5 speed conversion from automatic wiring question

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:41 pm

I am putting in the manual pedal cluster for my 5 speed conversion (from automatic) and have a wiring question.

The automatic had a wiring harness that went from the shifter, up to the speedo cluster (where the gear indicator lights were) and then tied into the car in the kick panel area. I believe that the car had to be in park for the starter to activate. The plug that tied this harness to the car is the white plug in the photo below:

<table><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W ... site"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cuIv ... G_1397.JPG" height="400" width="300"></a></td></tr><tr><td>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1030509870 ... site">Five speed conversion from automatic</a></td></tr></table>

Besides this plug, there was a brown (ground wire) that went to the relay seen about the white plug. It also was grounded to the frame behind the speedo. Can anyone tell me what this relay is for?

The manual pedal cluster has a harness that goes through the fire wall, at the pedal cluster. It uses the same style plug as the white one above, but uses only two wires. The white plug is on the interior side of the car.

I am guessing that this is for a neutral switch on the transmission. Does the white plug from the manual plug simply plug into where the automatic transmission plug was? I am guessing that it would complete the circuit to let the starter activate. And then just eliminate that relay grounding wire, or was that needed for that relay (oops).

A few more photos:

<table><tr><td align="center"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1030509870 ... site"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6GVf ... omatic.jpg" width="160" height="160"></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/1030509870 ... site">Five speed conversion from automatic</a></td></tr></table>

GripGreg · Post by **GripGreg** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 7:34 pm

That's one of the reasons I waited to find a factory 5spd! Too much drama!
Good luck,,,,Greg

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:55 pm

In short, you need to bypass the starter relay first, it's under the dash I believe. There is no equavalent to a neutral safety switch on the 5 speed. The only thing you need out of the 9(?) pin connector by the shifter are the two wires for the back up lights. Blue/white and green/white? Don't quote me, it's just off the top of my head.

Jeff Dennis · Post by **Jeff Dennis** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:01 pm

Blaise,
Do you have the factory service manual? If not I can look up the proper pages for you. Off the top of my head you have two positions for the starter with auto box" park and neutral" and the manual box "neutral and clutch depressed" for engagement. Those two connections transfer over so it's a process of eliminating the unnecessary connections.
I can scan the pages from the manual and email them if you need them.

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:36 pm

Mike, I think you nailed it on the head. Those two wires are for the backup lights. That should be easy for me to trace and confirm.

Still wondering what that relay is about.

Jeff, I do have the factory manual and will check it out. Thank you for the offer. I have check it so many times and not found what I am looking for that I forget to look sometimes... I think Mike is right about the E12 not having a neutral or clutch switch.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:07 am

That relay is the starter locking relay. Automatic transmission has to have a way to keep the starter from engaging unless the car is in Park (or maybe neutral). There is a switch located under the gear selector as seen on page 61-19 in the factory manual. Not sure what that's for since it's called "Transmission switch." Something has to cause that relay to energize.

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:30 am

wkohler wrote:That relay is the starter locking relay. Automatic transmission has to have a way to keep the starter from engaging unless the car is in Park (or maybe neutral). There is a switch located under the gear selector as seen on page 61-19 in the factory manual. Not sure what that's for since it's called "Transmission switch." Something has to cause that relay to energize.

That mult position switch under the auto shifter handle does indicator lights for what gear you're in, back up lights and neutral safety. You can simply bypass the starter relay when you do a conversion as it's not needed on the manual, nor is there a provision for switching it.

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:13 pm

Hey guys, this is great information and very helpful to me. I am away for a couple days and will be back to wrenching in a few days.

Thanks for helping me through all of these issues. I am tackling quite a number of things all at once, hence my diverse questions.

I am hoping/planning to have my motor back in the car in the next week or so.

jbbush · Post by **jbbush** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:19 pm

I've removed most of the cabin stuff related to the automatic transmission - wiring from the shifter to the cluster and that relay, swapped in a manual-transmission cluster, etc.

For reasons I can't remember, I simply ran a ground for that relay and my car started. I still have the automatic transmission/shifter in the car. One of these days I'll finish the manual transmission conversion, but for now the car runs.