currently not available: Now selling DIY Kits for this mod. $12 shipped for plug and play relay, connectors, and wires. All you need to do is splice the connectors into your grey (lo beam) wire, ignition wire, and then ground a third wire. The kit will come with a DPST relay instead of a SPST relay.



This is a tutorial to disable lo beam when the ignition is off, thus preventing it from flashing when Scion Security or the panic button is triggered. This is absolutely a feature some Scion TC owners wants to have especially if one is running HIDs instead of the standard halogen.

FAQ:
Will this disable both hi and lo beam from flashing? yes
Will this disable my parking lights from flashing? no
Why would I want to do this? if you have HID headlights, you would not want them to flash on and off because this can burn out your HID ballast (more correctly, your HID ignitor).
Is this mod reversible? yes. you have to remove the relay and wires you have added, then reconnect the grey wire you cut.
Will I be able to turn on my headlights with the ignition off? no. Your headlights will not be able to turn on regardless of setting off the alarm if you have your ignition off.
I don't have Scion Security, will this mod be of any benefit? yes. Your panic button does the same thing as your alarm so it will prevent your headlights from flashing when you press the panic button.
so this disables the auto off feature? This mod bypasses the auto off feature. Basically it does the same thing as the auto off feature, in additional to preventing your headlights from flashing with the alarm.
Will the dealership void my warranty for having this mod? If you tell them about it, your electrical warranty would most likely be voided. However, it is not something easily visible and for the most part, they will never find out unless they look hard at the nity grity details. Just my 2 cent, but don't hold me against it.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR INJURIES WITH THIS MOD. DO AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Lo Beam disable:
Minimum Parts required:
1 wire crimper
1 wire stripper
1 SPST relay (DPST highly recommended if you plan to flash your hi beam with the Security system in the future). The SPST relay has 4 contacts:85, 86, 87, and 30. a 5 contact DPST relay is more versatile, but not necessary for this mod.
6 female spade connectors
3 male spade connectors
1 yellow quick disconnectors ( or in electrical installer termology, "T taps, or quick splices")
1 ring or Y terminal
~3 feet of wires

1) locate the ignition harness. remove the 2 philip screws that hold the steer column cover. You will see them when you turn the steering wheel. Press on the left and right side and pull down to remove the cover. The ignition harness will look like the photo below (mine has a bunch of T taps on it already so it's a little messy):

For 06-08 models, Look for the Blue wire at the ignition harness.
(The member xIxAMxHOLLYWOODx has brought to my attention that on the 05 model, this wire is a different color. I will try to get that information and provide it on here later)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1092/833731248_fe7d956f99.jpg
if you don't believe me refer to this diagram:
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/7775/untitled1cn9.jpg

2) locate the #25 grey wire at the harness and relay box behind the panel that is right below the electric switch for the mirror adjustment:
(#16 and #34 are the (-) wires that supplies power to both LEFT and RIGHT hi beams. To verify, probe this wire with the positive lead of a multimeter and ground the negative lead. Set the multimeter to check for load resistance. turn on your high beam and see if the multimeter reads 0ohm. If so, then the information provided is correct).
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7716/2005sciontcwiringdiagrahm3.jpg

Here's a picture of the schematic of what you are actually doing:
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8856/2005sciontcwiringdiagraqj4.jpg
3) Cut #25 and strip the ends.
4) crimp a female spade connector to the connector side.
5) crimp a male spade connector to the harness side.
6) cut 2 6" pieces of wire and strip all 4 ends.
7) crimp 2 female spade connector on one wire. crimp 1 male and 1 female spade connector on the other wire.
8) connect 1 wire to #30 on the relay. connect the other wire to #87 on the relay. Now you will have a male and a female end left. Connect those to the #25 wire.
9) cut 1.5 feet of wire and strip the ends. crimp 1 male and 1 female spade to the ends.
10) Connect the female end to #85 on the relay.
11) T tap the Blue ignition wire that you have located (remember, if you have an 05, it will be a different wire).
12) Connect the male end to the T tap.
13) cut 1 6" piece of wire. Strip the ends. Crimp 1 female spade and a ring or Y terminal on the ends.
14) connect this wire to #86 on the relay. Then ground the other end with your self-tapping screw to a solid metal surface with a drill (Or you can find a ground bolt/screw some where nearby. I personally had no luck in finding a grounding point so i just made my own.)
15)Test to see if everything works. Your headlights both hi and lo should be cut when your ignition is off and connected when it's on. If everything works, Zip-tie your wires in a secure and clean fashion so it's not in the way. I always like things looking nice before i put things back together to save myself from fustration of going in there again at a later date and time.

Caution:
IF by any chance you shorted the Blue ignition wire, the symptoms are no power to gauge cluster, no engine cranking, and Scion security is not powered. Look for the 30A AM2 fuse in the underhood fusebox to the left of the car. Check to see if this fuse is blown and replace it if it is. Do not replace with a higher amperage fuse.

Great write up.

Can the Scion Security mess up HIDs from flashing it?

Or is this more along the lines of not wanting bright lights flashing all the time?

HID's are not meant to be lit and delit in a matter of seconds, it will kill the ballast real quick, hence why most owners would prefer them not to blink

so this disables the auto off feature?

just to be clear... this only affects the hi and low beam correct? so when the alarm goes off, will the parking lights still flash?

just to be clear... this only affects the hi and low beam correct? so when the alarm goes off, will the parking lights still flash?

Parking lights will still flash

so this disables the auto off feature?

This one I don't know because I do not have the car in front of me. But judging from the wiring diagram, I think this mod bypasses the auto off feature. Basically it does the same thing as the auto off feature, in additional to preventing your headlights from flashing with the alarm.

cool thanks alot. works perfectly. i got the 5 pin relay just in case i wanted to wire the hi beams to the alarm.

Thanks tek. One question. I've recently had issues using t-taps. Have you ever had issues like this, and would you recommend that I just hardwire them in place (with the exceptions of the relay connections of course.)

Thanks tek. One question. I've recently had issues using t-taps. Have you ever had issues like this, and would you recommend that I just hardwire them in place (with the exceptions of the relay connections of course.)

nope. sorry man.. i was with a patient earlier and didnt have time to explain. just make sure the clip locks in when u close it. i use a plier and it works great. use the correct size T taps tho because if you use one that is too large, it won't splice into the wire.

adding to tech...

thank you!

man this is kinda confusing hah

Does this apply to the 2008 tC with projector headlights? That's what I have.

yes, I have an 08 too.

yes, I have an 08 too.

I have scion secuirty on my '08 and the low beams do not flash. What does flash is my parking/accent lights. If you feel that I should still do this please explain why. The only mod I have done so far is LED tag lights and dome lights.

now all we need is a way to make only the highbeams engage when you "flick" the high beams, that way I can warn people again for oncoming speed traps.

yes, I have an 08 too.

I have scion secuirty on my '08 and the low beams do not flash. What does flash is my parking/accent lights. If you feel that I should still do this please explain why. The only mod I have done so far is LED tag lights and dome lights.

when you trigger your alarm or hit the panic button, it will.

Hey you were right my low beams do flash. Just got ta few more questions. What gauge size wires are needed and where can I purchase all the need items?

Hey you were right my low beams do flash. Just got ta few more questions. What gauge size wires are needed and where can I purchase all the need items?

14 or 16 ga wires will do. you can get everything at radioshack tho I go there as a last resort. you can get wires almost anywhere. crimp connectors you can find at OSH, ACE, or even radioshack. it's the relay that you have to look around, but radioshack will carry them tho they are quite expensive there. if you want to shop online, go to partsexpress.com

if I'm able to put together a small DIY kit for everyone so you guys don't have to go driving around, wasting gas and spending a load of money on shipping cost, would anyone be interested? all you'll need at your end is a wire crimper and a wire stripper (some of these are 2 in 1).


updated 2/7/2009: kits no longer available.

Yes I'm interested. I would like to do this ASAP.

reading over the directions here, everything makes sense except one part:

where do you connect the ground? or where did you drill in order to make a new ground connection?

thanks for the help!

what I did was remove the fuse panel that is located under the power mirror switch. if you look up the hole, you'll see a convex metal structural piece that I think mounts to the dashboard internally somehow. start a small hole there with a small drill bit. this helps prevent what you do next from slipping. Next, you use a self-tapping screw to ground your lead.

if you don't want to do this, you can always find a bolt somewhere and ground it.

Using Tekstyles DIY kit, I was able to disable the lowbeams from flashing w/ my security system (fyi, its a Karr brand alarm, not the Scion Security. it was installed by the dealership). Yay! I can now go buck wild on my panic button! :P

One word of caution though: Tekstyle's provided wiretap is for use with the thicker gauge wires, like the thick blue ignition wire. I was being cocky and I first tried to tap a preexisting wire that had already been tapped to the blue ignition wire. Well, that wire was too thin and didnt work so well with Tekstyle's kit. Thank goodness he sent me an extra wiretap.

Moral of the story: If you follow his directions exactly, you won't have any problems.

thanks for the positive feedback B-Izzle! I was unaware that you were doing this mod to a karr brand alarm system. Though my kit does work with all alarm systems, if you have an aftermarket alarm that has a (-) output when armed wire, you can just use that to trigger your relay to open circuit to the headlight wire at the fusebox.

I installed my hid's on tuesday but have not had time to install the tekstyle kit. I noticed that my horn no longer honks when I arm my alarm. I have a 5000K kit form www.mobilehid.com. My horn does work when pressing the horn switch and tripping the alarm/panic button.

What could be the cause of this? :? :question:

I dissconected my battery to do the install. I'm wondering if I reseted my personalization settings (if any) when I did that. I looked in the owners manual but did not find any info.

sorry to hear that your horn doesn't work. i don't see why the HID install will cut your horn in anyway. they are on 2 completely different circuits. check your connections. maybe you unplugged something during the install and forgot to plug it back in. check your fuses as well.

sorry to hear that your horn doesn't work. i don't see why the HID install will cut your horn in anyway. they are on 2 completely different circuits. check your connections. maybe you unplugged something during the install and forgot to plug it back in. check your fuses as well.

my horn still works it just doesn't honk when I arm the alarm. panic and horn switch do work.

i have an 05 only my signal lights flash. i guess this doesnt apply..

i have an 05 only my signal lights flash. i guess this doesnt apply..

did you try pressing the panic button or setting of your alarm?
when your lock/unlock your car only signal and parking lights flash, but when the alarm goes off, lowbeams flash.

tekstyle's mod is GREAT. my low beams dont flash now which is exactly what i want because i have hids.
im not an electrical person myself and wen i read this DIY i was jus totally lost. its not bcuz he didnt write it good, i jus have no idea wen it comes to stuff like this but luckily for me this guy was in my area so i went to him and he got it done for me. this guy has a lotta patience. he couldnt get my ignition to work after the mod but he kept looking for a way to fix it. i was surprised by the patience he had lol. he was even willing to pay for my repairs if he couldnt fix it but luckily he got it fixed in da end which is good for both of us.
i recommend everyone with hid to buy his kit so u can save ur ballast and if ur in da bay area, jus let him know and he install it for u if u want. he knows his stuff very well.

tek- did you ever find out what color the wire is for an '05??

The kit you are selling comes with everything i need to get this done? obviously minus the tools? How can i get one of these kits?

thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, I am no longer selling kits right now. I just started grad school and haven't had much free time. Sorry everyone.

Best regards

Well tekstyle, thank you for the write-up. When you find time to make some more kits, let us know.