Disclaimer: This hack involves buying stuff on eBay from folks who are in China. If you have a problem with that, feel free to patronize their american middle-men.
Or, you know, buy USA made products that are way better. Others have covered that option. This is about cheap thrills.
I finally threw together an idea i had more than a year ago.
1M 12v waterproof self-adhesive white LED strip:
<$3
Apply while warm to the under-side of the hood just past that rubber strip, so the leds are facing the engine when the hood is fully open.
The waterproofing is brittle when frozen. ask how i know.
crimp-on in-line ATC fuse holders (10): <$4
(ok, you may have some other kind of fuse holder already. but i friggin love these. So convenient that i never feel hassled when i wonder if i ought to fuse a line, 'cause i bought the pack of 50. Cut wire, strip ends, crimp on blade holders, clip together housing, insert fuse. Done!)
A fuse. I bought a baggie of several 1 amp ATC fuses for light duty stuff like this. Use anything. The LED strip draws very little power.
adjustable car alarm style normally-closed pin switch: <$4. And this one is stateside.
You may need or want to solder the wire to the tab on the end. or drill a hole and use a screw termination. For clearance reasons.
Bolt through the hole in the hood right next to where the hood latch connects. This is a good spot in terms of getting the plunger to actually depress against something when you close the hood. This provides ground for the LED strip when the hood is open. The hood isn't a great ground, but it's enough ground.
male and female 2 position power connectors: <$2
I used mini-tamiya style battery connectors because they are locking, polarized connectors, crimp on, and cheap. This is so that if you realize you are going to have the hood open for a real long time and don't need the light, you can just disconnect the LED strip. Use whatever connectors you feel like or already have. Or install a switch.
The rest: Whatever wire you got, solder if you wanna make your crimps even better, silicone to waterproof, some way to connect the positive wire to the battery.
My results - I should take pics but i didn't have my camera with me when i did this - in the middle of the night i have a clearer view of the engine compartment than i usually do in the day.
And i spent less than $15 on the whole deal. If you already have in-line fuses and whatnot, it's about $7.
Or, you know, buy USA made products that are way better. Others have covered that option. This is about cheap thrills.
I finally threw together an idea i had more than a year ago.
1M 12v waterproof self-adhesive white LED strip:
<$3
Apply while warm to the under-side of the hood just past that rubber strip, so the leds are facing the engine when the hood is fully open.
The waterproofing is brittle when frozen. ask how i know.
crimp-on in-line ATC fuse holders (10): <$4
(ok, you may have some other kind of fuse holder already. but i friggin love these. So convenient that i never feel hassled when i wonder if i ought to fuse a line, 'cause i bought the pack of 50. Cut wire, strip ends, crimp on blade holders, clip together housing, insert fuse. Done!)
A fuse. I bought a baggie of several 1 amp ATC fuses for light duty stuff like this. Use anything. The LED strip draws very little power.
adjustable car alarm style normally-closed pin switch: <$4. And this one is stateside.
You may need or want to solder the wire to the tab on the end. or drill a hole and use a screw termination. For clearance reasons.
Bolt through the hole in the hood right next to where the hood latch connects. This is a good spot in terms of getting the plunger to actually depress against something when you close the hood. This provides ground for the LED strip when the hood is open. The hood isn't a great ground, but it's enough ground.
male and female 2 position power connectors: <$2
I used mini-tamiya style battery connectors because they are locking, polarized connectors, crimp on, and cheap. This is so that if you realize you are going to have the hood open for a real long time and don't need the light, you can just disconnect the LED strip. Use whatever connectors you feel like or already have. Or install a switch.
The rest: Whatever wire you got, solder if you wanna make your crimps even better, silicone to waterproof, some way to connect the positive wire to the battery.
My results - I should take pics but i didn't have my camera with me when i did this - in the middle of the night i have a clearer view of the engine compartment than i usually do in the day.
And i spent less than $15 on the whole deal. If you already have in-line fuses and whatnot, it's about $7.
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