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I was unable to find much information on the conversion and the sticky'd thread on this forum is very out dated and is nowhere near complete.
It seems these days most car clubs are closed to local social media groups and the forums aren't nearly as active as they used to be.
There are a number of things that aren't mentioned in that sticky'd post and so I figured I'd do a write up to help anyone that might want to attempt this in the future.
Before we begin, there are a number of parts that are REQUIRED and there are a number of parts that are optional. What I mean by this is, although the tC2.5 (MY 2014+) specifies some parts as different,
there are ways to either modify or exclude the parts while still achieving the same aesthetic and appearance as these parts are out of sight unless you go looking for them.
Radiator cover/"sight shield" (OEM part number: 53141-21020)
Front impact bar/rebar (OEM part number: 52438-21040)
Front impact foam absorber (OEM part number: 52611-21060)
One of the biggest hurdles of this conversion is converting your old headlight connections to new connections. This is a big issue because unlike many other cars that undergo a mid-cycle refresh that reuse the wiring harness, the 2014 tC2.5 refresh changed a number of electrical components in our headlights.
Our old headlights have four (4) connections: low-beam, high-beam (which also serves as a DRL in countries with DRLs), side marker, and turn signal. The new 2014+ tC2.5 headlight has six (6) connections: low-beam, high-beam servo, side marker, turn signal, front marker, and DRL LEDs in the bumper. This is our first problem.
2014+ tC2.5 Turn Signals + Side Marker Light:
Fortunately, although the 2014+ tC2.5 uses many different bulbs, the tC2.0 connectors will fit in both the turn signal socket and the side marker lights. The tC2.0 uses an extended connector for the side marker bulb as its wedged into the side in a harder to reach area.
If you disconnect the extended connector, you will be left with the normal length connector which you can then plug into the new side marker socket
Canadian + Models with Factory DRLs:
If your tC does not have factory DRLs, you can ignore this portion completely. For tCs sold in the Canadian market and other markets that require DRLs by law, our high-beams serves as our DRL. This is an issue for the conversion if you want to maintain your high-beams. the 2014+ tC2.5 uses a servo to angle the low-beam and no longer has a dedicated high-beam bulb. We need to disable the DRL in order for the high-beam servo to function properly. This is a relatively straight forward procedure as the DRL can be traced back to a green relay in the main fusebox under the hood. Remove this relay, it is the ONLY green relay in the fusebox, you cannot miss it. This relay has six (6) pins, one large pin, and five small pins. The large pin, I will number as 6, and going right we have 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Pin 2 is the pin responsible for the function of the DRL. Either bend, or clip pin 2 so that it does not make a connection when you plug the relay back in.
Plug the relay back in. By doing this, your DRL will no longer function but you will keep the function of the high-beam.
2014+ tC2.5 Low-Beam + High-Beam Servo:
The new low-beam is a 9012 bulb, while the old low-beam is a 9005 bulb. Fortunately, the old high-beam is a 9012 bulb and hence the connector will fit on the new low-beam bulb.
What I did here was cut the connectors and soldered the old 9012 high-beam connector to the old low-beam connector. Alternatively, Amazon and eBay sell 9005 to 9012 connector adapters if you do not feel like cutting your old connectors.
The high-beam servo is a bit trickier. The issue we run into here is the old tC2.0 headlights have a separate bulb for the high-beam while the 2014+ tC2.5 uses a servo in the low-beam projector to angle the light upwards. I solved this issue by wiring the old high-beam wires into the servo connector. Cut off the old 9012 high-beam connector and you will be left with two loose wires. Now solder/crimp/connect two small female ended connectors to these wires. Pay attention to the what wire is white, that is the ground wire. Plug those connectors into the new high-beam servo ensuring the ground wire is plugged into the ground plug (it should be a white wire). I also decided to wrap the connectors in electrical tape after I plugged them in to keep dust out.
2014+ tC2.5 Marker + DRL LEDs:
At this point we have covered and used up all of our connections from the tC2.0. From here we will need to create new connections or tap into existing wires to run these two remaining lights. To the best of my knowledge, the 2014+ tC2.5 uses the LEDs in the bumper as DRLs, so we will focus on wiring these as a DRL light. On the 2012 Canadian model tC I could not find any fuses to tap into that only ran when the car was on. I did find a few connections in the cabin fusebox that you can tap into. The 7.5A ACC fuse slot can be used for this purpose. The easiest method is to run an "add a circuit" and tap into the ACC fuse slot. Run the wire through the firewall and wire up the new DRL LEDs and front marker lights (the small 194 bulb that sits between the turn signal and low-beam).
Removing/Installing Old and New Parts:
Removing the old bumper and headlights are pretty straightforward. There are many guides that cover this, follow those to remove the old parts, and install the parts in reverse order.
One important thing to note is if you decide to not replace the old impact bar with the new part, the old foam impact absorber must be removed/deleted in order for the new bumper to fit.
Hey I legit just signed up for this and was wondering if this would work if i was going backwards (as in 2.5 front end to 2.0 conversion). Would i need to get any different parts or would it be as simple as following this instructions except using 2.0 parts. Im fairly new to this kid of stuff so any information would be sick!
Hey I legit just signed up for this and was wondering if this would work if i was going backwards (as in 2.5 front end to 2.0 conversion). Would i need to get any different parts or would it be as simple as following this instructions except using 2.0 parts. Im fairly new to this kid of stuff so any information would be sick!
If you’re anywhere close to Mississippi, I’d be more than happy to swap whatever parts would be necessary of my tC2 since I’m trying to go to the 2.5 front end.
If you’re anywhere close to Mississippi, I’d be more than happy to swap whatever parts would be necessary of my tC2 since I’m trying to go to the 2.5 front end.
Did you ever get this done? I’m interested to do it to my own tC2.5. I am trying to go to a tc2 front end. Only thing I am hesitant about is the wiring. Let me know what it all entails if you had ended up helping this guy.
07-14-2020, 03:55 AM
Scion tC 2.0 to 2.5 (2014) Front Conversion
