome light.. when you open the door the dome light comes on automatically, by pushing up on the lens (where it says 'push') you can turn it off.. so make sure to do that so you dont short anything out.. other than that the dome light is pretty straight forward, to pull the cover off i just put my key in the small slot on the back of it (towards the rear seats) and twist and that pops the cover right off...

speaking of dome lights.. not that its a huge deal but i figured id share this little tid bit for when you're all workin on your VXs, to keep my dome light from staying on the whole time im working with a door open, a penny is the perfect size to hold the slider in the door jamb in the closed position to make the vx think the door is closed

[etlsport]

one way to make sure the dome light is off is to get in, and arm the alarm (but wait about 10 seconds after the alarm is armed because there is a delay for the dome light) or just get in, close the door (or do the penny trick) and press the dome light lens once, this will turn it off

manuals always say to disconnect the battery to be on the safe side, the only things ive really disconnected the battery for so far is replacing my fuel system, if im going to be reaching down towards the fan and when installing audio equip (and thats usually just cause i know im gonna have to disconnect it anyway to run power to the amp) better safe than sorry.. but for replacing bulbs i dont really bother

[nfpgasmask]

Great, thanks. I just looked at the manual for how to get the radio out. Holy Crizap it looks like I have to take the whole dash assembly out!!!!!

Bart

[psychos2]

Great, thanks. I just looked at the manual for how to get the radio out. Holy Crizap it looks like I have to take the whole dash assembly out!!!!!

Bart

Not the whole dash , just the trim piece oround the gauges and the trim piece around the stereo. As far as the dome light you do not need a penny or need to close the door to turn it off. All you need to do is push it and it will turn off. shawn

[nfpgasmask]

Not the whole dash , just the trim piece oround the gauges and the trim piece around the stereo. As far as the dome light you do not need a penny or need to close the door to turn it off. All you need to do is push it and it will turn off. shawn

Great, thanks. Are there any nice websites that have a "step-by-step" for removing the radio? Or is the manual the best source for this?

Thanks - Bart

[nfpgasmask]

PHAT! I just opened the manual for my head unit. I looks like all I need is an additional $40 wire adapter and my head unit will control the CD changer! This is a better option than the pocket because now I won't need to pull the factory CD changer, which does look proper where it is....

Bart

[Maugan_VX]

As far as tires go, I think everyone here will overwhelmingly recommend the Nitto Terra Grapplers.

A/T look and grip while maintaining the on-road manners that we love in the VX.

[Ruflyf]

As far as tires go, I think everyone here will overwhelmingly recommend the Nitto Terra Grapplers.

A/T look and grip while maintaining the on-road manners that we love in the VX.

I dunno, I kinda like my Yokohama AVS/T's pretty well for the street look. For an offroad look though Maugan nailed it.

yoko's

as for the cd changer, it has a known track record for breaking....so you may want to consider how much you spend on keeping it.

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, I've been pondering it, and what I think I am going to do is keep 2 sets of rims, my stock rims and a set of rock crawlers. I will put some beefy ATs on the rock crawlers and wear those in the winter and when I go camping, and put some nice street tires on the stock rims and use those in the summer for back and forth to work.

As for the CD changer, I'm just going to hook it up to my JVC head unit with that $40 part from Crutchfield and call it a day. I probably won't ever use the CD changer, but this way I won't have to pull it, keeping the dash as stock as possible (I think it looks nice down there). If I put a cubby in, its only going to tempt me to put stuff in it, and I don't want my VX getting all cluttered with junk like my old Xterra was

This weekend I am going to change out the fog lamps and the dome light. My serpentine belt needs to be swapped too, its pretty cracked up.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions everyone.

Bart