Hey all, finally done!

This is the "howto" wire your 06 STI headlights with leveling motors in a non-STI car (WRX/2.5i). The below instructions show how I got my 06 STI leveling motors (on 06 STI headlights!) working in my wagon.

Needed : 2 x 06 STI headlights, 06 leveling switch, leveling motor plugs (2 of them, 1 for each motor on the headlight), plug for leveling switch (if you're lucky to find one). I didn't at the time, so I soldered my wires directly to the pins on the backside of the leveling switch.

Here's my switch

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/mistah51/DSC00203.jpg

Here's my switch with the wires installed.

The switch is orientated in the proper direction (for pin numbers) as per the diagram below. (see B132)

Starting from left side, 1-2-blank-blank-blank-6-7-8 (making a total of 5 wires that connect to the leveling switch)

Yes, I soldered my wires directly to the switch pinouts as I couldn't get a plug.. the grey stuff is JBWeld used to re-glue the clip.. don't mind the mess. =)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/mistah51/DSC00217.jpg

Starting from the left side (ref B132 diagram above) :

Pin #1 = RG (red with green stripe) runs from switch to LH and RH leveling motors (middle pin #2 on leveling motor on headlight)
Pin #2 = RY - Red/Yellow line (taken from (Fuse Box under dash) locate FB-7, F/B fuse #5, refer to owners manual)
Pin #3 = unused
Pin #4 = unused
Pin #5 = unused
Pin #6 = B - black (any ground near fuse box under dash)
Pin #7 = V - violet (taken from "fog light switch harness" where fog light switch plugs into)
Pin #8 = OrW - Orange with white line (taken from "fog light switch harness" where fog light switch plugs into)

Between the leveling switch and leveling motors, only 3 wires need to be passed through the firewall.

Pin outs on leveling motors : (shown as F58 and F59 on the pic above, lower left corner - circled)

Pin #1 - On both leveling motors (B - black wire) is a ground (either use same ground as pin #6 above or any other ground wire on the car)
Pin #2 - The middle pin on headlight leveling motor = runs from leveling switch pin #1 (mentioned above) to both LH and RH leveling motors
pin #3 - Taken from pin #2 on switch (ref above) run a wire from FB-7, F/B fuse #5 (refer to owners manual) wire color code = RY (red/yellow) and split it to both LH and RH motors

My diagram I used, ignore most of the writting on it, it's just some color codes I added to match my homemade harness.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/mistah51/DSC00225.jpg

I'm not the expert, just trying to remember what was done yesterday evening with the notes I took ... hope this helps!

Mind you, I'm trying to take this down from memory and notes, try at your own risk, or double check my notes with an expert. I'm not responsible if you damage anything.. =)

These are the instructions I used to enable my leveling motors of my 06 STI headlights (with TSX retrofit mind you!) which are installed in my 2006 2.5i wagon.. works perfectly.

Any aiming instructions versus switch position ? My position 3 is aiming at the ground, only illuminating 20-30 feet in front of my car, position 0 is at about 24" heigh (license plate area of cars in front of me.. below rear view/side view mirrors)..

how bout some pix of the headlight/cutoff? ive never seen anyone use the actual adjusters so some comparo pix would be nice!

awesome, great work!

how bout some pix of the headlight/cutoff? ive never seen anyone use the actual adjusters so some comparo pix would be nice!

Sure, I'll try to get you some cutoff pics with each setting on the motor, it raises the cutoff line a couple of inches at each setting, causing the beam to drop and raise depending on where you set the switch.

Very neat gadget..!

awesome, great work!

Hey man, anytime you need help, you now know who to call !

Wish there was an easier way to do it, but atleast now your customers know that enabling the leveling motor is possible in their 06-07 WRX and 2.5i :banana:

=)

Looks great. I am going to do this as ssoon as I can source some plugs for the leveling motors.

My plugs came from a Nissan.. 3 wires.. worked fine !

Do the innermost plugs (gray) look right to go into the headlight motors? If not, if anybody could source me some of the leveling plugs, I would be stoked.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/maxima/24009-A33HK_big.jpg

Do the innermost plugs (gray) look right to go into the headlight motors? If not, if anybody could source me some of the leveling plugs, I would be stoked.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/maxima/24009-A33HK_big.jpg

can't tell from your pic. =(

you need to see the connector straight on.. wish I took a pic of one when I had them in my hands.

It took awhile on the celica before somone figured out how to wire ours like OEM and get the leveling switch to work. Looks like you got it figured out easily as well. They are really cool when you get it done too. :)

It took awhile on the celica before somone figured out how to wire ours like OEM and get the leveling switch to work. Looks like you got it figured out easily as well. They are really cool when you get it done too. :)

tell me about it.. a little something I can now play with while on the highway at night..!

I've re-adjusted them, so my normal level is in position 1.
position 0 is a bit lower, and 2 and 3 are the highest points, good for night driving (better sign illumination) without highbeams..

happy to get it to work also! Worth the effort..

4 months and still going strong ! I love the leveling feature. Really helps on dark highway driving without highbeam's..

And when I'm all alone on the highway, I run the leveling set at the highest, highbeams on and fogs.. really shines!

very nice.

do you have any pics of the leveling motor?

In my for sale thread (spare parts for 06-07 headlights), there's a picture of the back of an STI headlight with the leveling motor installed.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1329796

wow, this was really informative. Thanks man! Do only the 06/07 sti's have the leveling motors come stock in the headlights?

Where id dyou get that leveling switch...comes with great wiring diagram :)

wow, this was really informative. Thanks man! Do only the 06/07 sti's have the leveling motors come stock in the headlights?

Where id dyou get that leveling switch...comes with great wiring diagram :)

Thanks! The 04-07 leveling motors are the same I believe. Can anyone else confirm if the 04-05 are the same motors as 06-07 ?

I got the switch used.. you can also buy it online from Jamie over at subarugenuineparts.com ..

enjoy!

While the motors look the same, they have different connectors.

BTW if anyone needs a set of the 06/07 motors, let me know...

While the motors look the same, they have different connectors.

BTW if anyone needs a set of the 06/07 motors, let me know...

Hi Caesar, true! I forgot.. the 04-05 have 6 wire motors and the 06-07 have 3 wire motors =)

Wish I was finishing up my retro.. I would take those motors from ya! =)

:lol:

are the motors themselves just bolt on units to the mgf 06/07 lights on ALL impreza's? Or were sti/wrx/2.5I headlamp units totally different???

are the motors themselves just bolt on units to the mgf 06/07 lights on ALL impreza's? Or were sti/wrx/2.5I headlamp units totally different???

The 06-07 STI leveling motors are not direct plug in for the WRX/2.5i head light.

I looked at them both, carefully. With some good workmanship, someone may retrofit the leveling motors into the WRX/2.5i headlight, but alot of customization is necessary. Not really worth the head ache I told myself.

If you want leveling, start off with STI headlights.. MUCH easier. Then all you need to do is perform my retrofit with the wiring and switch into our 2.5i's.

ok, I'll just keep my eyes for for some STI lights, I don't want to take the chance of buggering something up trying to do the swap myself.


U got any pics of your ride??? It sounds nice!

ok, I'll just keep my eyes for for some STI lights, I don't want to take the chance of buggering something up trying to do the swap myself.


U got any pics of your ride??? It sounds nice!

soon my friend soon.. painting some final parts and waiting for my Whiteline suspension to arrive =)

how useful are these things? I was looking into some for my 04 wrx, but im not sure how useful they'd be..

i think they would be very useful. as i had 3 DH bikes in the back of my wagon and i was blinding everybody on the road, had to pull over and manually adjust them lower.

shane

I love 'em.

When I'm on a dark highway, but there's on-coming traffic, I can't run with my high beams on..

But, a flick of the switch, it'll raise the heads up just enough to illuminate all the signs down the road.. quite amazing.

I will be burried with my xenon setup!!
:banana:

I just got the leveling motors working in my 06, and it is fantastic. Thanks to Wagons_ho! for rigging up the harness. It is nice on dark roads to be able to raise the lighting and not have to run the brights. It also just looks cool.

^^ Did you put the motors on stock WRX lights? Jezzy mentioned it would take some modification.

no I did the full sti swap. the sti lights are fully plug and play on 06/07 except for the leveling, which has to be custom wired.

I did the TSX swap in my stock WRX lights, and I have a set of motors and a switch that I want to put on them.

Hmm.. might be a big job.. it's do-able I'm sure.. but.. once you start, you can't go back!

anyone figure out the wire schematic on the 04-05 levelers? Need to find out the power and right and left hand wires that go from the leveler switch to the motor harness and which are the 12v constant and acc.

anyone figure out the wire schematic on the 04-05 levelers? Need to find out the power and right and left hand wires that go from the leveler switch to the motor harness and which are the 12v constant and acc.

Here are the schematics I found on IWSTI, top of post #3 in this thread:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1318624

Hey Jeezy.....

I just got my 07 STI headlights today, booooooooya :banana:

Now its time for the install, and then to buy the leveling switch, find plugs and do all the wiring. I read that you got your leveling plugs from a Nissan...what model, year???

Hey Jeezy.....

I just got my 07 STI headlights today, booooooooya :banana:

Now its time for the install, and then to buy the leveling switch, find plugs and do all the wiring. I read that you got your leveling plugs from a Nissan...what model, year???

Nice !

Search the for sale forums in the "PARTING OUT" section for 06-07 STI's and get yourself the leveling switch used and hopefully you can get the plug also that plugs into the back of the switch.

Maybe even find the plugs that plug into the leveling motors!

I honestly can't remember what model/year Nissan it was. I know it was a Nissan Maxima, a model that either had leveling motors or HID.. but, now that I remember correctly, I managed to buy a 1/2 harness from an 06 STI that had the plugs for the leveling motors.

I got the nissan harness from hidplanet's forums.. and it had the plugs I needed for my HID ballasts.

i just want to level my HIDs i put in my 07 wrx. non sti. how can i do that? ive searched everywhere ten diff ways. scoobymods and here doesnt have any help for me. any of u guys know how to Aim the projectors higher? my driver side beam (backwards L) is wayyy too low. and my lights barely shine out far enuff. anyone know how to AIM stock 07 projectors? plz someone help. PM or email me or post here

You'll see near the middle of the headlight (on the top), looking down towards the ground.. there's a hole large enough to insert a Philips (star) screw driver into.

Put it in, and turn, you'll see the projector move up or down, depending on which way your turning.

man, this is such a PITA, i keep searching and searching for a damn leveler plug and switch plug with no luck :D guess i will just have to solder directly :D lame :D :D

Shane

ya I can't find any plugs either, I'ma search some new Nissan's like Jeezy did and hope to get lucky there. I did the radio shack thing and that didn't turn up anything! :(

You'll see near the middle of the headlight (on the top), looking down towards the ground.. there's a hole large enough to insert a Philips (star) screw driver into.

Put it in, and turn, you'll see the projector move up or down, depending on which way your turning.


would u be able to get me a pic? of exactly what yer talking about? please

I got my the plug and leveling switch from a STI partout. I had been in contact with George (wagons_ho) about him making a harness, because he has access to the leveler plugs. His harness worked perfectly, only ahd to splice 1 wire for switch illumination. You may want to contact him, as he may have been able to ID the switch plug off of mine. His website is chaiofangimports.com

man, this is such a PITA, i keep searching and searching for a damn leveler plug and switch plug with no luck :D guess i will just have to solder directly :D lame :D :D

Shane

Yep. Pretty hard to run across. I simply soldered it to the switch. Easy, and free. =)

The lever plug came from a STI partout. I was able to cut the plugs off the 1/2 engine bay harness I bought. Yes. I paid 40$+ for 3-4 feet of engine harness/headlight harness for 2 plugs.. but then again, I'm nuts. :lol:

would u be able to get me a pic? of exactly what yer talking about? please

Sure, just to let you know that this is a thead for leveling motor installation and your questions should be asked (or searched!) in the electrical/lighting forum =)

So, open your hood. You'll see the rad support beam that runs from the LH to the RH of the car. Your headlights screw to this. Now, look at the rad support metal just above your headlight (near the middle of your headlight) and you'll see a hole. you can put a philips screw driver down this hole, and it will turn the following cog to raise/lower your headlights :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/mistah51/TSX%20Retro/DSC00504.jpg

ya I can't find any plugs either, I'ma search some new Nissan's like Jeezy did and hope to get lucky there. I did the radio shack thing and that didn't turn up anything! :(

Ya, I'll have to clarify what I got from a Nissan harness. I bought a nissan maxima headlight harnesses, just so I can cut off the plugs that clip into our STI (also Nissan) HID ballasts. Thats all I used the nissan harness for.

I bought a half engine bay harness from a scrapped 06 STI, which provided me with the 2 leveling motor plugs.

So figure, for the 4 plugs above, cost me about 50-60$.. Yes.. 50-60$ for 4 friggin plastic plugs !

ooooooooh ok, so you used the Nissan harness for the ballast plugs and NOT the leveling plugs. Ok that makes sense now. Glad I didn't waste time searching for leveling plugs at Nissan dealers late at nite in my ski mask :lol:



verdee: Thanks soooooo much for the link to his website. Looks like he's got the STI leveling mod down pat! I'ma e-mail him and see if he can build a 3plug harness for me. It looks like he has a 6 plug for the earlier STIs but not the 3plug. Hopefully he can build it for not too much $$$

Sure, just to let you know that this is a thead for leveling motor installation and your questions should be asked (or searched!) in the electrical/lighting forum =)

So, open your hood. You'll see the rad support beam that runs from the LH to the RH of the car. Your headlights screw to this. Now, look at the rad support metal just above your headlight (near the middle of your headlight) and you'll see a hole. you can put a philips screw driver down this hole, and it will turn the following cog to raise/lower your headlights :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/mistah51/TSX%20Retro/DSC00504.jpg


thanks. yea i tried searching and no luck. till now. i tried that cog, im guessing it takes alot of turns to get it right. thanks for the help tho.

Just in case anyone was looking for one .. (this is a 04-05 switch and plug), not for my howto mentioned above.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=19366544#post19366544

hey Jezzy...do you have that switch in you6 06? I thought the new switches(06/07) is a roller up n down type of switch?



My more important question...

I tried installing my new 07 sti headlights today and they didn't work :( I thought they were just plug n play. I plugged the big headlight plug in, mounted them up, and got nothing from the projector lamps(both sides). But weirdly enough ALL of the other lights worked on BOTH of the headlamps. What am I missing????? :confused::confused::confused:

hey Jezzy...do you have that switch in you6 06? I thought the new switches(06/07) is a roller up n down type of switch?



My more important question...

I tried installing my new 07 sti headlights today and they didn't work :( I thought they were just plug n play. I plugged the big headlight plug in, mounted them up, and got nothing from the projector lamps(both sides). But weirdly enough ALL of the other lights worked on BOTH of the headlamps. What am I missing????? :confused::confused::confused:

Your correct.. that switch I have for sale is NOT for our 2006+ cars. It's for the 04-05 model. I have a roller type in mine.

And for 07 STI headlights, good question.. I heard some guys are having problems installing 07 STI headlights.. I think they changed up the wiring that goes to the ballast that powers up your HID's.

On my other 06 headlights, I cutoff the H7 plug that was originally there, and used those 2 wires and ran them to the ballast for power. Works perfectly.

On this car, I got a headlight harness from xenondepot.com, It connects to my battery and comes with relays and fuses, that connects to each ballast to provide power. I'm infact running my 06 STI headlights using these 'aftermarket headlight power harnesses'.. they're fantastic!

I have 2000 plugs for the lights and the switch in my hands. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

I have 2000 plugs for the lights and the switch in my hands. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

Where did you get your plugs for the lights and switch? I am doing a 07STI to 07 WRX headlight swap and need the plugs for the headlight and leveling switch.

he had to order a **** load of them from the manufacturer. Here is his e-mail and website:

george.davies@chaiofangimports.com

http://chaiofangimports.com/page9.html

I paid $105 for the entire plug and play harness for my 06 WRX with 07 STI HIDs.

My HIDs were plug and play, but I am getting a harness from Lightwerkz anyway.

will the 04-05 knob(switch) work with the 06+ headlights? or do i need the 06+ roller type switch?

will the 04-05 knob(switch) work with the 06+ headlights? or do i need the 06+ roller type switch?

Not without an additional circuit. See this, especially the last post w/ schematic:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1318624

Yup, read Mike's thread on using a 04-05 leveler in our 06/07's.. he knows what he's doing!

If you've got an 06-07, and happened to find an 04-05 leveling switch and want to use it on 06 STI headlights; to simplify things get an 06 switch, it's much easier to install. =)

I use mine on a reglar basis and love it !

Finally found all the pieces I need to make this work! Got an 06 leveling switch and 2 leveling motors. The motors (and headlights) are on their way to Lightwerkz right now for projector AND LEVELING MOTOR retrofit into the WRX (non-STi) headlight assembly.

Thanks for the instructions! Will be doing this once I get my lights back :)

No prob :)

Btw I've got the oem sti ballast headlight harness. Instead of cutting the h7 plugs off, these come ready to plug into the oem ballasts :)

Pm me if you need 'em.

Ok guys... I am officially confused. I just bought a set of 2004 sti headlights. I have a 2004 wrx. I am really interested in the leveling switch because it seems like it would be a handy feature to have. However, after reading all of the information in this thread and others I am just confused. Could someone point me in the right direction for the 04-05 wrx's?