An Xterra Switch.

October 3, 2015

Going inside the cabin it was time to get a switch ready for my PIAA 520 ATP lamps. I went with the Nissan OEM Xterra switch #25166-N50002 because I wanted it to blend in with the rest of the interior. Before actually installing the switch, I had to first do some soldering since I did not have a matching harness plug. I used my Dremel to trim away at the harness plug housing in order to gain enough clearance to solder directly to the switch pins. After working out the electrical, I realized that I only need 4 wires, so I used a 4-pin connector harness and got to soldering.

Here’s the six small pins and some careful soldering.
Soldering complete, you can see the 4-pin plug in the background.

With the switch side done, I connected the wires to a DEI 611T Latching Module; the module’s job is to allow the Xterra switch to function correctly as a push-on/push-off type momentary switch. The 611T is easily programmable to do this, and the module itself was so small that I just mounted it behond the dash panel just above the switch area. So the Xterra switch was soldered up and the latching module was installed and wired up, the final step was to install the switch into the dash panel. I moved the VDC switch from the left side to the center console awhile back, so the new Xterra switch dropped right in place on the left, right next to the cargo lamp switch – which makes more sense to me having all the vehicle drive switches together in the center stack (2wd/4wd, VDC, Hill descent).

Here’s how it looks installed in the left-side dash panel. I like how it blends in as if my truck came with it from the factory.