# Shift light



## ZXGTO.com (Jan 18, 2008)

I got a quick question for you guys. I just got my GTO yesterday so bare with me! Someone told me that the car has a factory shift light? is this true? and if so how do i turn it on?


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Check this thread....
http://www.gtoforum.com/f41/gto-shift-light-10692/


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## Red Bearded Goat (Mar 19, 2007)

This is the only place to go for it...

White Auto & Media - Instrument Cluster Programming


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

You do not need that light to work. You don't need a light telling you when to up shift. Unless you want a gadget to work I'd not waste my money.

IMO though, if the feature is on the car it should work. This doesn't. 

Shifting by ear is your guide. You can also use your tach if you have too. 

You are better off watching the road and shifting than waiting for a light to tell you when.


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## JerseyGoat (Dec 2, 2005)

:agree Shift by ear.


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## raspantienator (Nov 20, 2007)

My 84 trans am had the shift light in place of a tach and I hated it. I felt it epitomized the phrase "idiot light"


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## Mikey340 (Jul 18, 2006)

Yes it does but it has to be turned on.
Which means sending your cluster to Chris.
Who does excellent work BTW.
I got a raptor shift light instead.
My .02.
Mike


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Mikey340 said:


> Yes it does but it has to be turned on.


Why does it have to be turned on?


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## ZXGTO.com (Jan 18, 2008)

*Thanks*

Yea i dont think that im goin to rip the dash apart and spend money to turn that thing on. Kind of a bad set up if you ask me. If the car has it, it should work stock!


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

ZXGTO.com said:


> Yea i dont think that im goin to rip the dash apart and spend money to turn that thing on. Kind of a bad set up if you ask me. If the car has it, it should work stock!


:agree


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## raspantienator (Nov 20, 2007)

Can anyone answer why it wasn't turned on?
Thats like having ditch lights in the grill but no wiring harnesses in place.


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

You don't need a shift light. You have something way more advanced. And, it is activated at the factory. CAGS will choose gears for you.


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## Mikey340 (Jul 18, 2006)

GTO JUDGE said:


> Why does it have to be turned on?


Because GM chose to turn it off as "potentially distracting" lol.
Hate to say it bust "MOST" drivers can barely get the change lanes use turn signal B4 actual lane change thing right .
Imagine if they had a flashing light?
They would probably slam on the brakes.
Just like when they see any other flashing light.
My .02
Mike


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

It does not have to be turned on. It's functional if activated.

I agree, the world is safer with it not working.


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## Mikey340 (Jul 18, 2006)

My bad sorry for any misleading terminology.
Must be activated.


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## Rob (Aug 7, 2004)

Shift lights are for consistency. Also, when its turned on, not only does it light up but it also sounds a series of beeps.

You don't need to look at the light to know it comes on. Its bright enough to see it and the chimes are loud enough also.

Its something that came with the car and the last minute, GM pulled the plug on it. It was originally on Pontiac's site with a video of the gauges, then it was photoshopped out of the video after production had started.


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## AlaGreyGoat (Jul 6, 2006)

Hi,
Shift lights are nice. My Goat wind up sooo fast in the lower gears, it's hard not to get into the cutoff.
Also, how many people get 63-65 Grand just tooling around?
If a red light on the dash would scare you, the engine/exhaust sound
(and lateral acceleration) at 65 grand would mortify you.

Larry


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## raspantienator (Nov 20, 2007)

The beeps along with the light just adds another reason to be glad this is non-functional in the GTO. Bad enough I need a ship shift eliminator to undo imposed driving instruction when shifting from 1st to 2nd in the low rpm range. At least we can also disable the traction control which is already a natural order of driver readiness following the turn of the ignition and prior to the seat belt fastening.


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## Red Bearded Goat (Mar 19, 2007)

raspantienator said:


> The beeps along with the light just adds another reason to be glad this is non-functional in the GTO. Bad enough I need a ship shift eliminator to undo imposed driving instruction when shifting from 1st to 2nd in the low rpm range. At least we can also disable the traction control which is already a natural order of driver readiness following the turn of the ignition and prior to the seat belt fastening.


Not picking your post out.... but the general assumption on this mod for the OEM cluster shift light/audio signal function from your post along with many others in this thread... assume its an idiot light telling you when to economically shift with respect to fuel consumption, speed, yada, yada... like ones used on other cars that are preset from the factory to warn you well below engine red line. 

No, this one is not intended for that! In normal driving it won't come on because its programmed for a specific RPM with respect to engine operating condition or a specific RPM in any gear. Its functionality is best used on the drag strip to get the most out of your engines power curve in each gear during a run down the track. I posted the link for the site earlier in the thread but here's a quote from the site I believe was overlooked;

_"The shift light can also be staggered unlike other Aftermarket units, for instance, if you'd like a lower shift point when the GTO is below normal operating temperature; we can do that! If you'd like to have first gear at a lower RPM than the rest, we can do that too! This allows for progressively better shift points as the car progresses through the gears leading to better ET's." _

I don't get the 1 - 4 skip shift lockout if I'm forced to drive within those parameters by traffic conditions... I fool the system by making a rapid sideway motion in neutral while shifting between 1st and 2nd. I've seen the skip shift light come on, then go out as I make the move before I drop it into 2nd.

A word of warning if you advocate normal driving with the TC off.... don't, unless your racing down the track or just want to smoke the tread off your rear tires in 1st gear. It's the fastest way into a ditch or spin on the road while up shifting... just check the growing inventory at Cleveland Pick A Part, most didn't get there by driving smart.


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## SANDU002 (Oct 13, 2004)

If your going to do it, it is best to wait until Chris is going to be in your neck of the woods. He can do it in about 10 minutes by plugging into your computer. There is a list of about 10 things he can do and it will cost about $120. If you contact him he can send you the list, so you know what the whole deal is.


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## Red Bearded Goat (Mar 19, 2007)

SANDU002 said:


> If your going to do it, it is best to wait until Chris is going to be in your neck of the woods. He can do it in about 10 minutes by plugging into your computer. There is a list of about 10 things he can do and it will cost about $120. If you contact him he can send you the list, so you know what the whole deal is.


Bill,
Nice pic of your 67... did you go up to Gettysburg and have Chris do the shift light mod on your BOM when he passed thru last fall?
Red.


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## SANDU002 (Oct 13, 2004)

Yes I did. He has a list of 10 or 11 items he can do and he sent that to me in an email attachment so I could pick and choose those I wanted, so I marked them all. The only one he could not do was the BOM colored gauges because he does not have the software for it.


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## Ninjured (Apr 28, 2006)

ZXGTO.com said:


> Yea i dont think that im goin to rip the dash apart and spend money to turn that thing on. Kind of a bad set up if you ask me. If the car has it, it should work stock!


six screws-
two holding the trim piece in place, four holding the cluster. unplug interface and send away. No tearing or ripping anything apart. Less than 5 min to take out/put back in.

I got mine activated for the reason you said- "If the car has it, it should work..."
granted, I hardly ever see it but it is a cool feature an d I'm glad i got it done


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