Hey guys i was wondering if you all have any integrated under hood lights. I know most of us have drop lights and flood lamps to wrench on the car. But I noticed that there is no bulb under the hood. I have had to wrench on my car away from home and drop lights more than once and I am sure you all have too. So I want to see what you all have done as far as some emergency lighting for when ya brake down.


Santiago

 

I like to call these devices torches....

They're portable, user friendly, cheap, readily available and don't take up unecessary room under the bonnet....

Ie,



Or for the slightly more adventerus under bonnet investiagtor,

 

I own a maglight. I was talking about something you don't have to hold or keep batteries for.

Can you wrench while holding the maglight? It is frustrating for me. It is helpful to have one yes but I would like something more fixed so I can atleast have a general view of the engine bay.

I was thinking about an LED array attatched to the hood or the firewall. LED's are pretty cool and they don't usually burn out like regular bulbs do so I wanted to try something using LED's for durability.

 

yeah a Flash Light is a must..

i keep 2 things always in my car..

a 160 Peice mechanic's tool set and a flash light.. the tool set fits perfectly behind the drivers set... doesnt move around or anything... and best of all it was only 20.00

 

Just get any junkyard underhood light from any GM product- they are a cmall, cheap, self contained unit, with a built in mercury switch. They require only a single positive power wire as they ground to the hood. Attach it any way you see fit.

 

Yeah I might try that initially so i don't have to go buying LED's and resisters and ****. If it works ok then I will probably keep it. If not it will be experiment time with the LED's


Santiago

 

MagLites SUCK!
I've dropped quite a few of them, including a couple of 6D ones, and they have all broken!  I've tried to fix a bunch of them, but replacing ALL the moving parts did not do crap.  I refuse to buy another one of those things - I prefer Craftsman flashlights that I can replace if it ever dies on me in the future.

With that said and done, I prefer the flourescent tube lights with the cigarette plug with a long wire.  This provides a lot of light for working under the hood for emergencies - unless you kill your battery.


-Ted

 

My 4D MagLite has been dropped on concrete and asphalt too many times to count and has seen lots of abuse in the couple years I've had it, and I have yet to have a problem. I love that light, and I do indeed keep it in the car. I have wrenched with it may times, I love that thing.

 

12V flouro worklight that plugs into the cig lighter and lives in the boot.

Anything permanent is a waste of time because it'll never get enough light where you need it without going to rediculous extremes.

 

Yes, perhaps the seriousness of my first post in the thread was lost somewhere. Basically what I was trying to convey was that a permenant light under the bonnet (not hood... ) is a definite waste of time.
At night time unless you have a huge landing light of a boeing 747-400 powered by a massive power source then you will basically need a light source you can direct to exactly where you need it instead of it comming from a single point source which will almost always NOT be pointing where you want/need it...

I wont get into a maglite/other flashlight debate, however I've had nothing but good experiences with them, having said that I also currently do not own one.

 

Yep, same thing here. Rubber ends, Compact fluorescent tube, plugs into the lighter or clamps onto the battery. 10ft cable is more than long enough to walk around any end of the car with it.