Bought a Shift Light.

[SASHO91]

i havent got it yet, they said it was sopposed to be here today but wasnt, maybe tomorrow. anyway i was wondering how do i hook it up. i know its got to go to the coil pack but which wire.(not spark plug wire, i know that) but which wire off the coil do i connect to. i pretty sure it is gonna have like three wire, red-power , green-coil pack, black-ground. i think? i pretty sure its the same way you hook up a tach. i guess i should have learned how to do this b4 i got it.

 

[SASHO91]

dosent any one know how to do this?

 

[SHO92]

I have an RPM switch that I use to control a shift light. I hooked it up to the signal wire for the tach, behind the cluster. I think its tan with a purple stripe, but I'd have to check to be sure. Perhaps someone else knows the wire for certain?

 

[SASHO91]

thanks, i thought i would have to hook it up to the coil though. does anyone else know about this?

 

[Slo-Sho]

You can run a wire to the DIS module. On the grey colored weatherpack connector, it is the (GRY/O) grey/orange wire.

 

[SASHO91]

You can run a wire to the DIS module. On the grey colored weatherpack connector, it is the (GRY/O) grey/orange wire.

so the dis module on the left side of the intake manifold. right. which connector side will it be on? the one in the front or in the back. and this wont harm anything though right? will it take away from the ignition system? i hate to be pickey but i want to do it right the first time. thanks

 

[SHO92]

Grey and Orange is the wire I used that plugs right into the tach. Since you're most likely going to have to remove the dash to install your shift light, you might as well just tap into the wire behind the tach, instead of all the way at the DIS and running the wire through the firewall.

 

[SASHO91]

what im going to do is just run it off the tach hook up wire i found it last night. so im going to run it off of that and not worry about taking the dash off. thanks for the opinions and help.

 

[SASHO91]

ok i had a problem hooking it guys. ok i hooked it up to the dis wire, the shift light comes on but the tach is all screwy. it works fine till 4k but then it drops back down. but the shift light comes on though. wtf, and the shift light dosent even come on at the right time either. i tried both the dis and the tach wire on the fire wall. what is going on? any help would be appretiated.

 

[SASHO91]

i need some help with this guys, asap.

 

[SASHO91]

anyone, please!

 

[SASHO91]

guys?

 

[MichaelH]

I just bought one, too, from proformparts.com/tech. I haven't finished up connecting, yet. Don't know if this will help, but here's a caution note from the instructions:


"In the event your shift light randomly blinks or flashes, try this possible solution before returning your shift light to the retailer: We recommend you purchase Zener diode with a value of 10 or higher. They are available from Radio Shack (part number 276-563 for $0.99 a 2-pack). Add the diode in line with your green wire with the diode arrow pointing toward the shift light. In some cases, more than one diode may be needed. Just add the the additional diode in the same manner as the first diode."

 

[SASHO91]

yeah i read that also, but it dosent blink. it flashes when i turn the key to on, and then again when i turn the car over, from the power it is sending to it. anyways i had thought about this, i think the light is causing to much power to be pulled from the tach, so when the light comes on the tach looses power and drops back down. which it does. will the diode take car off that, cause i have no idea what that is. also i hooked it up to all of the points where you can hook it up to. another thing, does an aftermarket tach have something in it from doing what the shift light is doing to the stock tach, cause i figure that the big tach would pull more.? i am totally stumped.

 

[SHO92]

I have my RPM switch connected by a relay. This is probably the best way to do it. Have the tach signal trip the relay, which then powers the shift light. It sounds like your tach is screwy because there isn't enough power in the circuit for both the lightbulb and the tach.

 

[SASHO91]

I have my RPM switch connected by a relay. This is probably the best way to do it. Have the tach signal trip the relay, which then powers the shift light. It sounds like your tach is screwy because there isn't enough power in the circuit for both the lightbulb and the tach.

i hoped i wouldnt have to do that. i dont get it though, how come some people here can run a take off of the wire, when the tach, in my eyes, would pul more volts than a light would, if not the same. when you said, tach signal trip the relay, i was totally lost, can you explain that a little less complicated, this is my first install like this.

 

[MichaelH]

yeah i read that also, but it dosent blink. it flashes when i turn the key to on, and then again when i turn the car over, from the power it is sending to it. anyways i had thought about this, i think the light is causing to much power to be pulled from the tach, so when the light comes on the tach looses power and drops back down. which it does. will the diode take car off that, cause i have no idea what that is. also i hooked it up to all of the points where you can hook it up to. another thing, does an aftermarket tach have something in it from doing what the shift light is doing to the stock tach, cause i figure that the big tach would pull more.? i am totally stumped.

A zener diode is a voltage regulater. It acts to keep the voltage constant, so it doesn't suck out more power. So, yes, I guess it should help.

 

[SASHO91]

A zener diode is a voltage regulater. It acts to keep the voltage constant, so it doesn't suck out more power. So, yes, I guess it should help.

are you going to put one in yours? cause im going to go buy one right now, i just have to find that paper.

 

[SASHO91]

ok i hooked the dioed up, and the same thing happened. first i tried it on the dis -same thing, then i try to turn the diode around, now nothing happens. then try to hook it to the tach signal wire by the strut tower, same thing. i dont think this car wants a shift light.

 

[SHO92]

The zener diode only works in one direction, it prevents current from flowing the wrong way in a circuit.
Get a relay and everything will be fine. The relay acts like a switch. The signal from the tach wire makes the relay "turn on". Then the relay will make the light turn on, and use power directly from the battery to light the shift light instead of the tach signal lighting it up. The tach signal is just flicking the switch.
Most relays come with a diagram on the side of it showing how it works and how to attach the wires. If you still can't figure it out, go to www.the12volt.com. That site has all kinds of diagrams for different uses of relays.