ok so i was looking on how to do this mod and i searched the forum. i found some how to's but they required rewiring and i found one that didn't but the pictures where all dead... so after i played with my lights for a bit i found out how to do it.

its not that hard and there is no rewiring required.

Step 1. Remove light and harness from the car.
Step 2. Remove the far right light and take out the bulb then move it to the middle light location.
Step 3. take the middle light and move it to far left light.
Step 4. take the light from the far left and move it to the far right.

**NOTE: the harness will be a little tight. its ok**

so here you go hope this helps! :D

Stock USDM tail lights

Parking lights on no brake
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/suprayoshi/Picture004-4.jpg

Parking lights with brake
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/suprayoshi/Picture005-2.jpg

JDM Tail light mod

Parking light no brake
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/suprayoshi/Picture006-3.jpg

Parking lights on with brake
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/suprayoshi/Picture007-6.jpg

I figured I would post up the diagram that I used to make it work.

http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/1192/2826050170099671484S600x600Q85.jpg

Ups is delivering my tail lights later today. Thanks for the pics!

wow, what a coincidence, I just did this mod last night...

why you took the bulb out

sweet! Im doing this tonight!

After I discovered this thread about a month ago, I went right outside and did this with a friend. I am very pleased with it.

wow you went into depth explaining how to switch 3 bulb spots haha.
thanks though! I (and i think we) appreciate the pics and time you spent man!
now im gonna go do mine haha.

i just did mine...but a little differently...

i just took the bulb out of the #2 slot...and then swapped #1 and #3. this way the circle part will stay on with the parking lights (and nothing else)...but it will brighten as a brake light along with the outside light. doing it this way though...i had to extend the ground wires on both light...but it's not hard at all :)

anything for a little added light when the brakes are on.

my number 3 harness doesnt reach the number 1 spot. am i doing this right

Is there a way to do this with the 06 STI tail lights?

Hey I have a quick question. I want to switch it back to stock, but it seems very difficult to remove the harnesses from the slots. 1 of them is easy, but the other too seem like they do not want to come out. Any advice?

Hey I have a quick question. I want to switch it back to stock, but it seems very difficult to remove the harnesses from the slots. 1 of them is easy, but the other too seem like they do not want to come out. Any advice?

is it #2 that is easy to remove? that was the easiest one to do for me.

do the other 2 turn to unlock at least? I just did this mod a few minutes ago and had your post in mind. Once I did the mod I undid it just to make sure. mine unlocked but didn't want to come out at first. I gently pried at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock and it popped out. I definately noticed while I was changing the plugs that while they are interchangeable, they do not fit perfectly. you are probably just getting the same resistance comming out as they gave you going in. play around with it. be gentle, and walk away for 15 minutes if you start getting pissed off. I tend to break things when i'm frustrated.

I guess ill try that. Thanks. What did you use to pry it out?

my number 3 harness doesnt reach the number 1 spot. am i doing this right

+1, am i going to need to splice the black wire??

+1, am i going to need to splice the black wire??
x2. wont reach

lol @ the thread date

4-20

just so i understand completely, there isnt supposed to be a bulb in the middle spot then?
that what it looks like in the pics so i just want to make sure

is it possible to re-pin the plug on the harness?

if so wouldnt that be easier im sure you can get a tool to do this at radioshack or something if not one of those jewlers screwdrivers.

actually this only took about 30 seconds to do. i dont think it gets any easier then that

i just threw up all over the place

easiest mod to date, did it in like a minute.

epic own

edit: Bump for original post date -_______-

just did this. took like 5 minutes. looks great.

sweet write up meng. good job with the pix

lol i just did this and all my wires reached and everything. took me 10 mins thanks to this write up. props dude.

Just installed 04-05 tails on my 06 WRX. Unwrapped, snipped, and spliced some of the commons so it would reach easier. It took longer to get the trunk liner up than it did to do this! :lol: Looks fantastic, now I just need to debadge tonight.

cant do this shiet with the 06 harness because its too short and i dont want to cut any wires :sadbanana:

:banana:just did this and I like:banana:

Interesting, never knew the two lights were different. Something to think about.

cant do this shiet with the 06 harness because its too short and i dont want to cut any wires :sadbanana:
you can swap the connectors around in the harness...just gotta pull the lamp out and test what connectors do what and play the shell game.
chris

yay just dide mine :D

lol, i didn't know this was a 'JDM' mod...the previous owner did this on my car and i thought it was just a cosmetic 'subaru thing' he did by switching the bulbs...i had no clue that JDM imprezas had a different tail light arrangement

he dropped a bulb inside the lens thats been there for 2+ years...i guess i should pull it out sometime haha

I love my JDM Tails!:banana:

anyone want ot help me out on how to do it on an 06.... it seems that everyone is having trouble with the 06

i guess from what i have read that u have to stretch the HELL out of the wiring or just snip and extend to appropriate holes

I had no problem stretching my wires, I't only a pain getting them to fit in the socket but not to hard.

I did mine differently I have both of the brakes light on as parking lights and they both lite up as brake lights. So I have 2 sets of parking lights. That way if one goes out I won't get pulled over.

Going to be doign this real soon thanks for the write up!!

I just did this too.. but I might end up being (whether it looks bad or good) unique. I DID NOT remove the bulb from the middle one in the final setup. What this does is, basically the little circle lights up when not braking, and so does the middle one. However, the middle one brightens up (it is dim when on normally) when the brake is pressed. So I get a circle+rectangle wedge-ish thing without the brakes, then all 3 light up, with the middle one becoming brighter than before. I personally like doing it that way, so as not to lose any visual brightness for drivers behind me when stepping on the brakes. I also guess it makes me the first one to do it that way =D. I'll be sure to post pics when it gets dark, so everyone can have a see.

Also, for people who are having trouble moving #3 to #1 location, you might have to undo a few of the common wires where they're taped up. Also, you can try moving around your harness and untangling wires to gain a few extra centimeters (fractions of an inch). Good luck.

I did this I like it, the wife shrugged her shoulders and shook her head and walked off.

As promised, it got dark, so I went out to get these pics for us. This is what my tails look like with the brake not pressed (just parking lights).

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs030.snc1/4299_111742970478_706900478_3207190_4529946_n.jpg

I like that nti, do you also have a picture of it with the brakes on?

sure.. lemme get those on....

(uploading in progress)
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Brake not pressed
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs030.snc1/4299_111742970478_706900478_3207190_4529946_n.jpg

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brake pressed
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs030.snc1/4299_111790175478_706900478_3208534_2729263_n.jpg

------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should notice that the center one that was on (a bit dimly) brightens up like a christmas tree when the brake is pressed. You might think that's a camera angle thing, but it really isn't. There definitely is a huge difference.

ok stupid question.. i am switching tails tonight with an 04 and do i keep my 06 harness with the car or just switch harness and everything???

just switch everything. its all attached already

can someone post pics of before and after brake, parking, etc because the pics from the 1st page do not work anymore.

04 tail lights for sale. $200 shipped

/\ i think u should post those in the for sale section...

nice!...did mine less than 5 minutes...awesome thread..

This is how it should be done, really jdm tail+led
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j155/DKNY429/IMAG0033.jpg

I'm not sure if this is relevant or not but my JDM tail lights only appear this way WITH the parking or headlights on the on position. If I the parking or headlights aren't on then only the outer bottom lights come on if the brake is pressed (one on each side). The circle one doesn't come on. If the lights are on and the brake isn't pressed then only the circle is lit

I figured I'd share since this thread was recently bumped

I leave my headlights on 24/7 so it doesn't really matter in my case.

nice write up very easy install

SO SWEET, and so easy to do! I <3 JDM! You guys rock! :banana:

I figured I would post up the diagram that I used to make it work.

http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/1192/2826050170099671484S600x600Q85.jpg


i just swapped 1 and 3, because if you look at number 2, the wires to that and number 1 connect to the same part on the harness. red and white/black. props on the writeup. i love my JDM tails now :banana:

06 wires and harnesses work with 04/05 tails right?

lawls

Mine only came with 2 upper sockets (reverse/signaling), and two lower ones (one for city, one for brake). It has the JDM "mod" on it already. What I'd like to know is, are my tails the ACTUAL JDM Tails?

do you have reflectors on the sides of the lights? post a picture of the lights

So I did this last night, and for some reason on my passenger side my brake light won't work now. It doesn't look like any of the wires on the harness popped out or anything and the bulb and all worked fine before? My driver's side works fine though. Help? The harness that isn't working is the one originally in spot #3 on the diagram above.

do you have reflectors on the sides of the lights? post a picture of the lights

No reflectors! I have JDM tails! YAY

did this to my friends bugeye today even tho it doesnt have the circles it still actually looks really cool