Help! wiring shift light

[NuEra]

I searched and cant find any specific info. Im wiring the shift light but I dont know what wire to use for the 12v power. I need to find one behind the gauge cluster because I cant get anywhere else. Also, is the tach wire the blue with silver spots on the left clip to the cluster?, because there are like 3 on the middle clip. Please help.

[ric]

it wouldnt be wise to tap into any wires that go into the cluster, especially power wires. i have seen things malfunction from doing this.

your 12v source needs to be an "acc on" source so basically anything that is off untill your turn your key forward will work. your best bet would be tapping directly into a what i think in a civic is a very large yellow wire running into the underdash fuse box. doing this will assure you dont have to worry about possible power source interuptions or stealing power from something else.

as for the rpm source wire in the guage cluster, once again you can use it but i wouldnt. your best source for a good accurate reading is going to be the ignition coil itself or the blue wire running out of the distributor. readings from the ignition system are sometimes "cluttered" from electronic interference even with the shielding on the wire. taking your reading from the source or as close to it as possible is always the best bet. just buy a spool of wire and lengthen the wire coming from the tach or shiftlight. make sure you shrink wrap it so you dont defeat your own purpose.

[NuEra]

How do I get to that tach wire under the hood? Cant I wire to the plug near the fuse box instead? If not, how do I get through the firewall?

[MSilage]

Hey man, i used this guys how to page to wire up mine.
worked fine for me.

http://www.home.mpinet.net/t-hero/CivicP1.htm

[NuEra]

Ok I just tried, but mine is an EX, and I see two yellow wires, which one?

[MSilage]

you have an EX but no tach on the speedometer?

[NuEra]

I have a tach, im wiring a shift light, but its basicly the same process, do you remember if you had more than one yellow wire?

[MSilage]

im pretty sure there were 2 yellow wires but not on the same plug

you should be using the plug that connects to the top left of the tachometer

you can always just do a test cut, get a pair of wire strippers and strip a small section on the one yellow wire, count over from one end and whichever has the yellow wire coming up as the 10th position attach the power wire from the shift light...if it comes on bingo, if not try the other...be careful though

[NuEra]

ok, lemme try this, Ill be back with the results.

[NuEra]

ok, its not working. These are the problems that could be; The tach wire is not connected, or the power wire is not connected.

1- I hooked the tach wire up to the blue w/ silver dotted wire on the left side of the cluster. Maybe this connection is not good and I need to hook it into the engine bay. If so where is it located in there? I see a blue w/ silver dotted wire all the way at the top near the drivers side attached to a clip, is this it?

2- The power wire is hooked up to slot 10 but I dont know if this is a good place to put it and maybe it's not getting current. Where is the best place to hook this up? Please explain thoroughly because Im not very knowledgable about the placement of wires.

Please help me out, it would be much apreciated. Thank you

[MSilage]

did you hook everything up? the ground and light wire?
it may have power but you may not have hooked the wire for the light up, that needs to go to the white wire i think

[j.fuggi]

well i know that when installing an autometer shift light the green wire from the light goes to the blue wire coming out of the distributor.

[NuEra]

Ive seen other how tos saying to attach the tach to the drivers side under the hood where theres a two-pin plug with a blue wire. Should I attach it here?

PS- You should know that its not a normal shift light, its a LED bulb attached to a RPM activated switch.

[j.fuggi]

i'm not 100% sure then. but i was looking to install my autometer shift light (standalone) the other day. and thats the main info i found. so i'm guessing the blue wire @ the distributor is the one for rpm etc etc. it may work with your set-up. wont hurt to try, will it?

[NuEra]

Does anyone know how to get through the firewall? I see where the wires go but it looks like a maze. Theres also another rubber thing that I pulled out to reveal a hole, but behind that is another metal wall. Im also still waiting on info for the placing and color of the tach wire.

I hooked the power to the 12V acc. where there was a black and yellow wire. I connected to yellow, do you think this is right?

Sorry for the questions but I'm having a hard time at this.