HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K - Exterior Forum

Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.
HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 8:46 AM
After searching for a while to find answers on this conversion, I came up with very little. Many people claimed they have done it but provided very little information. I completed this last night with almost no problems so here's all the information invloved in the swap.

Main Components
95-99 Cavalier Headlights
95-99 Corner Lights
95-99 Front Bumper
95-99 Fenders (recommended) or the Corner Brackets from the fenders
2 x 9005 High Beam Bulbs
2 x 9006 Low Beam Bulbs
2 x 194 Bulbs for turn signals
Wiring Harness from the donor car, or 9005 and 9006 headlights sockets and 194 corner light sockets
Black L shaped bracket for bottom of headlight to slide into...found from Donor Car

Everything Else
Speednuts
Sawzall or Hacksaw
Butt Connectors, Heat shrink tube and Heat gun, Electrical Tape (Soldering is always recommended)
Wire Stripper/Crimper/Cutter
Wrench and Sockets for: Headlights, Fender(10mm), Splash guards(7mm), Bumper

Getting Started

The first thing is to start getting rid of your 00-02 front bumper and lights. Pop the hood and remove the 2 bolts holding each headlight and pull the them out. Don't forget to unhook the bulbs. Directly behind the headlights is a metal bracket that holds both the headlight and corner light in. It's held in by little screws and needs to be removed. Remember where the front screw is located.

Now it's time to start removing the bumper. Pull the 4 little clips out below the hood latch with a pair of pliers. Next start removing the front splash guards (lots of 7mm screws). Some are located on the bottom of the bumper. Lastly, there are 2 bolts on each side where the tips of the corner lights use to be.

With the bumper off, Test fit your stock or aftermarket 95-99 bumper to your 00-02 car. If it don't fit, you will need to use a hacksaw or sawzall and trim the plastic crush guard. Keep test fitting till it fit's nice.

Wiring the Headlights is probably the easiest part of the installation if you know how to connect wires. First off some info on the lights. The 95-99 uses a 2 bulb system. One for highs (9005) and one for lows(9006), with each bulb having a positive and ground (4 total wires on each side). 00+ lights use One bulb, 2 grounds and a positive (2 wires each side). The diagram way down below shows you the schematics as well as colors.

To wire the headlights take the gound low beam wire from your 00' light and connect it to the ground on your 95-99 low beam, then take the ground high beam wire and connect it to the ground on the high beam bulb. Lastly take the constant positive from your 00 and split it into 2 wires. One will run to the posive on the low beam and the other to the positive on the high beam. Repeat for the other side. Thats it, the headlights are wired and the DRL's will still work properly.

The turn signal bulb for your 00' corner light will now become your bumper signal light (plug and play). Now you will need to wire up the 194 socket to go in the new 95-99 corner light. To do this, wire it into your 00' corner light wires. The 2 wire colors on the 194 socket should match up with 2 of the colors on the 00 corner light wires. Now you have blinkers on the corners as well as for the bumper signals.

Moving on

Now it's time to start fitting the new headlights and corner lights in.

**NOTE** The 95-99 corner lights fit onto a bracket that is spot welded to the fender. 00+ cavaliers do not have this bracket. You will need to either drill out the welds and obtain these brackets, or purchase 95-99 fenders with the brackets already on it. 95-99 style fenders will bolt up to 00+ cars. You may need to search for further information on this

Now you will need to put on your new fenders, or mount the bracket assembly for the corner lights. If your using the brackets on your 00 fender, a rivet gun helps. The bracket will slide into the fender. Now you will need to mount the corner lights in using the speed nuts, just like the ones that hold your tail lights in place. They can be found at most auto shops.

Now you will need to install the black "L" shaped plastic piece on both sides which holds the bottom half of the headlight down . It secured in by a small screw and mounts directly behind the headlight where old 00' headlight bracket use to go. The new headlights should go right it. If they don't some minor trimming might be needed ( I had to trim the inside of the bumper a hair). Before securing, don't forget to put in the bulbs.

If everything lines up your lucky. You might need to do some bending on the corner light bracket to make it sit right with the headlights. Now, start fitting your new bumper, It's going to be slightly different setup than on the 00+ bumpers. The bolts that hold the corner of the bumper in place, will now thread through metal clips that attach to the corner bracket. That way it holds both the bumper and bracket solid. Also, depending on the bumper you've installed, you may need to get different splash guards.

With the bumper on, yet some more minor tweaking might be needed such as headlight alignment. If not, then YOUR DONE! My friend and I did this in about 3.5 hours while drinking a beer. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me (located in my registry).





Convert 00+ headlights to 95-99

Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 8:48 AM
Here's the wiring diagram







Convert 00+ headlights to 95-99
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 9:02 AM
Very nice post, fixed the bolding issue you had





4cyltuner.com - Information Source For 4 Cylinder Tuners
Buy stuff from CarCustoms Ebay! Won't be disappointed!

Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 10:01 AM
sticky?



Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 10:11 AM
one minor mistake, its not grounded thru the bcm, its grounded thru the headlight switch



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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 10:20 AM
Thanks Shifted

.......and special thanks to Viper, who help me as much as he could on all questions I had.




Convert 00+ headlights to 95-99
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 1:28 PM
Maybe i'll write one up when i do the opposite 95-99 to 00-02. If i ever get my headlights




2006 Cobalt SS 2.4L 9.6 @74mph 1/8th mile w/2.28 60ft


Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 1:37 PM
If you haven't seen it yet, there's a few posts that has instructions and a diagram for that conversion Brandon. Also, as far as the headlights go, do you also need the brackets that holds the 00' headlights and corner lights in?






Convert 00+ headlights to 95-99
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 1:48 PM
What brackets are they?




2006 Cobalt SS 2.4L 9.6 @74mph 1/8th mile w/2.28 60ft


Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Friday, March 18, 2005 8:12 PM
awsome write up i used this today!!!!

i did both swaps........ my 99 headlights converted to 00+ and the guy i swapped with i wired his 2002 to my 1999 lights

truthfully this writeup for the wiring part is good both ways i used it for both cars lol




I'm that turbo V8 guy.....
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Saturday, March 19, 2005 7:00 PM
If you get a chance you think you could email me a copy of your diagram. I cant seem to see it. auto-flow@comcast.net Thanks. and and if ne one has any of the hardware parts needed id be interested in buying them.

Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 5:18 AM


Sorry guys, here's the image. Glad it worked out okay for you Cavislo!




Convert 00+ headlights to 95-99
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Friday, March 25, 2005 4:59 PM
If its possible can you post a picture of the brackets on the fenders. I want to go to a junkyard but i dont know any pull your own part ones so i need a picture for them. thanks



Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Friday, March 25, 2005 5:05 PM
I feel something STICKY here................................





Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, May 04, 2005 9:46 AM
Sorry to bring up an old thread... but i was wondering kenwoodkav what was the total cost in converting to pre2k headlights.



Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, May 04, 2005 10:36 AM
I got the whole headlight harness and drilled out the corner brackets at a junkyard for about $30. They wanted too much for headlights. The cost really comes down to what front your going to get and if you want to get aftermarket lights. I'm sure you could get some good deals on a set of lights and front from this site.

I ended up with crystal clear lights and a brand new Z bumper, each being about $110 each shipped. $30 for the brackets and harness, $40 on headlight bulbs, and about $25 for some crystal clear corner lights. But I was also able to sell my old headlights and stuff right away. I dunno, it all depends. Hope this helps man, e-mail me if you have any questions.





Convert 00+ headlights to 95-99
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Monday, August 07, 2006 4:17 PM
ok guys after reading all that, i still have a question, does the wires for a 00-02 harness wire right upto a 97 harness by color or r they different?and if they r different what ges to what? that iam getting confused on



Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Monday, August 07, 2006 4:39 PM
im gonna suggest this.. get the 9007 pigtails out of a 95-02 sunfire.. so far any swap that i;ve gotten the fire pgitails have had no problem with not working properly..

as for ur wiring color question.. no.. they arent all same colors.. there is a How To at the top of exterior forum in the stickys.. itll tell u the wire colors and u just match each one up to what they are(ex high to high, ground ot grounds etc)






Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 8:02 AM
well i searched the stickys and it said that message has been deleted, i tried the swap, 98 headlights to 2k but passenger side is dim and the brights dont even work so ive got something screwed up, so can anybody point me to a diafram?
Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 8:18 AM
theres one in this thread, did you even look?




Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, August 01, 2007 8:19 AM


Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 2:52 PM
The diagram is dead...didnt YOU look?




Re: HOW TO: Convert 2K headlights to pre2K
Saturday, August 04, 2012 6:15 AM
ok i need help lol i know there is a diagram but i need one for the c101 connector because there is like three different dark blues and two oranges so how do i know which one is which!?!? please help!
Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.

 

Start New Topic Advanced Search