Activating the Shift Light
 

Hey all, Has anyone figured out a way to activate the switch light on our tachs? there is an inactive shift light underneath the 4 on the tach. I have heard that it is only for shelbys but that all mustangs have it it is just inactive. Anyone know more about this?

no that is not true because the GT500s have a different gauge setup than the gts and there is no shift light for the standard cluster

No, there IS a shift light in the GT cluster, but as far as I know, nobody has figured out how to activate it, if it is even possible. It's right below the 4 on the tach. I've been trying to figure this out as well.

just buy a Raptor for $100

Not possable.
If it was, I would have already done it.
Buy a Raptor.

Not trying to flame anybody, but I really can't understand why anyone would want a shift light. My Jeep came with one; it's possibly one of the most useless and irritating "features" devised in my opinion. The way I look at it, if you've driven a stick for any length of time then you really don't need a light to tell you when to shift.

Because hitting the rev limiter makes you lose races. And some of us get to redline very, very quickly.

The up arrow on the tach would be pretty useless, though, unless it's much brighter than the rest of the dash. If you have to look at it to see it, you might as well be looking at the tach itself. The purpose of a shift light is to NOT have to look down.

the exhaust note is my shift light lol

well you drive a V6, so you'll never understand.... :eek:

I think the shift light is only to tell you when to shift up for best economy and would not be adjustable.

+1 :)

Irrelevant.


its a personal preference.

sounds like cylinder envy.... :p

Ah, so comprehension level depends on the number of cylinders under the hood... guess I'll turn into a blathering idiot when I drive my 4 cylinder Jeep. Thanks for your infinate wisdom. :rolleyes:

cant anyone take a joke? hahahaha

Not to stray off the "He who has the most cylinders wins" topic (it's pretty riveting...really), but has does anyone know if there is actually a light there at all or what? 157db, you said it's not possible, and I would tend to believe you, but why exactly isn't it? Is there no light? No wiring connector?

I don't think I would ever want to "enable" this light, but I am curious as to what exactly is stopping this from working. If there's no light, then someone could probably install a light there. The same could be said about wiring. I am guessing that the real problem is that there is simply no electronic component to turn such a thing on or off as needed, based on RPM, engine load, etc.

X2, if you need a shift light.... racing is not your thing

what if you are using it to keep the same shift point, say 5.8krpms? for more consistent times as in bracket racing? or are your ears that perfectly tuned to know when you go from 5.5k to 5.8k but not 5.85k rpms for your shifting?

no not perfect but I know from 5.8 to 5.85 will make no significant difference, I don't know if your auto or stick but if your bracket racing you would fair better with an auto. Street racing which I favor IMO a stick is best.

OK, a quick schooling on the modern S197 Mustangs electrical platform.
Its not the same as vehicles of yesteryear. There are wires but all the
information thats traded inbetween modules is on either a hi or low speed
CAN BUSS. Its programming that enables the cluster to illuminate the light
and the PCM that tells the cluster over the CAN BUSS when to light it.
Become a Ford systems programmer or sweet talk a high level Ford tech
to put the programming in place to enable the shift light.
The shift light sensor is the PCM and programming will be needed to enable
it to send the shift light data to the cluster when it needs to be illuminated.

Once again, if it could be done, I would have already done it.

I thought it was whom ever had the smallest weiner dog had the most cyls. :)

nothing to do with comprehension, all about speed, IMHO you've already demonstrated your intellect

tell you what, put up some time slips or STFU about racing


/\ goes double for you.... put up some timeslips or STFU about racing

apparently not....

with a stick a shift light allows you to be more consistent no doubt, and when you car goes 0-60 in around 3 seconds it certainly helps the 1-2 shift.

LMAO
And where, exactly, have I ever said a single thing about racing?

I just don't understand why somebody would be interested in having an OEM-style shift light; its purpose is to tell you when to shift for best fuel milage and in my opinion is quite worthless for anybody that's been driving a stick for more than a couple months.

If it's a redline shift light you're after, you'd be much better off with something brighter and nearer your line of sight than an OEM-style light in the stock gauge cluster.

primary purpose of a shift light is for racing... wash the sand out of your crotch. the gt500 light is a programmable one from what I've heard for optimal performance not economy

Thanks! That makes complete sense. Now I can safely dump this ridiculous thread! :D

There are two types of Mustang drivers...those of us who drive the car as our main driver and just enjoy the sportiness of it or the appearance and those who have gone all out to mod the car to drag race it. Why do people who mod and drag their car instantly assume they know more than those of us who don't and why do they assume everyone wants to race? The 18 vs 20 discussion is even worse... The bickering on this page is getting as bad as on the motorcycle forums sometimes...

Back on topic though, a shift light would get on my nerves and I'm glad we don't have them. Seems like they always encourage shifting early.

well to reply to the modding/racing issue. if you mod your car your generally researching a lot more about how the car works and how different parts work together, so IMHO, those people will have more knowledge of how the cars work. As to the "everyone wants to race" certainly that is not the belief, however this thread's topic was about a shift light and that is inherent IMO to useful racing. A light to shift for daily driving is just silly IMHO.

GFY-self

There are two lights. One is the up arrow medium yellow color in the lower left and flashes when you get around 3K rpm. The other one is not seen normally, is programable via mycolor buttons for say 6100 rpm is a bright RED "SVT" in the tach guage.

You can see both the lights in this pic of gt500 dash I just got off ebay.

I wonder whether you could rig up an audible indicator. I had a car with a buzzer that sounded when you reached a predetermined speed. It had a needle that you set with a knob to whatever speed you wanted. When the speedometer needle got to the point where the other needle was, it tripped a buzzer. I didn't need to look at the speedometer all that often, because the sound would alert me.

That's a great idea because you don't have time to watch the tack or look down.

ohhhh that's whitty, how bout those slips....... ???

thanks for the info

with most aftermarket lights, you have no worry about looking down, it bright enough to see looking at the road.

my daddy can beat up your daddy

I won't argue with you about that. But my mommy can beat up your daddy. :D