What gear am I in?

I have a nice, new Accord EX4 sedan with the automatic, which I am
very happy with, but would like one thing -- some indication of which
gear it is in!

I can look at the tach and guess, do some math in my head from the
mph, but a simple indicator would be much better.

Anyone else have this idea? Is there a product available? Any way to
trick out the engine computer to use the existing display for current
gear instead of shift handle position (which is clear enough without
displaying it on the dash)?

Thanx.

J.

 

And this is important to know because????

 

There is an indicator on the shift lever and one on the dash correct?
Seems to me you have all the info necessary to tell you what gear your in.

 

Is this unclear?

They just tell me I'm in "D", I want to know if the tranny is in 1st
or 2nd or whatever.

Why is it important? Same reason it is for a manual shift, but what
the heck, curiosity isn't a good enough reason? I'm vaguely curious
when the thing has shifted to overdrive-5th, and can't always tell,
have to bang the gas pedal and see if it downshifts again, or how far,
or, again, do the math. Heck, I'd like a little bell to ring on each
transition, when I'm in the mood for it.

J.

 

You could make a micro controller circuit that compares engine RPM (as
indicated by the tach signal) and vehicle speed (as indicated by the
VSS) to make a good estimate of what gear is engaged. You would have to
do some clever programing to account for the torque converter, though.

 

I would look into some Ritalin or Adderall.

CaptainKrunch

 

More effective would be monitoring the signals to the shift solenoids. I've
never dealt with a five speed auto myself, but on the four speed Honda
transmissions with electronic controlled (or assisted on some) shifting it
should be fairly easy.

 

Maybe you need a standard tranny then you know for sure what gear your in.
Or hire someone to go ding a ling a ling every time there is a shift change.

 

Oi. As a member of the human race, I'd like to apologize for Krunch.
No excuses, just, well, sorry.

There isn't an indicator per se; I have found that it's fairly easy to
tell after a while whether you're in 4th or 5th. The other gears are as
indicated, D1, D2 and D3. But there really isn't anything to tell you
other than the tachometer.

RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen

 

I'm sure it's doable. I'm just curious it's not already done, by even
Honda itself. After all, they give you a tach -- good ol' American
cars with automatics didn't even give you that. And they supply
sport-shifts in the Acura line, though just who uses them is unclear
to me. Well, maybe I'll get ambitious and find that wiring diagram,
monitor the signals, see if there's an unambiguous algorithm that
counts up and down clearly. I've barely opened the hood of my three
Honda automobiles to date -- never had to, knock on wood!

J.

 

There is no way for you to determine what gear you are in unless you trade
your car in an Accord with a manual transmission. It's really not
important--there are more important things to worry about than this
subject.

 

It is easy. If you have a 4-speed auto with overdrive, here's all you do.
Put it in D4 and go the nearest intersection where you can begin from a
complete stop. When you initially start, the tranny will be in first gear.
Press the gas pedal about ½ way to the floor while accelerating for best
results. You'll notice the tach will climb and then suddenly drop. That's
when it's shifting. The tranny will never skip a gear, so everytime the
tach drops from a climb, count up one gear. When you get to 55MPH, let off
the gas enough to where you maintain a constant 55MPH. The tach should be
(or drop to) somewhere between 2k-3k RPM. That should be overdrive. On
average, an Acord will shift gears between 3000 and 3500RPM when driven
normally. All you have to do is count. Based on my wife's '88 Accord,
here's a rough-estimate "cheat-sheet": (Using the method I mentioned above)
0-20MPH = first; 20-40 = second; 40-50 = 3rd; above 50 = 4th, and whenever
you let off the gas to "cruise", or at about 65MPH, it will go into
overdrive. The lowest speed I've ever seen it go into overdrive is at about
45MPH. Any lower, it should be in 4th if you're "cruising", unless you're
cruising at 35MPH or less...then it should be in 3rd.

Hope this helps...

Jonathan

 

That's not overdrive you are shifting into when you let up at 55 on an '88
Accord, its the lock up clutch engaging. On a four speed automatic with
overdrive, 4th gear is an overdrive gear. Direct drive is always 3rd. If
your Honda has a 5 speed automatic, both 4 and 5 are overdrive gears.

 

You are correct, but I figured, based on "JXStern's" question, the
information you just provided was inconsequential in reference to his
knowledge (or lack thereof) of AT's. But since you posted it, you're point
is taken. ;-)

Jonathan

 

FYI, I'm in a 2004 Accord EX4. I don't have the owners manual here,
but they call it a 5-speed auto.

BTW, simply accelerating and marking shift points is not enough to
determine numbers, since (I assume) the shift points move according to
load, not to mention the torque converter, and for all I know the time
of day and phase of the moon.

Let's see, google is my friend, so:
http://www.new-cars.com/2004/honda/honda-accord-sedan-specs.html

2.652, 1.517, 1.037, 0.738, 0.566. Final drive 4.438.

I'm sure these convert simply to MPH, but there will still be the
fudge factors. I'm guessing that at a given MPH between about 30 and
70, the car might be in any of three different gears at any moment.

Hence, it would be easier to have a simple indicator, hey?

FWIW, two of these appear to be overdrive, as far as the transmission
cares, and the third one is barely under straight-thru. This ain't my
father's 4-banger!

J.

 

For what purpose?

 

Curiosity is sufficient.

Why have a tach in a car with an auto?

It's valuable information in some driving situations, that's why.

I'd like to have the entire diagnostic state of the engine displayed
on the LCD instead of the radio station and time of day. Or along
with the radio station and time of day. But I thought I'd start
small.

I find the skeptical answers about why anyone would want this, at
least as amusing as they pretend to find my question.

Yes, I know automatic transmission drivers are supposed to be drooling
idiots, but some of us are simply lazy most of the time, and frankly,
this new 5-speed auto is slick as can be and makes it hard to justify
a stick. But out of habit, I like to know what the car thinks it's
doing, in case I need to hit the accelerator, it's nice to know if I
have one or two downshifts available, and what engine load I can ask
for before it shifts more than I want, and such.

J.

 

Very simple formula. Get a piece of string. Count the number of trea
blocks in each tire. Divide length of string into the number of carpe
fibres on the front passengers side. Don't think of a pin
elephant......and......presto, you've just determined that you have to
much time on your hands!!:

-
Robiliou

 

I hear that the Acura TL tells you which gear you are in. Maybe that's only
in the sport mode. I don't know.

 

If you want an automatic, but really want to know what gear you're in, you
should have gotten a model with the "auto-stick" feature on it.

Jon