Underhood lighting (1 Viewer)

[Marc311]

I'm just curious what people have done to light the engine bay. I know you can get the 12 volt light that plugs into the socket by the glovebox - but regular bulbs get hot and break easy. I was thinking about wiring up some LEDs to have underhood lighting that turns on when I pop the hood. I also was thinking about hardwiring this in the engine bay:

http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=233517&cm_ven=Froogle&cm

Anybody done anything similar or have other ideas?

 

[Altan]

I'm just curious what people have done to light the engine bay. I know you can get the 12 volt light that plugs into the socket by the glovebox - but regular bulbs get hot and break easy. I was thinking about wiring up some LEDs to have underhood lighting that turns on when I pop the hood. I also was thinking about hardwiring this in the engine bay:

http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=233517&cm_ven=Froogle&cm

Anybody done anything similar or have other ideas?

Get the stock light that plugs in under the glove compartment. It's COOL and its RETRO

Charles

 

[Wile E Coyote]

My old 99 WJ (Grand Cherokee) had an underhood light mounted OEM. It had a gravity switch that allowed it to light automatically as the hood raised. It wasn't bright enough for serious repairs, but two of em wired in on each side, or perhaps adapting an LED inside the housing would work? Like TaskLED.com's kits for the 80's dome and cargo lights?
Or how about just adapting on of the dome or cargo lights underhood? Waterproofing could be a concern, but ???

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Ignore my above post, cause here's what I think you want:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1p-48cm-Waterpr...yZ116019QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Not that particular item as it's shippped from Hong-friggin-Kong, but poke around and you'll find something.

 

[mep1811]

underhood light

I used two underhood lights from a late model GM truck or car. They light up when the hood is opened. I think they were lass than 25.00 new from the dealer. I also use the halagon 1157 bulbs and they work great. Just be sure they are adjusted to shut off when th ehood is closed.

 

[OCHO4I]

Might I suggest the ARB Adventure Light. I recently got one and I’m pretty satisfied. It’s definitely brighter than the OEM light and you can either plug it into the lighter socket, or clip it to the battery terminals.

 

[nuclearlemon]

i like my oem lights. they're retro and decent light out is thrown.

 

[Marc311]

Thanks for the input. The OEM light is cool, but I want to avoid an incandescent bulb. I like the ARB's option of the alligator clips, but I'm not crazy about the fluorescant bulb (or $50 price tag). I'm thinking I might do an LED courtesy light that comes on automatically and then story one of those LED tasklights in the engine compartment. I will wire a 12V power port there to plug it into. That way, I have the option of moving the light to other parts of the vehicle if needed.

I guess my original thought was to have enough light hard wired to avoid the need for a drop light. Upon more thought, a courtesy light is fine to let you see what's going on but regardless how powerful, you always need concentrated light when working (hence the need for a task light as well). I still want to stick to LEDs to minimize heat and power draw, but I think the light isn't as good for task/drop lights as an incandescent. That being said, MEP1811's solution is pretty cheap and simple.

 

[boerboel313]

How will that light strip hold up to the heat under the hood? I like it though.