MDS Indicator

Jcrumpton83 · 12-31-2012, 08:59 AM

Last night I installed a LED indicator for the MDS in my 05. I followed the instructions word for word and tied the light into the brown wire with blue stripe as indicated in multiple different write ups on how to do it. Thanks to forum member DESIREE by the way for the help. After wrapping up the install I took the car for a drive at multiple speeds and the light never cut off. Even using autostick it stayed on. It only cut off with the car. Has anybody had this problem? Did I do something wrong or could something be causing the MDS to stay on? Thanks for any input.

ivanford · 12-31-2012, 11:52 AM

You must have gotten the wrong wire, if MDS was on all the time the car would not run properly as it would only be on four cylinders.

Out of interest how did you get the light into the temp gauge in the dash assembly. Perhaps you would do a write up on the installation.

Jcrumpton83 · 12-31-2012, 12:09 PM

I just took the cluster apart, drilled the proper size hole and then soldered about 10' of shielded cable to the leads coming off the LED. There's a small gap at the bottom of the cluster when it's put back together that's big enough to allow the cable to safely pass out the bottom. Its directly to the left of the mounting hole the screw goes through. Ill take some more pics and do a write up on it tonight. I've got to take it back apart to clean a few pieces of debris that was left behind from drilling the hole that I missed when cleaning it. They're stuck directly on the back of the gauge and make a very aggravating shadow when the lights are on. I guess I'll double check all my wiring and try again.

**DESIREE** · 12-31-2012, 01:07 PM

Nice job and nice location Jason. You really jumped on it!
Like 'ivanford' indicates you probably just grabbed the wrong wire. It has happened to me at least once. The wires can be difficult to expose and those colors can be tough to see in different light. Actually all four MDS solenoid wires are there at the PCM. The brown/light blue coming out of the C1 connector (as described in my DIY) goes to cylinder no. 4's solenoid, the brown/dark green coming out of the C2 connector goes to cylinder no. 6's solenoid, while the brown/white and brown/orange coming out of the C3 connector go to cylinder nos. 1 & 7's solenoids, respectively. You can grab any one of the four and get the LED to work when in the MDS mode.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"

Jcrumpton83 · 12-31-2012, 01:21 PM

Thanks a lot man. To be honest with you the first time I looked at your write up I thought you mounted your LED inside the cluster. So I went ahead and pulled mine out before really reading it. When I did read it I noticed otherwise but thought "what the heck" I've already gone this far. It was fairly easy to do. Per your suggestion, I am going to install a resistor to dim the LED some. It's not extremely bright but with the location I chose even the slightest amount of light will catch your eye. I'm just not sure what to use to dim it. It already has a resistor built in on one of the leads to make it 12V compatible. Again, thanks a lot for your help and patience with all my questions.

Montreal300 · 01-03-2013, 09:57 AM

To vary the brightness without swapping in a pile of resistors, just use a $5 volume control with an "off" position from Radio Shack. You can then turn it off if it bugs you on a long trip.

Jcrumpton83 · 01-03-2013, 10:16 AM

Are you referring to a linear-taper potentiometer?

Montreal300 · 01-04-2013, 04:02 PM

This.

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