TeamSwift

Have you ever wanted a light under the hood or bonnet?
What if a hose comes loose at night on a dark road?
No fashlight/torch?

A 4W bulb under the hood could save the day !


Mine is wired into the parking lights because I have had a seperate switch that accidentally gets pushed during daylight hrs and goes un-noticed until the battery is dead.

Project Time: 3 hrs

Materials:
Duct tape of course
8 ft of black wire
8 ft of blue (or whatever) wire
a dual wire connector -- like used at the parking lights
2 straightened coat hangers
4 ft of string
1 ring connector for ground
soldering equipment or connector
light socket and bulb

I got the under hood lights from a Jaguar (1987-94 XJ6 and XJ12)
the socket is archaic and prone to corrosion but the PLASTIC lens is sooo rad.
the bulb they use is rated at 4W for a whopping 200 hrs.

Modern bulbs are available in 4W to 18W and 1500-2000 hr at the same cost.
The 168 type in Swift corner lights is 5W and 1500 hr.
A 194 can be used -- 4W and 1500 hr. The Long Life 194LL exceeds that.
The 921 type uses the same socket and is 18W and 1000 hr. The 921LL is 2000hr.
Before using a 921 consider that the heat may melt plastic lenses.

First
Assemble the mount, bulb, wire and socket.
Here is the Jag mount, 194 bulb and Swift socket which fits with a little filing of the mount.


Drill two 1/4" holes to match the mount. Choose a location where there is room for the socket and use screws that wont go thru the hood.


Fish a coat hanger thru the socket hole DOWN thur the channel of the hood and use the other coat hanger to hook it and pull it out


Tie the string onto the hanger and gently pull the string UP thru the channel,


Fasten the 2 wires to the string with tape


Pull the wires gently DOWN thur the channel


Attach the light assembly


Untape and fish each wire around the weld


Then fish each wire thru the squirter hole. pliers help.


Put the wires in a LOOM with the squirter hose and route under the fuse box. Install a dual wire disconnect to make it easier to remove the hood.


Locate the power source. I used the Left clearance/running light (under the headlight)


I have seen a lot of connectors fail so I solder whenever i can.
I melted off the plastic insulation and wrapped the new wire around and soldered.
Tape over the solder.


I crimped and soldered the ring terminal to the ground wire and attached it to the factory ground point.


Test the connections


Note: We could use a mercury switch at the mount for OFF/ON.

edit: good source for bulb details
http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/t.pl ... bclick.y=0

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looking for:
the time i mispent in my youth

daily driver: red 1991 Metro 3cyl 5sp, roof rack, 8 degree advance,
got 61 mpg combined on 14" tires but i prefer 12"

completed frame up restoration: black 1994 Swift GT 5sp -- like new ! 45mpg

I think the Jeep Grand Cherokee has a light that is retractable that you can move anywhere in the engine bay. Just in case you want that.

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94 Swift GTi 5spd
94 3cyl automatic 4 door

and the 70-73 240Z had a light with switch on a coiled wire. killed my battery.
i'll look at the Jeep for kicks. thanks.

_________________
looking for:
the time i mispent in my youth

daily driver: red 1991 Metro 3cyl 5sp, roof rack, 8 degree advance,
got 61 mpg combined on 14" tires but i prefer 12"

completed frame up restoration: black 1994 Swift GT 5sp -- like new ! 45mpg

I use a 3 LED touch-light I found in a dollar store. It runs on 3 AAAs, so no worries about draining the car battery, and it's completely portable. It came with an adhesive tape backing, to which I mounted a hard drive magnet. I use mine mostly as a cargo light, but it has helped out in the engine bay as well.

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Those both are fantastic ideas, will work great in the Great Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere

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Dale

1985 Chevy Sprint Mk1 G10 5 Speed Sky Blue