Curious about a light that came on

1990_NW_SCKid

Registered User
I was playing with my car tonight, and was flooring it balls out, and when I was nearing 100 MPH, this light on the speedometer came on. It lit up yellow and had an up arrow on it, first time I've ever seen it. So I back off, and it goes away, then I punch it again from 80-100 and it comes back on. It's the first time I've ever seen it, and I didn't notice it when I took the car to 110 the other day. It also had this constant ding to it. Someone mentioned it could be a shift light, but my SC is an auto. Any ideas?

Thanks
Kyle
 
Hello, Kyle.

Yes that is the "upshift light" telling you it's time to shift to the next gear. This is of course frustrating in an automatic when you have no further gear to shift to and you want further speed. :)
 
Yup, it's an upshift light , mine comes on about around 95-100 mph ,just warns you when you are in over-drive and the tranny wants to shift down just means if you want to get 105 and above you gotta do feed the car slowly from that point on...yeah I know it's fun to watch your boost guage on 11 lbs...but the upshift keeps you from littering the hiway with your transmission !
Have fun
 
You can't FLOOR it past 105-110.

See, your non-overdrive gear tops out at about 95-100.

You'd have to shift to overdrive to go faster.

If you're in overdrive, going that fast, and you floor it, the transmission will want to shift down (since when you floor it that's what the tranny does)

Only problem is that the non-OD gear doesn't go that high, so the light just comes on instead.

Just ease it up in OD, if you don't try to make it downshift, it'll be fine.
 
That light comes on near the end of 3rd gear in AOD SC's. My car would go to about 110 in 3rd. Then I let up and let it shift to OD, then get back on it but only like 8 psi in OD. Overdrive is weak in these cars and you can damage the transmission by trying to run the **** out of the car in OD. I only run overdrive on the higway and I get to speed then let off and shift up to OD.

Around town I leave it in D. Anytime the cars goes into overdrive you are going to wear it out. Especially if you have a stock AOD that lags between gears, it shifts slowly into OD and burns the OD band upon engagement. If you run it in OD, let off around 45 until it shifts and is in OD. The overdrive in the AOD isn't a gear, its a kevlar band and is prone to wear quicker than if it were an actual gear.

And I've had my aod SC up to at least 130+ mph so you can go faster.
 
The correct answer is......

OK, anyone that does not have an owners manual, should get one. Helm. Inc. has them for $19.95.


Also, the upshift light is listed in the owners manual as a light that tells the driver the following:


You are going too fast for that gear..

You are heating your coolant up too high...

You have excessive oil temperature, (yes, SC has a Factory oil temp sensor......)

You are revving the motor too high.....

You are to slow down and let the car cool off....


Any of these will cause that light to come on....

Basically, it is a warning light. It tells you something might happen. Slow down when this comes on. It is not just an upshift light like on s stick shift car. It does a lot more.

Again, these are complicated cars if you let them be complicated.



Good Luck,


Don
 
Just like Don said...it's a warning. If after 20 seconds you haven't done something to make the light go off (lift the throttle), the EEC will. It will cut fuel and timing to protect the engine.

David
 
I can't recall if I've ever seen that light in my 5-speed. I've ran 4th up over 120 a few times, but maybe I need to be closer to 140 in 4th to see the light?
 
Only time i ever saw that upshift light in my old 5spd SC was around 4800 in 5th at around 145mph.. Its a shame it came on as my cam would of allowed me to hit 6k before topping out 5th gear :)
 
Scott, guys,

Excellent info. I hear both sides of this. When you are just driving around town, is it better on the transmission to not use OD? I have 125000 on this auto and I'm afraid to service it. Seen that, helped remove a tranny because of that. :)

thanks.
 
I always keep my AOD in D unless I am going to be on the hwy at a minimum constant speed of 70mph. I only use OD for long hwy cruising. 181K miles on original AOD tranny with no problems. Just change the fluid and filter approx. every 60K miles.

(of course now that I have said that I've never had a problem, the whole thing will probably fall out on my way home.........)
 
I always keep my AOD in D unless I am going to be on the hwy at a minimum constant speed of 70mph. I only use OD for long hwy cruising. 181K miles on original AOD tranny with no problems. Just change the fluid and filter approx. every 60K miles.

(of course now that I have said that I've never had a problem, the whole thing will probably fall out on my way home.........)
 
If you don't like the light, get an EEC tuner :D


SIL_RPM_ON_1 5500 # Shift Indicator Light On 1(RPM)
SIL_RPM_OFF_1 5300 # Shift Indicator Light 1 OFF (RPM)
SIL_RPM_ON_2 5500 # Shift Indicator Light 2 On (RPM)
SIL_RPM_OFF_2 5300 # Shift Indicator Light 2 OFF (RPM)
NO_FUEL_RPM 6500 # Enable Stage 2 Rev Limiter(RPM)
 
Ok, so how do I find this Helm, INC.? I want a manual for my SC. I have the generic Haynes. Not specific enough. Is this manual SC only? Help me Obi Wan!
 
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