I'm after a cheap alternative to the usual expensive rev lights that you get from Demon tweeks etc and i came across this:
http://www.400greybike.co.uk/PR-RevLight.asp

Anyone heard of or has used this system? Looks cheap in that it has no casing and is a simple unit. Could go well and be an easy fit in the dash.

theres another here (american!) http://www.tekniqauto.com/CDN/home.htm
click on T Sport link

Here is a good one and they are available all over. http://www.datatool.co.uk/consumer/products/products/index.php?pr oduct=revlight

[Edited on 13/10/05 by donut]

They look pretty good mate, quite fancy one behind my wheel!

I thought you were going for the Digidash 2 which has them built in!!

Rich.

Too dear....well not for what it is but for my budget right now. Need other stuff that's more important.

Would motorcycle sshift lights work ok on a car? it's just that the one i'm after says that it's designed for use with motorcycles fitted with electronic rev counter. Will it be ok to get the pulse from the coil?

Datatool Revlight £58

http://www.robinsonsfoundry.co.uk/shop/index.php/product/datatool/datatool_riderinfo/03000100.html

a quote from a website describing fitting Datatool Revlights

"For the brown Tach Pulse wire: The tach wire that feeds a pulse to the gauges comes straight off the coil. Datatool says the Revlight will NOT work with pulses coming off of the coil, and this has been confirmed by others. So, I had to find some other pulse that corresponded with engine RPM."

Which website Dave? Just bought one from Ebay for £39

http://www.svrider.com/tips/datatool-revlight.htm

probably best to phone or email Datatool for the best answer......hope you're lucky.

Cheers Dave i'll keep me ear to the ground!

Theres a shift light on MK's new Blackbird engined indy. Its just a single red light, about the size of a 2p piece, in an aluminium tube about 3" long. Looks cool.

Can't remember where they said it was from though

[Edited on 13-10-05 by Hellfire]

Yeah that' a huge light!

Anyway i need to know where to get a proper working pulse from a pinto as someone on a bike site said a coil was no good.

I've got the datatool one. Easy to fit and work a treat.
They go up in sequence then everything flashes for you to change gear (ooo errr). Soo much easier. You sent the rev levels. Puker

Yes but how does it work on a Pinto?

Found this info on the Q&A page on the datatool website but none the wiser

"I want to fit a Revlight to my machine but it is not equipped with a tacho? »
In certain cases this can still be done but you will need to pick up an engine rev pulse from another source (e.g. crank sensor). Don’t use the coil the signal will be corrupted by the collapsing field within the coil as it fires the spark plug.
You will also have to accurately set 4000rpm. Good quality dwell meters and ignition timing strobes sometimes have a revs indicator. Be aware most of these are set for 4 cylinder car engines and you may have to apply a correction factor depending on the configuration of your machine. "

Where can i pick up the pulse from?

Pinch a source from the alternator, same as a diesel car.

Regards Mark

The instructions say get it from the rev counter which i won't have. Will the pulse from the alternator be the same sort of pulse?

You should be able to get something, if you ran from the back of a coil you get 12v on off.

if your alernator does not have a rev counter facility then you will need to unearth the diode pack and poke around with a mulitimeter until you get a speed related pulse. The diodes form a bridge rectifier, so two pairs effectively, one for the -ve wave, other for the +ve. When you take your tap its got be between them so you get +ve, nothing +ve.

The pulse will be similar so you will just need to calibrate.

Regards Mark

If you engine runs EFI you will already have a rev counter output, look up the wiring diags and tap this wire.

Regards Mark

Thanks mate. looks like a project for me over the winter

Wy not make an Coil cleaner?

Needings (my opinion)

- 2 diodes in series
- 1 transistor (NPN)
- 1 10Kohms resistor

connect the tacho wire to ground with the 10K

connect the Emitter to the tacho wire, connect the base with the diodes to the coil connect the collector to 12volts..

And you should be done!

the diodes will put down the volts and will break when the voltage is getting down...
also they will assure you now voltage is going in reverse... the transistor generates the most nicely possible pulse!

If needed add an 10k res between base and coil...

Tks

The switch on/off voltage will be 3x 0,6volts. (2 diodes + 1 transistor)

Andy,

Megasquirt supports shift lights and could be used for fuel or spark or both, even on a pinto

I've a 'Cycloperseye' (Big Red LED) driven by Megasquirt in the middle of the dash which works well.

Cheers,

Colin

but that amount of voltage..how does it trafel?

i gues it travels through the spark plug..

will it work or not the cleaner?

TKs

The high V is there all right but it's a transient that doesn't last long (actually a damped oscillation at ~10kHz) and can be removed by clipping (zener) or filtering a "sniffed off" signal.
On my electronic dash I used a simple 2 pole filter, 2 Rs & 2 Cs and that makes a very clean 3.3V logic signal, plus there's enough series R to protect the sensetive parts.
EMS or ECU don't use the filter system because they need the timing of the leading edge of the waveform. So these things tend to have more complex circuits that are more likey to not work in all cases. For a tacho(or shift light) the filter is pretty much idiot proof.
If each pole of the filter has a time constant about 500us, that will work fine - even for motorbike engines!
Bob

Wooooosh...

All gone way over my head!

that will work fine - even for motorbike engines!

I must be a bit cleverer than you Donut. Cos I understand some of it, even though I don't actually know what it is, that will work fine.................................. I know its summat to do with electrickery as well. I think...............

Colin, do you have any more details or links to the Cyclopseye shift light?

Hellfire,

'Cycloperseye' - Sorry - Nothing more exciting than a 10mm LED from Maplins driven from an output on the Megasquirt.

Works well tho'

Cheers,

Colin

Donut,

The large rev counter that Halfords do (white face, black wiriting, silver casing) is only £43 (IIRC) and has a built in shift-light. It's designed to bolt onto the dash of a normal car but I can't see any reason it couldn't be split to fit a Locost style dash.

HTH,
James

P.S. You reckon you'll be maxing out the revs much?

quote:

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P.S. You reckon you'll be maxing out the revs much?

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came across this in kit form
electronic-kits-and-projects.com/1120htm

http://electronic-kits-and-projects.com/1120.htm