alfradio
Member +
Look at this VIDEO and
see why I needed a new shift light...
I've been exchanging emails with the eBay folks from whom I
bought the light
Dear aceautoparts7836,
Installed the shift light but something very strange is
happening (by the way, I've already given you POSITIVE
FEEDBACK) okay, back to my story:
I've installed the shift light by tapping into the same wires
used for my tachometer... What's happening though is; I set
the shift (using the tach) to come on at 6800 RPM... and when
I make a run, the light DOES COME ON AT 6800 RPM but when
I shift, and the RPM drops (according to the tach) down to
around 5K - 5800 RPM, the shift light continues to stay lit.
The tach is working properly because my engine's fuel cut
occurs at around 7200 RPM and when the tach reads that
RPM, the engine starts sputtering (fuel cut)
Any idea what could be causing the light to stay on beyond
the range for which it's set?
...and here's their suggestion:
Dear alfradio,
Hello,
Sorry to hear about the problems with this. I'm going to
forward you onto Procomp themselves. If you would, give
them a call at 1-909-605-1123 and talk to one of the reps
about this. I'm sure they can get you taken care of on this.
I've sent a few customers onto them that have had problems
with the lights and they were able to get them taken care of.
Thanks,
Scott
So, being the thorough person I am, and realizing it's difficult
to see the problem in the above videio, I went through and
sent the guy (Baldur Castro) at ProComp 13 individual frames
from the video to better explain what was going on, or in this
case, NOT GOING ON!
BC,
To the best of my recollection, during the following run, I had
the shiftlight set to 6800 BUT, let's assume that it was, in fact,
set to the RPM at which the light first came on, which was in
PHOTO#02 (6100 RPM)
PHOTO#01 (Launching RPM)
PHOTO#02
Lite first comes on at approx, 6100 RPM
PHOTO#03
RPM maxes out during shift from 1st to 2nd gear
PHOTO#04
RPM bottoms out and will begin to rise as the car accelerates
in 2nd gear (Notice the light is STILL ON!)
PHOTO#05
Maxed out RPM in 2nd gear and all the while, (even as it
passed 6100 RPM) the lite STAYED ON all the time!
PHOTO#06
Following the shift from 2nd to 3rd, the RPM drops down to
5500 yet, the lite is STILL ON
PHOTO#07
This photo show the RPM rising in 3rd gear and at around
5800 RPM the light turns OFF
PHOTO#08
...only to come ON again at 6500 RPM
PHOTO#09
Here is the top of 3rd gear(7500 RPM) with the light still ON
PHOTO#10
The drop down to around 5200 RPM with the shift to 4th gear
(Note: Lite is OFF)
PHOTO#11
Climbing up through 4th gear and the Lite comes on at around
6200 RPM
PHOTO#12
Going through the traps...
PHOTO#13
Notice that during deceleration, the Lite doesn't go OFF until
around 4800 RPM!!!
As mentioned at the top of this frame by frame analysis, to the
best of my recollection, during the following run, I had the
shiftlight set to 6800 BUT, assuming it was, in fact, set to the
RPM at which the light first came on, 6100 RPM (this should be
the RPM at which the Lite TRANSITIONS from OFF to ON and
from OFF to ON)
Here are the transitional RPMs when the lite actually came ON:
6100, 6500, 6200
...and the transitional RPMs when the lite actually went OFF:
5800, 5200, 4800 (Nowhere near 6100 RPM)
The light appears to be all over the place...
HELP!
Al Santos
Here's the reply from the ProComp representative:
AL LOOK AT THE FEED YOU SENT ME OK THIS SHIFTER AND
TACH ARE NOT OURS BUT LOOKING AT THE FEED YES YOU ARE
RIGHT THE LIGHT IS NOT GOING TO GO OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE
OVER REVING THE ENG BUT IF YOU SEE SHIFT 1ST TO SECOND
THE LIGHT GOES OUT BUT 2ND TO 3RD YOU OVER REV THE
ENG. SO OF COURSE THE LIGHT WILL NOT GO OUT IF YOU
SHIFT THE ENGINE AT THE PROPER SHIFT POINT YOU WILL BE
IN YOUR RPM BAND AND YOU GAIN MORE MILE AN HOUR AT
THE TRACK KEEP ME POSTED
Baldur Castro
To which I reply (and may have sent another frame by frame
breakdown and explaination as I feel he's not getting it!
BC,
The shift light electronics are yours... as I told you on the
telephone, I simply repackaged the LIGHT into a smaller
enclosure but it is still connected to your electronics (placed
down by the shift lever) which is still controlled by the knob
adjustment.
The tach, by the way, is a Sun tach but, that's besides the
point...
Regardless of the engines over revving etc... when the RPM
falls below the SET POINT, the light is NOT going out so as to
be ready to come back on when the RPM hits the shift point
again.... This is something which can be seen more clearly in
the frame by frame analysis.
Your shift light is going ON and OFF at various RPM settings...
alf
The following is email sent to Scott, the eBay fellow where the
shift light was purchased and I also CC: ProComp:
Scott,
Appreciate your concern but, there's really not much on which
to keep him posted... The electronics are doing what they are
doing...?
alf
PS: This next part is for Mr. Castro:
AL LOOK AT THE FEED YOU SENT ME OK THIS SHIFTER AND
TACH ARE NOT OURS
As mentioned, the shift light was REPACKAGED but, the
electronics are yours!
BUT LOOKING AT THE FEED YES YOU ARE RIGHT THE LIGHT IS
NOT GOING TO GO OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE OVER REVING THE
ENGINE
I understand the light will not go OFF as long as the engine
RPMs are ABOVE the limit at which the light is set
BUT IF YOU SEE SHIFT 1ST TO SECOND THE LIGHT GOES OUT
At no time during the shift from 1st to 2nd does the light go
OFF even when it drops down to BELOW the limit at which the
light is set...
BUT 2ND TO 3RD YOU OVER REV THE ENG. SO OF COURSE THE
LIGHT WILL NOT GO OUT IF YOU SHIFT THE ENGINE AT THE
PROPER SHIFT POINT YOU WILL BE IN YOUR RPM BAND AND
YOU GAIN MORE MILE AN HOUR AT THE TRACK KEEP ME
POSTED.
Have you even checked the photos I sent??? Check the
caption to photo #13
PHOTO#13: Notice that during deceleration, the Lite doesn't
go OFF until around 4800 RPM!!!
Such a reply and from such an upstanding company!!!
disappointed
Al Santos
To which ProComp replied:
Al
sorry al you feel that way but not only did look at it but I sent
the feed to customer that in has a camaro that runs in the low
five's in the 1/8 mile and both of us came to the same
conclusion that I mentioned.
Baldur Castro
...and the FINAL word from alfradio:
BC,
So you're BOTH saying that the lighting coming ON and OFF
and VARIOUS RPMs is perfectly NORMAL!?!?
How can I possibly have faith in YOUR analysis when the first
line in your original email to me was, "... OK THIS SHIFTER AND
TACH ARE NOT OURS..." Weren't you paying attention when in
our phone conversation I told you (and again in the email I
sent) that The shift light electronics are yours... as I told you
on the telephone, I simply repackaged the LIGHT into a
smaller enclosure but it is still connected to your electronics
(placed down by the shift lever) which is still controlled by the
knob adjustment.
REGARDLESS at what RPM I had the light set to come ON (OFF)
why are there so many RPMs at which it does/doesn't come
ON/OFF?
I will gladly send your friend the shift light and have him test it
out in his 5 second car...
If you STUDY the photos I went to so much trouble to send
you, you MIGHT see what I'm talking about!
As mentioned several times before, regardless as to where
the shift light is SET to come ON, your shiftlight's electronics
cause the light to come ON at 6100, 6500, 6200 (why even
bother having a shift light?)
and on the flip side, the electronics cause the shift light to go
OFF at 5800, 5200, 4800
I have to assume for a shiftlight to be of any VALUE, it will
come ON at the set RPM (staying ON as long as you are at or
ABOVE the RPM setting but, will go OFF as soon as the RPM
falls BELOW the setting, something my/YOURs does NOT DO!!
Well, I guess I'll just toss your shiftlight in the trash and
swallow the $40 price I paid for absolutely nothing... thanks
for your company's fine customer service!
Al Santos
PS: Just out of curiosity, if your shift light electronics worked
properly, why the heck would I being going through all this
aggravation... (and EXPENSE... as I've ordered an AutoMeter
light from JEGS)
...and with THAT, I set out this afternoon and installed a
piece of electronics which worked first time, EVERY TIME!!!
One of the main reasons for opting for the shift light module
was so that I could continue using the Ranterc Memorial Sun Tach
:thankyou:
I did a few modifications while I was at it too... I re-routed the
wire from the tach into the tiny blank (used on the hatchback
for the rear window wiper)
...and also took this opportunity to replace the Eddie Bauer
light enclosure...
... yes, I toyed with a Dr Pepper enclosure but in the end it
was a plain and simple purple enclosure:
Oh yeah... and a new decal for the side of TERCEL1!
I went out for a test drive and as soon as the engine's RPM hit
7000, LIGHT ON!!!! and as soon as the RPM dropped below
7000 , LIGHT OUT!
Damn! Now I may have to take it to the track tomorrow and
see what improvement (if any) comes from this little bit of my
own back yard production (Ha-Ha-Ha!) See results HERE!
Stay tuned!
alf :homer:
see why I needed a new shift light...
I've been exchanging emails with the eBay folks from whom I
bought the light
Dear aceautoparts7836,
Installed the shift light but something very strange is
happening (by the way, I've already given you POSITIVE
FEEDBACK) okay, back to my story:
I've installed the shift light by tapping into the same wires
used for my tachometer... What's happening though is; I set
the shift (using the tach) to come on at 6800 RPM... and when
I make a run, the light DOES COME ON AT 6800 RPM but when
I shift, and the RPM drops (according to the tach) down to
around 5K - 5800 RPM, the shift light continues to stay lit.
The tach is working properly because my engine's fuel cut
occurs at around 7200 RPM and when the tach reads that
RPM, the engine starts sputtering (fuel cut)
Any idea what could be causing the light to stay on beyond
the range for which it's set?
...and here's their suggestion:
Dear alfradio,
Hello,
Sorry to hear about the problems with this. I'm going to
forward you onto Procomp themselves. If you would, give
them a call at 1-909-605-1123 and talk to one of the reps
about this. I'm sure they can get you taken care of on this.
I've sent a few customers onto them that have had problems
with the lights and they were able to get them taken care of.
Thanks,
Scott
So, being the thorough person I am, and realizing it's difficult
to see the problem in the above videio, I went through and
sent the guy (Baldur Castro) at ProComp 13 individual frames
from the video to better explain what was going on, or in this
case, NOT GOING ON!
BC,
To the best of my recollection, during the following run, I had
the shiftlight set to 6800 BUT, let's assume that it was, in fact,
set to the RPM at which the light first came on, which was in
PHOTO#02 (6100 RPM)
PHOTO#01 (Launching RPM)
PHOTO#02
Lite first comes on at approx, 6100 RPM
PHOTO#03
RPM maxes out during shift from 1st to 2nd gear
PHOTO#04
RPM bottoms out and will begin to rise as the car accelerates
in 2nd gear (Notice the light is STILL ON!)
PHOTO#05
Maxed out RPM in 2nd gear and all the while, (even as it
passed 6100 RPM) the lite STAYED ON all the time!
PHOTO#06
Following the shift from 2nd to 3rd, the RPM drops down to
5500 yet, the lite is STILL ON
PHOTO#07
This photo show the RPM rising in 3rd gear and at around
5800 RPM the light turns OFF
PHOTO#08
...only to come ON again at 6500 RPM
PHOTO#09
Here is the top of 3rd gear(7500 RPM) with the light still ON
PHOTO#10
The drop down to around 5200 RPM with the shift to 4th gear
(Note: Lite is OFF)
PHOTO#11
Climbing up through 4th gear and the Lite comes on at around
6200 RPM
PHOTO#12
Going through the traps...
PHOTO#13
Notice that during deceleration, the Lite doesn't go OFF until
around 4800 RPM!!!
As mentioned at the top of this frame by frame analysis, to the
best of my recollection, during the following run, I had the
shiftlight set to 6800 BUT, assuming it was, in fact, set to the
RPM at which the light first came on, 6100 RPM (this should be
the RPM at which the Lite TRANSITIONS from OFF to ON and
from OFF to ON)
Here are the transitional RPMs when the lite actually came ON:
6100, 6500, 6200
...and the transitional RPMs when the lite actually went OFF:
5800, 5200, 4800 (Nowhere near 6100 RPM)
The light appears to be all over the place...
HELP!
Al Santos
Here's the reply from the ProComp representative:
AL LOOK AT THE FEED YOU SENT ME OK THIS SHIFTER AND
TACH ARE NOT OURS BUT LOOKING AT THE FEED YES YOU ARE
RIGHT THE LIGHT IS NOT GOING TO GO OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE
OVER REVING THE ENG BUT IF YOU SEE SHIFT 1ST TO SECOND
THE LIGHT GOES OUT BUT 2ND TO 3RD YOU OVER REV THE
ENG. SO OF COURSE THE LIGHT WILL NOT GO OUT IF YOU
SHIFT THE ENGINE AT THE PROPER SHIFT POINT YOU WILL BE
IN YOUR RPM BAND AND YOU GAIN MORE MILE AN HOUR AT
THE TRACK KEEP ME POSTED
Baldur Castro
To which I reply (and may have sent another frame by frame
breakdown and explaination as I feel he's not getting it!
BC,
The shift light electronics are yours... as I told you on the
telephone, I simply repackaged the LIGHT into a smaller
enclosure but it is still connected to your electronics (placed
down by the shift lever) which is still controlled by the knob
adjustment.
The tach, by the way, is a Sun tach but, that's besides the
point...
Regardless of the engines over revving etc... when the RPM
falls below the SET POINT, the light is NOT going out so as to
be ready to come back on when the RPM hits the shift point
again.... This is something which can be seen more clearly in
the frame by frame analysis.
Your shift light is going ON and OFF at various RPM settings...
alf
The following is email sent to Scott, the eBay fellow where the
shift light was purchased and I also CC: ProComp:
Scott,
Appreciate your concern but, there's really not much on which
to keep him posted... The electronics are doing what they are
doing...?
alf
PS: This next part is for Mr. Castro:
AL LOOK AT THE FEED YOU SENT ME OK THIS SHIFTER AND
TACH ARE NOT OURS
As mentioned, the shift light was REPACKAGED but, the
electronics are yours!
BUT LOOKING AT THE FEED YES YOU ARE RIGHT THE LIGHT IS
NOT GOING TO GO OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE OVER REVING THE
ENGINE
I understand the light will not go OFF as long as the engine
RPMs are ABOVE the limit at which the light is set
BUT IF YOU SEE SHIFT 1ST TO SECOND THE LIGHT GOES OUT
At no time during the shift from 1st to 2nd does the light go
OFF even when it drops down to BELOW the limit at which the
light is set...
BUT 2ND TO 3RD YOU OVER REV THE ENG. SO OF COURSE THE
LIGHT WILL NOT GO OUT IF YOU SHIFT THE ENGINE AT THE
PROPER SHIFT POINT YOU WILL BE IN YOUR RPM BAND AND
YOU GAIN MORE MILE AN HOUR AT THE TRACK KEEP ME
POSTED.
Have you even checked the photos I sent??? Check the
caption to photo #13
PHOTO#13: Notice that during deceleration, the Lite doesn't
go OFF until around 4800 RPM!!!
Such a reply and from such an upstanding company!!!
disappointed
Al Santos
To which ProComp replied:
Al
sorry al you feel that way but not only did look at it but I sent
the feed to customer that in has a camaro that runs in the low
five's in the 1/8 mile and both of us came to the same
conclusion that I mentioned.
Baldur Castro
...and the FINAL word from alfradio:
BC,
So you're BOTH saying that the lighting coming ON and OFF
and VARIOUS RPMs is perfectly NORMAL!?!?
How can I possibly have faith in YOUR analysis when the first
line in your original email to me was, "... OK THIS SHIFTER AND
TACH ARE NOT OURS..." Weren't you paying attention when in
our phone conversation I told you (and again in the email I
sent) that The shift light electronics are yours... as I told you
on the telephone, I simply repackaged the LIGHT into a
smaller enclosure but it is still connected to your electronics
(placed down by the shift lever) which is still controlled by the
knob adjustment.
REGARDLESS at what RPM I had the light set to come ON (OFF)
why are there so many RPMs at which it does/doesn't come
ON/OFF?
I will gladly send your friend the shift light and have him test it
out in his 5 second car...
If you STUDY the photos I went to so much trouble to send
you, you MIGHT see what I'm talking about!
As mentioned several times before, regardless as to where
the shift light is SET to come ON, your shiftlight's electronics
cause the light to come ON at 6100, 6500, 6200 (why even
bother having a shift light?)
and on the flip side, the electronics cause the shift light to go
OFF at 5800, 5200, 4800
I have to assume for a shiftlight to be of any VALUE, it will
come ON at the set RPM (staying ON as long as you are at or
ABOVE the RPM setting but, will go OFF as soon as the RPM
falls BELOW the setting, something my/YOURs does NOT DO!!
Well, I guess I'll just toss your shiftlight in the trash and
swallow the $40 price I paid for absolutely nothing... thanks
for your company's fine customer service!
Al Santos
PS: Just out of curiosity, if your shift light electronics worked
properly, why the heck would I being going through all this
aggravation... (and EXPENSE... as I've ordered an AutoMeter
light from JEGS)
...and with THAT, I set out this afternoon and installed a
piece of electronics which worked first time, EVERY TIME!!!
One of the main reasons for opting for the shift light module
was so that I could continue using the Ranterc Memorial Sun Tach
:thankyou:
I did a few modifications while I was at it too... I re-routed the
wire from the tach into the tiny blank (used on the hatchback
for the rear window wiper)
...and also took this opportunity to replace the Eddie Bauer
light enclosure...
... yes, I toyed with a Dr Pepper enclosure but in the end it
was a plain and simple purple enclosure:
Oh yeah... and a new decal for the side of TERCEL1!
I went out for a test drive and as soon as the engine's RPM hit
7000, LIGHT ON!!!! and as soon as the RPM dropped below
7000 , LIGHT OUT!
Damn! Now I may have to take it to the track tomorrow and
see what improvement (if any) comes from this little bit of my
own back yard production (Ha-Ha-Ha!) See results HERE!
Stay tuned!
alf :homer:
Last edited: