Guide: How to swap Touring headlights to Grand Touring on 2016+ CX-9, CX-5 & CX-3

[dongali]

Hi guys, I'm undertaking a project to replace the boring Touring headlights on my CX-9 with the Grand Touring/Signature headlights. I plan on documenting everything as this will probably also apply to the CX-3, CX-5, and maybe even the Mazda6 and Mazda3.

The headlight swap/upgrade from sport/touring to Grand Touring seems very possible and almost plug and play for basic functionality including the LED DRL ring accent. However, the turn signal does not work and you will get hyper flash. I'm guessing this will be a easy fix if I can find the turn signal wire in the harness that I can tap into. The hyper flash will likely need a typical resistor to trick the blinker relay unit. Or it might be possible to replace the blinker relay with the GT's?

For now, I'm just stuck at figuring out how to tap into the turn signal wire in the GT headlight wiring harness. If we can get the turn signal working, we can then start on figuring what's needed for the adaptive lighting.

Any help in finding the turn signal wire or the headlight wiring diagram is greatly appreciated, cheers.

Parts:
Headlights from Grand Touring CX-9 (may find some good deals for used GT/Signature headlights on eBay)
2x Wire Harnesses from Grand Touring CX-9 (PN: TK-50-51-0K6 about $40ea + tax/shipping)

Working:
LED DRL accents
low beam
high beam
side markers
turn signals (requires minor wiring)

Not Working:
adaptive lighting

How to:
1. Remove front bumper and grill Instructions Here
2. Disconnect both headlight wiring harnesses
3. Remove both headlights
4. Connect the GT/Signature headlight wiring harnesses
5. Install the GT/Signature headlights
6. Reinstall front bumper and grill

Wiring harness

 

[dongali]

The diagrams below shows the electrical flow that activates the right turn signal. As you can see, in the AFS headlights, it has an additional gray wire, labeled GY(F), compared to the non-AFS headlights. I tried adding a wire connection from the white/red, labeled as W/R, to where the missing gray wire should be but that doesn't work. Maybe the B+ wire in the 2nd diagram means a constant 12v and missing gray wire is a constant 12v where the white/red switches it?

NOTE: AFS headlights use LED (Grand Touring and Signature trims)
non-AFS headlights use Bulb Type (Sport and Touring trims)

 

[dongali]

I figured out the turn signal wiring!

The Grand Touring and Signature headlights require 2 constant 12v inputs for each side of the front turn signals which the Sport and Touring harness is missing.
What I did to test this theory was wire an always on 12v to the 2 wires- white/black wire and blue wire on the GT/Signature harness that I purchased, PN: TK50-51-0K6.

The wire color of the engine harness differs from the headlight harness. The white/black and blue wires on the GT/Signature harness connects to the Gray wire on the engine harness.

There is an always on 12v at position 50 in the engine fuse box, which was also originally for the hazard and front/rear turn signals.

Engine Fuse Box Diagram
https://www.autogenius.info/mazda-cx-9-from-2016-fuse-box-diagram/

 

[hnnnnnh123]

Nice ! Now come help me do mine.

 

[trickdout6]

This is really great! Thanks for posting the details. Couple of questions:

1. How much did the lights cost you and where did you buy them?

2. Have you made any progress on getting the adaptive lighting to work?

 

[Gopi]

I have a 2016 grand touring with the led headlights. Any idea how I can adjust the beams height?

 

[sm1ke]

I have a 2016 grand touring with the led headlights. Any idea how I can adjust the beams height?

If you have auto-leveling headlights, there is no adjustment because they will automatically adjust whenever they are turned on. If you want to make them higher or lower than the default, you'd have to talk to the dealer, but I can't see them changing anything as it would affect the way some other systems work at night (like the forward facing camera).

 

[SnowFlakeBear]

Perfect!!! this is exactly what I was looking for to do on my CX-9 Touring (dance) do you know also if this is possible for the rear tail light assembly?? Also, how much was the pair of headlights and where did you get it?

 

[jefabian]

Probably a dumb question but what exactly is different between the Sig/GT headlights vs the touring?

 

[sm1ke]

If you have auto-leveling headlights, there is no adjustment because they will automatically adjust whenever they are turned on. If you want to make them higher or lower than the default, you'd have to talk to the dealer, but I can't see them changing anything as it would affect the way some other systems work at night (like the forward facing camera).

Quoting myself because I think we can actually adjust the beam height/cutoff ourselves. I just need to find the time and the warm weather to experiment and figure it out. The procedure for the CX-9 doesn't seem to be documented publicly anywhere.

Probably a dumb question but what exactly is different between the Sig/GT headlights vs the touring?

All CX-9s have LED headlights (low/high beam), but the GT and Signature trims get headlights that also have LED accent lighting (the LED "eyebrows" that you might see on many modern cars). Daytime Running Lights (if your car is equipped with them) also function a little differently - on Touring models the DRL is the low beam operating at (I think?) a lower intensity. On GT/Signature trims, the DRL is the LED eyebrow, and the low beam stays off until the lights are turned on.

 

[jefabian]

Quoting myself because I think we can actually adjust the beam height/cutoff ourselves. I just need to find the time and the warm weather to experiment and figure it out. The procedure for the CX-9 doesn't seem to be documented publicly anywhere.



All CX-9s have LED headlights (low/high beam), but the GT and Signature trims get headlights that also have LED accent lighting (the LED "eyebrows" that you might see on many modern cars). Daytime Running Lights (if your car is equipped with them) also function a little differently - on Touring models the DRL is the low beam operating at (I think?) a lower intensity. On GT/Signature trims, the DRL is the LED eyebrow, and the low beam stays off until the lights are turned on.

Ahh okay thanks for that. I've always wondered that and couldn't tell based off the descriptions saying all trims get LED headlights.

 

[Mo Casey]

I figured out the turn signal wiring!

The Grand Touring and Signature headlights require 2 constant 12v inputs for each side of the front turn signals which the Sport and Touring harness is missing.
What I did to test this theory was wire an always on 12v to the 2 wires- white/black wire and blue wire on the GT/Signature harness that I purchased, PN: TK50-51-0K6.

The wire color of the engine harness differs from the headlight harness. The white/black and blue wires on the GT/Signature harness connects to the Gray wire on the engine harness.

There is an always on 12v at position 50 in the engine fuse box, which was also originally for the hazard and front/rear turn signals.

Engine Fuse Box Diagram
https://www.autogenius.info/mazda-cx-9-from-2016-fuse-box-diagram/

Hi there,
I got 2016 Mazda 6 grand turning and I want to switch the headlights from Led to halogen is that possible?

 

[Mo Casey]

Hi guys, I'm undertaking a project to replace the boring Touring headlights on my CX-9 with the Grand Touring/Signature headlights. I plan on documenting everything as this will probably also apply to the CX-3, CX-5, and maybe even the Mazda6 and Mazda3.

The headlight swap/upgrade from sport/touring to Grand Touring seems very possible and almost plug and play for basic functionality including the LED DRL ring accent. However, the turn signal does not work and you will get hyper flash. I'm guessing this will be a easy fix if I can find the turn signal wire in the harness that I can tap into. The hyper flash will likely need a typical resistor to trick the blinker relay unit. Or it might be possible to replace the blinker relay with the GT's?

For now, I'm just stuck at figuring out how to tap into the turn signal wire in the GT headlight wiring harness. If we can get the turn signal working, we can then start on figuring what's needed for the adaptive lighting.

Any help in finding the turn signal wire or the headlight wiring diagram is greatly appreciated, cheers.

Parts:
Headlights from Grand Touring CX-9 (may find some good deals for used GT/Signature headlights on eBay)
2x Wire Harnesses from Grand Touring CX-9 (PN: TK-50-51-0K6 about $40ea + tax/shipping)

Working:
LED DRL accents
low beam
high beam
side markers
turn signals (requires minor wiring)

Not Working:
adaptive lighting

How to:
1. Remove front bumper and grill Instructions Here
2. Disconnect both headlight wiring harnesses
3. Remove both headlights
4. Connect the GT/Signature headlight wiring harnesses
5. Install the GT/Signature headlights
6. Reinstall front bumper and grill

Wiring harness

Hi there
I have 2016 Mazda 6 grand touring with led headlights can I downgrade it to halogen headlights?

 

[minhhee2511]

I figured out the turn signal wiring!

The Grand Touring and Signature headlights require 2 constant 12v inputs for each side of the front turn signals which the Sport and Touring harness is missing.
What I did to test this theory was wire an always on 12v to the 2 wires- white/black wire and blue wire on the GT/Signature harness that I purchased, PN: TK50-51-0K6.

The wire color of the engine harness differs from the headlight harness. The white/black and blue wires on the GT/Signature harness connects to the Gray wire on the engine harness.

There is an always on 12v at position 50 in the engine fuse box, which was also originally for the hazard and front/rear turn signals.

Engine Fuse Box Diagram
https://www.autogenius.info/mazda-cx-9-from-2016-fuse-box-diagram/

This is a great job to help people with this issue.
Do you have pictures of details on how to wire a 12v to the 2 wires black/white and blue to activate turning/hazard lights? I'm stuck at this step. Thank you!

 

[Antoine]

Great guide, thanks for sharing this info! I posted a link to this thread in our Resources section...

Resources

www.mazdas247.com

 

[gonza_lights]

I figured out the turn signal wiring!

The Grand Touring and Signature headlights require 2 constant 12v inputs for each side of the front turn signals which the Sport and Touring harness is missing.
What I did to test this theory was wire an always on 12v to the 2 wires- white/black wire and blue wire on the GT/Signature harness that I purchased, PN: TK50-51-0K6.

The wire color of the engine harness differs from the headlight harness. The white/black and blue wires on the GT/Signature harness connects to the Gray wire on the engine harness.

There is an always on 12v at position 50 in the engine fuse box, which was also originally for the hazard and front/rear turn signals.

Engine Fuse Box Diagram
https://www.autogenius.info/mazda-cx-9-from-2016-fuse-box-diagram/

Hi @dongali,

Thanks so much for your post. Very interesting project. May you please tell me where you were able to find the PINOUT diagram for the wiring harness connector?

Also, is there a pinout diagram for the plugs on the headlight itself for the grand touring? It has two 7-pin plugs: one on the bottom and one on the rear. I want to test the LED DRL and the turn signal; but I have not been able to find which pins on which connector lights up the turn signals.

Please help. Thank you.

 

[Falak]

I figured out the turn signal wiring!

The Grand Touring and Signature headlights require 2 constant 12v inputs for each side of the front turn signals which the Sport and Touring harness is missing.
What I did to test this theory was wire an always on 12v to the 2 wires- white/black wire and blue wire on the GT/Signature harness that I purchased, PN: TK50-51-0K6.

The wire color of the engine harness differs from the headlight harness. The white/black and blue wires on the GT/Signature harness connects to the Gray wire on the engine harness.

There is an always on 12v at position 50 in the engine fuse box, which was also originally for the hazard and front/rear turn signals.

Engine Fuse Box Diagram
https://www.autogenius.info/mazda-cx-9-from-2016-fuse-box-diagram/

Hi can I upgrade the chrome Guard(R) Bumper
I mean the
Cover & trim, bright
To my GS base model CX9 2018
To be looking same like the Signeture?

 

[sm1ke]

Hi can I upgrade the chrome Guard(R) Bumper
I mean the
Cover & trim, bright
To my GS base model CX9 2018
To be looking same like the Signeture?

Yes you can, in fact I believe someone here has done that before. Try to use the search function to find the thread. I think they even listed the part numbers for the chrome trim. You will have to remove the rear bumper from the car and do some drilling if you install it yourself.

 

[redline3104]

Does anyone know if the GT taillights are plug and play? I know the cx5 taillights are since it uses the exact same wiring harness for the non led taillights.

 

[Rafael1]

Hi, does anyone have the headlights diagram's for the 2020 CX-9 Touring an the GT model?