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Blue Shift Indicator Mod DIY
courtesy of Karrde
Blue Shift Indicator Mod
This mod is fairly straightforward, I'm just removing the stock light bulb and replacing it with a few LEDs for
a much better look will go great with the HVAC and window switch LED mods).
Tools:
-Screwdrivers
-Pliers
-Soldering Iron
-Hot Glue Gun
-Wire cutters/strippers
-Drill/bits
Supplies:
-Solder
-LEDs (see below)
-Resistors (see below)
Selecting LEDs and Resistors:
The best place to buy a bunch of LEDs is probably eBay. A lot of the sets from Hong Kong are cheap and
some even come with their own resistors. Just search up "12v LEDs" and you'll get a lot of hits. But
wherever you buy yours from it's important to make sure they're not too bright. The light dimmer switch
doesn't affect the shift indicator lights and while bright LEDs look great during the day they're murder at
night on the eyes. The standard for light output on LEDs is millicandela, or mcd. The LEDs in my pictures
were 6000mcd which was way too bright. Around 1000mcd would probably be fine.
Along with brightness you also need to figure out what resistors you need and for this I found the following
site to be invaluable:
http://ledcalc.com/
For my initial attempt with 6000mcd blue LEDs I wired two at a time in series with a 330ohm resistor. I also
added one individually with a 470ohm resistor. Here's a crude electrical schematic; nothing complicated to
this circuit:
Remember, if you don't use 6000mcd LEDs your resistor ratings will be different so use the calculator in the
link above. On with the mod:
Step 1: Remove the centre console. No pics of this, but there are three screws along each side (slide the
seats all the way forwards to reach the back two). Once those are off you can lift the console up and out
(you will have to slide the shifter back a bit and pull the e-brake all the way up, and I mean all the way up).
Step 2: Remove the shift knob. There are two Philips screws on the front of it; take them out then gently
slide the knob up slightly. You can now remove the button by pulling it out. There will also be a spring in
there, be careful not to lose it.
Step 3: Remove the indicator light assembly. This proved to be the toughest part for me. It's attached at
four points by small clips which are nearly impossible to squeeze out. I ended up breaking a couple of the
clips, I hope you fair better. Note that once the centre console is back on it will hold this assembly in place
so it doesn't really matter if you break the clips. With the shift knob removed it should just lift straight up
when the clips are released.
Step 4: Flipping the assembly over you will see that the plastic light housing is removable (sorry no pics of
this part). No it's time to figure out the positioning of your LEDs and start drilling holes for them. This is
really down to personal preference, but depending on the light output angle of your LEDs you may need to
have one pointing at each position of the shifter. Once the holes are drilled you can secure the LEDs in place
with your hot glue gun, then solder your resistors in place and wire everything to ground. Remember that
LEDs only work one way, the terminal nearest to the flat side of the bulb is negative, the other is positive
(usually the negative side has a shorter prong, too).
The white connector leading from the car has two wires, red and black, for positive and negative
respectively (connector on the indicator side shown above). If in doubt, confirm with a multimeter. When
you've finished, test the circuit.
And in the famous words of Haynes' First Commandment: Installation is the reverse of removal.
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