i would like to get the shift light on my dash to work i put the penut bulb in went for a drive and it didn't light up does the cpu controll the light or do i have to have a 5 speed for it to work




thanks

 

You need the 5-speed for the "shift" light to work

 

I've always wanted to wire that up as a real shift light. You'll need to attack an aftermarket shift light, attach wires to where the bulb goes, hide the shift light under the dash, run those wires up to the dash's shift light, and put a bulb in, and put the dash back together. It might be easier to use the MSD-8956 RPM Window Switch- it turns on a circuit at an RPM you choose; this way, you wouldn't have to take a shift light apart.

I always meant to trace the circuit board wiring diagrams to see where the shift light wire comes out; I'd like to just attach a wire to the dash (instead of poking my own bulb in there).

One downer though, I doubt that shift light will be very bright during the day.

 

Not to be a smarta$$ or be rude , but why would you want a shiftlight if you have an automatic ? ??

 

1. Coolness factor

2. If you shift your own at the racetrack, you don't need to watch a tachometer, as soon as the light turns on, you shift up to the next gear.

The GM shift light was made for upshifting at the best point for fuel economy, whatever that means. I wonder if the shift light came on at different times, or if it always came on at the same rpm. Didn't the dashboard shift light stop after '86?

 

LOL, tom my 93 s10 still has a shift light, and I belive the 93-95 camaros did too.

I also wondered how they "determined" when to upshift. So many times that light has come on, and if I did shift, I would have to instantly downshift again so I could go with "chugging" or have any DECENT acceleration.

 

hey TOMP, my dad's '91 trans am has the shift light u guys are talking about, and it does come on for best fuel economy. it gets kinda annoying at times because it seems to always be on.... oh, i dont have a hard time seeing it during the daytime, probably because of the overhang of the dashboard. i never gave a second thought if my '90 with an auto had it...but it would be kinda cool if i got a shift kit and had a light to tell me whats goin on

 

G0d I hate those shift lights......I made sure to NOT install one as part of my T5 swap.

 

yea, i think it would be a hellof a lot easier just to trace the wire diagrams for the dash instead of buyinga whole new shift light. wow, i thoughtof this a while ago and found out just putting a bulb in doesnt work. i thoguth i was the only one who woudl want to have a shift light in and automatic but i guess not.

 

hey calicamarors, how much $ did u get your t5 for?

 

Heres my custom programmable Harlan Engineering shift lite. I installed it in the factory cig lighter, and it's totally concealable

Exposed:


Hidden:


The lite itself cost $50 and it was way too easy to install it where I did. You can even use your own stock bulb socket and location with a few "modifications" if you want the "^Shift" icon rather than my method.

 

If I ever have a manual car , like a Z28 6spd I'll have one then , b/c I just think it would be "bitchen" to have one with the bigas* tach sitting on the dash !

 

How does light know when to light?
I'd say by engine vacuum readings.
If you have/use a vacuum gauge you'd understand better.
Think of it this way, when on the gas, you can hear when the engine sounds smoother at certain tranny gear selection/RPMS.
This tends to be about 2800-3500 RPM for almost any engine.
I take that back.
Those import or peaky engines (like a motorcycle) can upshift at 10,000-12,000. Their peak vacuum reading, during upshifts, occur at higher RPMs.

I always enjoyed starting out my day (when I had a pocket rocket in 1982-83) at 12,000RPM! Had a motorcycle(s) for 3 1/2 years in Southern California & lived to tell about it. Only due to MY defensive driving style.

 

$55.....1/2-off day at Pick-A-Part. The whole swap however, ran me about $600 total.

 

The only thing you could trace is how to turn the bulb on, not how to turn it into a shift light. You still need some piece of equipment to turn the light on at a certain rpm...

 

My 95 5 speed didn't have a shift light.

 

The shift lite I have is actually an rpm activated module that has a led setup as a lite. You could use any light you want if you use a relay. The Harlan setup I have comes with directions to use it an outboard light or activate nitrous. Its a pretty cool deal.