1st to 4th shift light?

I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It says
that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there a
way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
just to satisfy the car.

To avoid that annoyance get your rpm's up to 2,000 before you shift. Do
a search for "disble CAGS" you can get an aftermarket device to plug
into the wires on the side of the transmission to disable it. If you
install it the "1st to 4th shift" light will still come on but you will
be able to shift into 2nd.

Fred wrote:

> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It says
> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there a
> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
> just to satisfy the car.
>
>

To avoid that annoyance get your rpm's up to 2,000 before you shift. Do
a search for "disble CAGS" you can get an aftermarket device to plug
into the wires on the side of the transmission to disable it. If you
install it the "1st to 4th shift" light will still come on but you will
be able to shift into 2nd.

Fred wrote:

> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It says
> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there a
> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
> just to satisfy the car.
>
>

It's been on GM V8/manual tranny combos for over 10 years. Drive it even
moderately and it doesn't interfere(my wife avoids having it come on).
Cheapest "fix" is to unplug it from the tranny, then a "CAGS eliminator"
jumper. Lastly reprogramming the ECU will allow setting the conditions
such that it won't come on.

Fred wrote:

> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It says
> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there a
> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
> just to satisfy the car.
>
>

It's been on GM V8/manual tranny combos for over 10 years. Drive it even
moderately and it doesn't interfere(my wife avoids having it come on).
Cheapest "fix" is to unplug it from the tranny, then a "CAGS eliminator"
jumper. Lastly reprogramming the ECU will allow setting the conditions
such that it won't come on.

Fred wrote:

> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It says
> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there a
> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
> just to satisfy the car.
>
>

oops- typo. Search for "disable CAGS"

Jon wrote:

> To avoid that annoyance get your rpm's up to 2,000 before you shift. Do
> a search for "disble CAGS" you can get an aftermarket device to plug
> into the wires on the side of the transmission to disable it. If you
> install it the "1st to 4th shift" light will still come on but you will
> be able to shift into 2nd.
>
> Fred wrote:
>
>> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It
>> says
>> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you
>> can
>> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is
>> there a
>> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
>> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
>> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
>> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
>> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
>> just to satisfy the car.
>>
>>
>

oops- typo. Search for "disable CAGS"

Jon wrote:

> To avoid that annoyance get your rpm's up to 2,000 before you shift. Do
> a search for "disble CAGS" you can get an aftermarket device to plug
> into the wires on the side of the transmission to disable it. If you
> install it the "1st to 4th shift" light will still come on but you will
> be able to shift into 2nd.
>
> Fred wrote:
>
>> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It
>> says
>> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you
>> can
>> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is
>> there a
>> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
>> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
>> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
>> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
>> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
>> just to satisfy the car.
>>
>>
>

It can be disconnected and there is a connector cover available to keep the
connector from corroding. I left mine alone. Once you get used to it you can
easily drive around it. Been doing it now for 6 years.
Charlie
"Fred" > wrote in message
. net...
> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It
says
> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there
a
> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
> just to satisfy the car.
>
>

It can be disconnected and there is a connector cover available to keep the
connector from corroding. I left mine alone. Once you get used to it you can
easily drive around it. Been doing it now for 6 years.
Charlie
"Fred" > wrote in message
. net...
> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It
says
> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you can
> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there
a
> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
> just to satisfy the car.
>
>

Charlie... let's face it, C.A.G.S. is a pain in the ass for most drivers.
Why get used to something you can easily defeat for a few bucks, actually
less than a buck if you do the resister mod yourself. Could be Charlie, that
you are just plain cheap?

Gerd

"localhost" > wrote in message
...
> It can be disconnected and there is a connector cover available to keep
> the
> connector from corroding. I left mine alone. Once you get used to it you
> can
> easily drive around it. Been doing it now for 6 years.
> Charlie
> "Fred" > wrote in message
> . net...
>> I just read about a "1st to 4th" shift light on the new Corvettes. It
> says
>> that when the light comes on, you must shift from 1st to 4th, then you
>> can
>> downshift after that if you prefer. What's the deal with this? Is there
> a
>> way to disable it? The reason I order a manual transmission is because I
>> want to control the shifts! I do not want the car to force me to shift a
>> certain way. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there an easy way to
>> defeat this feature? Even though you can still downshift after you go to
>> 4th, it would still be a headache to have to pop it into 4th momentarily
>> just to satisfy the car.
>>
>>
>
>