Hey everyone a guy on our local board had a really cool idea for a shift light so i thought i would post it here for you guys to see.

Heres the link http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ad.php?t=18813

And heres what he said:
Frustrated with average shift lights that required direct coil contact or timing modules, I decided to create my own easy-to-install shift light based on the Raptor Performance (www.raptorperformance.com) LED shift light. The Raptor is a microprocessor design, it can read ECU, coil and tach leads.

After doing some research, I found out that there is a tach output on the OBD-II port. I purchased a few unterminated male OBD-II connectors {picture 1} online (http://www.obd2cables.com/products/) and wired it up. The whole thing worked perfectly from the beginning!

Here's the details:
OBD-II pin 1: +12V switched
OBD-II pin 4: ground
OBD-II pin 9: tach/ecu output

Just connect the right cables to the right pins, and you have a perfect connection with no wire splicing or transfer jumpers. There is one downside, and that is that the OBD-II port needs to be popped out of its housing, or the light's connector will contact your left shin as it hangs down if the OBD-II port is left in the OEM housing. My solution was to Velcro the two halves under the dash {pictures 2 & 3}.

I chose the silver body/black mount/red LED version {picture 4}(they're available in a huge number of color combinations); I felt this complimented the interior of the Mini the best. As for what RPM I have set the light to engage, that is an ongoing tuning process as I learn my car's peak and my own reaction times.

Best of all, its a lot of fun, especially at night. There goes another set of tires!

Picture 1:
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/...etimage&id=1134
Picture 2:
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/...etimage&id=1135
Picture 3:
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/...etimage&id=1136
Picture 4:
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/...etimage&id=1137

 

Hey Thanks but the metroplex links don't work...

 

The JCW shift light uses the same connections at the OBD-II connector. I took it upon myself to scope the signal on pin 9 and found it to be a perfect, 12 volt square wave with sufficient strength to drive most aftermarket tachs, shift lights and other engine speed-sensing gear.

The white/red stripe wire on pin 9 comes from the ECU pin 113, and is also used by the JCW air intake control box to trigger the flap opening at 4500rpm.

Wiring in a shift light at the OBD connector is a simple task, and instead of occupying the connector itself, tap into the wires attaching each respective pin as they lead into the connector. Just remove the knee bolster/parcel shelf to access the harness at this point.

 

Thats what I did when I fitted my shift light quite a while ago too, Greatbear. Its a very good signal, and works perfectly with my bendable, very low profile 10 LED shift light that was designed for a motorbike .

 

Hmm they worked when i posted it, the guy might have taken them down, they were just pictures of the finished install.

 

Ok i reloaded them from my computer

 

And the last one