I just spotted our first setback...
I was looking at 2014's near me to go and drive

My '16 Console



'14 RRS Console

Phoenix wrote:

there will be a marking somewhere on the L494 plug to indicate pin 1, but your reasoning makes sense.

Use the empty cavities to confirm in which direction they are numbered.

@GraemeS That is what I did with the L405 harness - I don't have the same wiring diagram from the L494 so I am kind of guessing - it is a 50/50 proposition. After my morning meetings I will trundle back down to the shop and see if I can find a magnifying glass to look for a mark.

That being said - I think Hot #1 and Ground #10 is the correct sequence

Famous Last words... This is INCORRECT - Pin 10 is Hot and Pin 1 is Ground/Earth 2006 L322 HSE LUX 4.4NA Jag V8 Buckingham Blue/Ivory - 'Col Reb'
Rolled Yahtzee Aug 2023 222,222Miles
2016 L405 HSE TD6. Santorini Black over Almond. - 'Donna the Diesel'
Only L405 IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE with an L494 Shift Lever Fitted!
97K at purchase Sept of 2023

Last edited by JDGeorgia on 25th Oct 2023 10:33pm. Edited 1 time in total

So let me know when y'all get sick of these random posts... Or if it is too many pics or if I am breaking any rules.

Further Opportunities to add to the Highlight Reel...
The opportunities are mounting at a rapid pace I am afraid...

The L494 Shift is screwed DOWN into a 'frame' - because of the torque of moving the lever back and forth, no doubt. The internal spring has a real 'shift' feel to it.


Our L405 has a tiny rotational force applied getting from P to D... and it is bolted to the top of the console from underneath...

Click image to enlarge

There was a UK fleabay seller offering the L494 shift in the frame, I was wondering if it'd be needed... Are there any fixing points under the L405 selector that look like they could be used to secure the frame?
Personally I think I'd want to secure the L494 shifter to something a bit more substantial than the trim frame if the required force is noticable, bearing in mind that it'll be amplified on the fasteners due to the relative length of the lever from the pivot point x the inbuilt resistance and centre-return characteristic.

Maybe there's scope for something like a bag full of epoxy beneath the shifter that is squashed down when the shifter is fitted and left to set so that it forms a removable 'cup' to restrain the shifter when in situ?

PBT-GF30 is the mandated details of the material the connector is made from.
The other numbers are very useful!

https://www.te.com/usa-en/product-1452187-1.html

JDGeorgia wrote:

So let me know when y'all get sick of these random posts... Or if it is too many pics or if I am breaking any rules.

That is probably enough out of me today...
if anyone has a better pic of a disassembled L405 console - I would love to see the pics!

So Sensei...
You decoded the (Fe)Male Connector (Housing for female terminals) - it is a very confusing world...

When I get the same pigtail for the L405 - can you take the female connector size that needs and tell me the pins that I need for the SCAB(scavenged L405 connector)? I imagine that they are the same...

As far as the frame - I have not been into my L405 - I have been scouting out YouTube videos generally of "L405 Center console removal". So far there is nothing that has rocked my socks like the Powerful UK Vid of the L494 Console removal... I am not sure if the frame would have a place to live under the console or not... it would certainly change the mounting height and position. It may be better to reinforce the upper console to withstand the torque. At least that way the mounting holes can be used.

This may be turning into a Proof of Concept exercise. If I screw the shifter upward into the top of the console - it will last a couple of days worth of shifting easily...

We will be answering - Will the electronics work? Can the shifters be swapped and the truck still go forward and back?

I think we may have already proven that even if we had a ready-made pigtail, and even if we went further and had a 3D Printed bezel... This project may be beyond the skills of your average shade tree mechanic.

I won't know for sure until I am into the console what additional fab or frame or whatnot would be required for a long term/permanent solution. If we had all kinds of toys, we would laser scan the open console and design a 3D printed lower frame. Scan the opening around the Lever and print an extended bezel, and make up a pigtail - Bring Your Own Lever - plug and play...

For the install of the Merryway head unit, all I needed was about 2 sizes of Torx drivers, a tiny philip's head, some side cutters and a Dremel. The dash looked a bomb went off - but it truly was plug and play. 2006 L322 HSE LUX 4.4NA Jag V8 Buckingham Blue/Ivory - 'Col Reb'
Rolled Yahtzee Aug 2023 222,222Miles
2016 L405 HSE TD6. Santorini Black over Almond. - 'Donna the Diesel'
Only L405 IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE with an L494 Shift Lever Fitted!
97K at purchase Sept of 2023

Last edited by JDGeorgia on 25th Oct 2023 10:38pm. Edited 1 time in total

The receptacles will need to be housing specific but if you want to use the part from the L405 selector, then standard --- pins will fit - as a test, you could mount them with quick set epoxy but you'll need to have the plug in the housing so that the pins can be held by the female contacts in the correct position, I'd use a very small amount of adhesive put in place with a cocktail stick or similar. Once the initial position is set, then take the plug out and be a bit more free with the epoxy, before you do all that, slide some short lengths of heatshrink tubing over the wires so you can insulate the remaining bits of bare metal.
TBH, as long as the vehicle isn't a very early or later than 16MY (and the parts also are of that vintage) then I can't see why it wouldn't work - maybe 'breadboard' the wiring to confirm functionality before getting into mounting of hardware? you can get --- pigtails pre-assembled on wire (0.5mm will be plenty big enough) which would be ideal for testing.

Will be updated with correct contact family

Last edited by Phoenix on 25th Oct 2023 8:56pm. Edited 3 times in total

Phoenix, do you have a link for these connectors - and even better if I can get them with different colored wire already in them!

I may have a kit in the shop with automotive Pins - now that I think about it.

I have 16 and 18 gauge wire - 10 colors 5' long as well as heat shrink headed this way.
The mounting and trim issues have put a bit of a damper on my spirit - but that could change when I crack the console on my truck. 2006 L322 HSE LUX 4.4NA Jag V8 Buckingham Blue/Ivory - 'Col Reb'
Rolled Yahtzee Aug 2023 222,222Miles
2016 L405 HSE TD6. Santorini Black over Almond. - 'Donna the Diesel'
Only L405 IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE with an L494 Shift Lever Fitted!
97K at purchase Sept of 2023

Sorry mate - was just looking for a supplier and realised it MQS (corrected above) they're TE manufactured and widely available - usually only in single colours. The pins are here https://www.automotiveconnectors.com/te-am...908-1.html M-B part number for an assembled repair line in 0.75mm is A 000 540 46 05 - no idea what they'd cost though!

Somethings not right with those pins - I need to check it out at work in the morning.

REVISED PIGTAIL PIN TO PIN R2 10/26/2023

10/26/23 - trying to delete the bad info I originally posted in case someone stumbles across this one day...
I heard back from a fellow called Mike at Auto-Click auto-click.co.uk. I have been misgendering connectors most of my life - kind of surprised I have not been cancelled...
You pay attention to the naughty bits not the housing (seems like sound advice for gendering).
The 'Scab' connector has the Pins as its naughty bits - so therefore it is MALE. The connector in the L405 has the receptacle slot and is therefore the Female. The Female connector slides into the male connector. Maybe this was well known by everyone else, and y'all were too kind to call me a moron.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

I wouldn't glue the pins into the housing, instead fit heatshrink to cover each pin. Electrical tape wrapped around the whole lot with the wires for the inserted pins folded back onto the housing could be used to ensure that the pins don't work their way out, not that they would unless there is tension on the wires.
If you solder the wires to the pins then the wires will need to be restrained to prevent breakage at the end of the solder migration if there's any movement in the wires, so best to fold them over and tape in place.

Mystery solved - there are three variants of the MQS contacts, the ones for this application are 0.63 x 0.63mm - if the ones you have fit, then they'll be fine. I'd still recommend bonding the pins (ideally crimped, not soldered) in place as signal lines, especially PT CAN are not at all tolerant of disruption caused by contact movement or fretting, better to mechanically fix the contacts in the housing and let the electrical contacts be just that - electrical contacts, not mechanical restraints, that is the job of the contact housing ('connector'). Ideally we need to get sight of the L405 harness plug to get any markings from it, that will help in identifying a mating connector.

Would the L494 wiring diagrams be availible on topix ? if so I dont mind paying to download the diagrams you need to help you out
Cant seem to find any relevant transmission diagrams with the tried and trusted google search  Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where,s the f**king ceiling!!

JDGeorgia wrote: