Steering wheel with paddles or just the paddles
- Thread starter Zedebee
- Start date
Very interesting work guys! Was a pain installing my paddles properly as there's very little documentation about them, particularly when coupled with mfsw buttons
skmattwell said:
Do you use the ground screw on the steering wheel or the spare pin on the multifunction button connector that goes in the slip ring?
I think the multifunction button connector is the correct route but I'm going to use the ground screw on the wheel. Ground is ground right?
Long story short, I go through the slip ring connector. Although I can't see going through the steering ground would be an issue.
For anyone who might stumble across this wanting to install paddles alongside buttons, I did the following...
So there are two ground wires that come from the auto paddles one from the mfsw buttons. You have to de-pin the ground from the mfsw buttons from the slip ring connector and attach it to one of the grounds from the paddles, then attach the second ground from the paddles to the same pin the mfsw buttons originally were.
I only know this from a very blurry photo uploaded onto this forum many years ago. The light blue wire on the right is the ground from the mfsw buttons and dark blue wires are the paddles.
For anyone who might stumble across this wanting to install paddles alongside buttons, I did the following...
So there are two ground wires that come from the auto paddles one from the mfsw buttons. You have to de-pin the ground from the mfsw buttons from the slip ring connector and attach it to one of the grounds from the paddles, then attach the second ground from the paddles to the same pin the mfsw buttons originally were.
I only know this from a very blurry photo uploaded onto this forum many years ago. The light blue wire on the right is the ground from the mfsw buttons and dark blue wires are the paddles.
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First off, I haven't tested on the car yet!
What I have done so far is fit the rear cover. Quite tricky to achieve and one side is better than the other but it's on:
I have also wired up the paddles so that right pull is up a gear and left pull is down a gear. Pushing on either side does nothing. Excuse the wheel condition for its an old m-sport that needs a major refurb and also the wiring as its just for testing, will be tidied up later when I know it works:
I am also thinking about paddle extentions. They make them for the Mini paddles but they are £80. No cheap alternatives available and that is too pricey for me. Will probably look into cheap extensions for other brands that I can mod. I may even chop the push buttons off or not bother at all and live with it as it is:
What I have done so far is fit the rear cover. Quite tricky to achieve and one side is better than the other but it's on:
I have also wired up the paddles so that right pull is up a gear and left pull is down a gear. Pushing on either side does nothing. Excuse the wheel condition for its an old m-sport that needs a major refurb and also the wiring as its just for testing, will be tidied up later when I know it works:
I am also thinking about paddle extentions. They make them for the Mini paddles but they are £80. No cheap alternatives available and that is too pricey for me. Will probably look into cheap extensions for other brands that I can mod. I may even chop the push buttons off or not bother at all and live with it as it is:
Finished testing the wheel this morning and works perfectly. Never wanted paddle shifts but after going out and using them I'm glad I now have them.
Job took me longer than I thought because I had trouble using the 4 pin connector on the slip ring that the multifunction steering wheel uses for the buttons. Turns out pin 1 and 3 are ground regardless of what's connected in the green connector on the car side of the slip ring.
Ended up I had to use pin 2 and 4. I had to modify both 2 pin plugs E & F, by grinding down the plastic, so I could squeeze them into the 4 pin slip ring connector.
Job took me longer than I thought because I had trouble using the 4 pin connector on the slip ring that the multifunction steering wheel uses for the buttons. Turns out pin 1 and 3 are ground regardless of what's connected in the green connector on the car side of the slip ring.
Ended up I had to use pin 2 and 4. I had to modify both 2 pin plugs E & F, by grinding down the plastic, so I could squeeze them into the 4 pin slip ring connector.
Zedebee said:Mine also working! Wired up to the two pin connector on the slip ring, using the plug from the SMG paddles, and earthed to the steering wheel using the same earth point as the airbag.
Really pleased, thanks for pointing me at the Mini paddles, [ref]Usel[/ref].
Glad that all worked for you as well!
The earth point doesn't really matter as even with the slip ring off and nothing connected a multimeter shows a continuous connection through all the earth pins. So it's easier to just use the ground screw
The Mini paddles are a bargain really if anyone wants paddle shift. They sit a little higher than oem but work exactly the same. Managed to pickup another pair of paddles for £15 delivered which I am going to try painting to a chromline finish.
south yorkshire
Another great piece of work! Well done all involved.
Good stuff! Definitely a fun and worthwhile upgrade for auto drivers