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Has there been an occasion where when you step into your wickedly awesome 07-08 Base TL and instantly feel left out that only the Type S has paddle shifters. Do you feel like you really wanna be in the cool kid club cause all your friends in their Infiniti or some other car company has paddle shifters on their car? WELL!!! Look no further because this post is for you!
After doing months of research and scavenging, with no DIY on how on earth you can install paddle shifters on your Base 07-08, I present to you the very first DIY on how to do this mod.
Difficulty Level: Moderately Hard
With all DIYs, you’re going to need tools and supplies:
Supplies:
Paddle Shifters and the back cover from a Type S steering wheel (ebay or just steal them from the junk yard :P )
3 18gauge wires of different colors (trust me it will make your life a bit easier)
Wire Splicers
Tools:
Wire Cutter
Torx bit (to take off air bag)
14mm socket (to take off Steering Wheel)
And most importantly: balls of steel
Alright, Part One:
Remove the negative terminal from the battery.
Rip apart your center console to access the shift lever. (there are threads on how to do that)
You’re going to need to remove the air vent that leads to the rear passengers
Remove the driver panel (the one with the trunk/vsa/mirror buttons) to remove the panel to your right (sitting in the driver’s seat)
Part Two:
At least 10 minutes should have passed by the time you finished ripping off your center console.
You’re going to want to remove your air bag. (there should be a thread on that as well)
Unplug all harness and remove your steering with a 14mm socket
Cool now that’s done, you’re going to want to install your paddle shifters, it simply 2 screws.
Put everything back together and that’s done.
Part Three, Pre wiring:
To the right of your shift knob you should see a white piece thing:
There are 3 wires you’re going to need to tap:
Blue/yellow (Upshift)
Orange (downshift)
White/Blue (common ground)
Use wires of your choice and run it up to the steering wheel.
Looking at your gauge clusters, look down a little bit and you should see a white plug you will need to remove
With those wires that you ran, you’re going to find 3 empty slots to fish those wires into the harness. Looking from the locking tab down you will find 2 empty slots in the middle and to the left between the brown and the orange wire.
What I did was I had the downshift wire to the left, the common ground in the middle and the upshift wire to the right of the common ground wire.
Cool once that’s all done, plug that thing back in!
Part Four, Post Wiring:
Your paddle shifters will be needed to connect to each other with one wire (kind of like a continuing circuit leaving one wire on each paddle
Next up is using that harness from your steering wheel. But first put your steering wheel back on and secure it with the 14mm bolt you took out earlier.
Then, the wire harness that goes to your steering wheel control, plug that in. With the exact order that you wired the harness earlier, it’s going to be the exact same pattern: Downshift, Common, Upshift; run 3 wires out from that harness.
From here on, the downshift wire will go to the downshift button, the common goes to the wire that was jumped between the two paddles and the upshift wire goes to the upshift button.
Once you’re done, test it out before installing your air bag.
If it doesn’t work, then you might have mixed the wires around.
If all works, then congratulations! You have successfully installed paddle shifters on an 07-08 Base TL
Don't forget to put everything back together and enjoy using paddles!
Cheers!
If you have any questions feel free to DM me!
I’m not responsible for any problems or injury but y’all already knew that when you guys tackled on this mod LOL
Thanks for the thread. I finished the install couple days ago, and everything works great.
I probably won't be using them much, but it's nice to have them if I want to downshift 2 down to pass somebody on the highway.
The only thing that I'm not proud of is just sticking the wires into the connectors. I ziptied them to other cables and put some extra tape around, so they shouldn't come loose.
I also opened up the cable reel (it got stuck to the steering wheel, and I didn't see that), that I needed to rewind. Not much fun to be honest.
If you can't find the used parts (and buying whole steering wheel for ~150 is too much), there are part numbers if you want to order brand new switches.
- Back cover for the steering wheel: 78518-SEP-A21ZA
- Left switch: 78561-SEP-A01ZA
- Right switch: 78560-SEP-A01ZA
- Screws, order two of those: 93500-06012-0A
Total is around $75 + shipping.
Overall, everything works great. I also finally put some LEDs into those steering wheel switches.
Thanks for the thread. I finished the install couple days ago, and everything works great.
I probably won't be using them much, but it's nice to have them if I want to downshift 2 down to pass somebody on the highway.
The only thing that I'm not proud of is just sticking the wires into the connectors. I ziptied them to other cables and put some extra tape around, so they shouldn't come loose.
I also opened up the cable reel (it got stuck to the steering wheel, and I didn't see that), that I needed to rewind. Not much fun to be honest.
If you can't find the used parts (and buying whole steering wheel for ~150 is too much), there are part numbers if you want to order brand new switches.
- Back cover for the steering wheel: 78518-SEP-A21ZA
- Left switch: 78561-SEP-A01ZA
- Right switch: 78560-SEP-A01ZA
- Screws, order two of those: 93500-06012-0A
Total is around $75 + shipping.
Overall, everything works great. I also finally put some LEDs into those steering wheel switches.
Nice! I forgot to update this thread, but recently I picked up a wire harness and I soldiered some pins to it so that the wires clip in like OEM
Now before I start the car the M is on aswell as
the P light. A few seconds later the D begins to flash aswell. After starting the car and switching to tiptronic the M stays lit aswell as the D. The gear numbers on left do not light up anymore. Suggestions?
I too thought the Upshift jumper at the shifter was the culprit. I reversed the order of the wires and I was able to downshift with he Upshift paddle, so the module is functioning.
I tapped into the blue-yellow wire for Upshift like the OP mentioned, but it isn’t working. The OPs two
pictures are not very informative.
OP says to run one wire to each paddle to make a circuit. But then he states that he ran the ground back to the shifter. What I did was tap into the continuing cuircuit wire that went from each paddle and use that as my return wire by tapping the both and connecting them to the ground wire.
Last edited by Acura TL Builder; 09-03-2018 at 08:04 AM.
I thought it was the wires I used. So I redid it all using bell wire(white/red), same result. Is there another wire I must tap along omg with the blue/yellow Upshift wire.?
^
I wish I could help; however, I fail when it comes to electrics.
The only two people who claim to successfully do this modification are in this thread. The last time the OP was on the forum was 31Aug18 and the other, Peter6 was on the forum yesterday, so hopefully they see the action in this thread and come in to give insight/help answer your questions. Maybe you could shoot them a PM to expedite the process? It's probably something simple, like always, when tackling something like this.
If M is lit up even when in park then one of the wires must be shorted to something. D blinking is your car letting you know something is bad (trans in park, but it thinks that the shifter is in manual mode).
My best bet would be wires on the connector (in the steering wheel) are sticking out too much, making contact with other pins or frame.
If m is on all the time, you can test that with multimeter.
Otherwise, disconnect the wires and check if problem goes away (no more m light up) .
If I get home I will look over your photos
1.
That is actually quite bad, as wires might make contact with other pins. They should be even with the connector. Nothing to be ashamed, I did it too. In my case, Select/reset button was up-shifting and vice versa.
You also don't want to use solid wire, as it's less "giving", or less likely to wrap around the pin when you plug the connector in.
2. You are running a lot of wires. Really all you need is three.
What I did was tap into the continuing cuircuit wire that went from each paddle and use that as my return wire by tapping the both and connecting them to the ground wire.
Did you use any ground wire, or White/Blue wire from the shifter?
The idea about using the "White/Blue (common ground)" is that this wire is open when shifter is in any other position than manual or switching gears.
This way paddles do nothing (as circuit is open) if shifter is not in the M mode. This wire is grounded if shifter is in manual mode, and that is the wire that
tells the computer about it.
If P and M are on at the same time, this wire is most likely grounded somewhere where it shouldn't, which judging by the photos, is most likely the connector that goes to the steering wheel.
If M is lit up even when in park then one of the wires must be shorted to something. D blinking is your car letting you know something is bad (trans in park, but it thinks that the shifter is in manual mode).
My best bet would be wires on the connector (in the steering wheel) are sticking out too much, making contact with other pins or frame.
If m is on all the time, you can test that with multimeter.
Otherwise, disconnect the wires and check if problem goes away (no more m light up) .
If I get home I will look over your photos
1.
That is actually quite bad, as wires might make contact with other pins. They should be even with the connector. Nothing to be ashamed, I did it too. In my case, Select/reset button was up-shifting and vice versa.
You also don't want to use solid wire, as it's less "giving", or less likely to wrap around the pin when you plug the connector in.
2. You are running a lot of wires. Really all you need is three.
Did you use any ground wire, or White/Blue wire from the shifter?
The idea about using the "White/Blue (common ground)" is that this wire is open when shifter is in any other position than manual or switching gears.
This way paddles do nothing (as circuit is open) if shifter is not in the M mode. This wire is grounded if shifter is in manual mode, and that is the wire that
tells the computer about it.
If P and M are on at the same time, this wire is most likely grounded somewhere where it shouldn't, which judging by the photos, is most likely the connector that goes to the steering wheel.
I redid the wiring so the blinking D and the manual M are functioning correctly now. But I am still only able to downshift on the paddles.
I pulled the wires back into the harness clip so they arnt sticking out.
I hooked up the wires in the same order on both harness clips (Steering columm clip and steering wheel clip).
At the shifter I connected the my ground wire to the (White/Blue) wire. The Upshift wire is connected to the (Blue/Yellow) wire. The Downshift wire is connected to the (Orange/White) wire. This is how the OP explained it.
I ran the ground wire from the white/blue wire to the clip. Then from the clip I ran it to a T in the steering wheel which then went to each of the paddles. The Upshift went from the blue/yellow wire to the column clip. Then from the steering wheel clip to the right(Upshift) paddle. The downshift was ran from the orange shifter wire to the wheel column clip, from wheel clip to the left (Downshift) paddle.
the left (downshift) paddle.
Long winded post, but I used as much detail of the wiring as I could. Hopefully someone sees
the error of
the Upshift install.
Seems like you wired it correctly. If upshifting works with the gear selector, my best bet would be a break in the wire somewhere. Something is not making good contact.
Grab a multimeter and start testing.
First thing would be:
- If there is continuity: check for continuity between two paddle shifter's wires when paddle is pressed. I doubt it, but maybe the switch inside is broken?
- If there is NO continuity: keep checking other points. For example from paddle to the connector, from the connector to the orange wire, etc.
Thank you guys for the help i just recently and finally got the paddle shifters to work on my 07 base TL. To be honest the easiest way to get this done is to just buy a type s steering wheel everything will already be wired and easier I learned this the hard way. So now i have a extra type s steering wheel back cover and extra set of paddle shifters. All i had to do was wire from the shifter to the back of the clock spring connector. If you have a 04-06 TL you would have to buy a clock spring for the 07 and 08. Not everyone things it’s worth installing but if you only drive in M like me and want it its perfect. Im happy with it and makes my base a lil more fun to drive since i dont have to remove my hands to shift up or down. Couldn’t be possible for me without this form just a little update if anyone else had issues. I also did need the common ground wire i only used upshift and downshift
So do you have to shift the gear lever to manual mode in order to use this feature? I’m thinking yes....which is how it should be for us non type s owners....
So do you have to shift the gear lever to manual mode in order to use this feature? I’m thinking yes....which is how it should be for us non type s owners....
Yes i have to shift into M to use it if i try to in D it will blink and set off a check engine light saying theres a open circuit not sure if you can shift in D w the type s maybe the ECU or something is different but everything is fine in M not really a issue for me.
Mine are still not working.. I’ll give it a go again soon. I think it’s the gauge of wire I’m using..
Its probably the wire you using I accidentally broke my clock spring so i pull the pin connectors from the old one cause i had trouble finding pin connectors To run to the back of the steering wheel. I crimped it and pushed it it
Only need to run 2 wires upshift and downshift. Didn’t run a ground wire because the harness is already grounded
Type s steering I purchased.Black white down shift green orange up shift Base TL empty middle slots where down shift and up shift should be
Yes i have to shift into M to use it if i try to in D it will blink and set off a check engine light saying theres a open circuit not sure if you can shift in D w the type s maybe the ECU or something is different but everything is fine in M not really a issue for me.
Ok, yeah that wouldn’t be a problem for me either! I know in the ‘10 TSX, you can upshift and downshift in D, and you if you choose not to shift again, it’ll let the auto take back over. Kinda nice for on ramps and such......but either way, very informative info/post!
My issue with the paddle shifter install was that I used very small gauge wire and used four wires
to make one that was of the correct gauge(without removing the insulation), creating an electrical bottleneck.
I will purchase larger gauge wire over at Outrageous audio and see if they have a
manic sale going on.
Some of the wires colors listed on the first post at the shifter are incorrect.
I just added paddle shifters to my 07 Base and ended up probing the wires with a multimeter. The correct wire color/function is below:
Blue/yellow is indeed the Upshift wire.
White/blue is the Downshift wire.
Orange is the common ground that only activates when the shifter is in "Manual Mode"
This was checked by the following methods:
Orange was verified using the "Continuity" function on the multimeter between the chassis and the orange wire. Continuity only exists when the shifter is put in "Manual Mode".
The blue/yellow wire was verified as Upshift using a voltage measurement. Blue/yellow shows 12v all the time, except when you upshift it shows 0v.
The white/blue wire was verified as Downshift using a voltage measurement. White/blue shows 12v all the time, except when you downshift it shows 0v.
Some of the wires colors listed on the first post at the shifter are incorrect.
I just added paddle shifters to my 07 Base and ended up probing the wires with a multimeter. The correct wire color/function is below:
Blue/yellow is indeed the Upshift wire.
White/blue is the Downshift wire.
Orange is the common ground that only activates when the shifter is in "Manual Mode"
This was checked by the following methods:
Orange was verified using the "Continuity" function on the multimeter between the chassis and the orange wire. Continuity only exists when the shifter is put in "Manual Mode".
The blue/yellow wire was verified as Upshift using a voltage measurement. Blue/yellow shows 12v all the time, except when you upshift it shows 0v.
The white/blue wire was verified as Downshift using a voltage measurement. White/blue shows 12v all the time, except when you downshift it shows 0v.
Can you help me how to wire it correctly? I'm kind of confused how to tap into three wires when the paddle shifter have its own wire what about the third ground wire?
[QUOTE=SKi77z;16428130]Thank you guys for the help i just recently and finally got the paddle shifters to work on my 07 base TL. To be honest the easiest way to get this done is to just buy a type s steering wheel everything will already be wired and easier I learned this the hard way. So now i have a extra type s steering wheel back cover and extra set of paddle shifters. All i had to do was wire from the shifter to the back of the clock spring connector. If you have a 04-06 TL you would have to buy a clock spring for the 07 and 08. Not everyone things it’s worth installing but if you only drive in M like me and want it its perfect. Im happy with it and makes my base a lil more fun to drive since i dont have to remove my hands to shift up or down. Couldn’t be possible for me without this form just a little update if anyone else had issues. I also did need the common ground wire i only used upshift and downshift
I own an '04 Tl and about to do the TypeS conversion. I bought everything like the steering wheel, the clock spring and even went to the scrap yard to get the white plug '07-08 behind the wheel cause the '04 is different.
My question is, how many wires did you pass and what color wire did you tap in too on the shifter to activate the paddle shifters?
Thank you in advance
I own an '04 Tl and about to do the TypeS conversion. I bought everything like the steering wheel, the clock spring and even went to the scrap yard to get the white plug '07-08 behind the wheel cause the '04 is different.
My question is, how many wires did you pass and what color wire did you tap in too on the shifter to activate the paddle shifters?
Thank you in advance
The easiest is to use the 07/08 pigtail (with wires) and extend them. Use those wires to create a jumper harness. Similar to Chad's post in the same thread. Solder extended wires from pin 5 and 6 and bring it down to your shifty assy. Bingo bango bongo and bob's your uncle.
The easiest is to use the 07/08 pigtail (with wires) and extend them. Use those wires to create a jumper harness. Similar to Chad's post in the same thread. Solder extended wires from pin 5 and 6 and bring it down to your shifty assy. Bingo bango bongo and bob's your uncle.
Hi. Im doing the conversion and noticed that of my steering controls dont work and as soon i plug in the air bag, my horn goes off. Can it be the clock spring (2nd one) or something else?
The connector on the bottom of the white piece at the bottom of the shifter has only 2 wires and neither is the color u describe. there is a harness much father forward in the console that appears to have maybe the right color wires in it but is impossible to access to t some connectors. found harness on the other side of shifter. :-)
11-27-2017, 06:53 PM
