engine compartment + light

[3bears]

so today installed my ...engine compartment plus light. its nice to have a light at night in the engine compartment
I call it "plus"
plus because it has a long retractable light, long retractable cord, long enough to reach around from where it is mounted in the pass side engine compartment all the way to the driver side rear wheel plus to the center of the rear bumper, so nice at night when you have a flat or something

it has a manual on / off switch
next I want to switch it to a brighter led bulb

so it comes off a mid 90's cheby truck, you can find then on gmc and chevy full size pick-m-ups. they will be on the pass side of engine compartment
when I go through wrecking yards I always look for these. Ive put them in my wifes Volvo, my bmw, my sons Tacoma, my sons dodge diesel and my sons pilot

wired it to the positive post with a in line fuse....works for now, maybe there is another positive hot wire near by, but wanted it to work even with keys out

 

[3bears]

pic is before I cleaned it and I drilled and mounted it..just hunting for a place for it to fit, could only use two of the three mounting points, but my last one had one broken off anyway, so I don't think its a big deal if your careful with it when winding the retractor wheel

 

[kolelt]

I have a led strip thats as long as the hood. Once you pop the hood the led strip turns on. There was a group buy on this set up.

 

[3bears]

true,,,that would be nice too
but can you takr it off to your rear wheel at night if you have a flat

 

[Jason B]

I have a led strip thats as long as the hood. Once you pop the hood the led strip turns on. There was a group buy on this set up.

Anymore info on the led?

I had a similar hoodlight but it broke and I haven't been able to find another one for years! I came standard on my Jeep and I mounted it in the 4Runner many years ago. Here are some old pics. I loved the magnet on the end of the light, because it let you stick it anywhere on the truck and pulled out like 20 feet!

Write-up:

Jason's 4Runner Limited

 

[jeremyc74]

true,,,that would be nice too
but can you takr it off to your rear wheel at night if you have a flat

I found these at Lowes a few months ago, and I love them. I have two of them. You can use them in the shop and plug them into the wall, and then throw them into a tool kit for the truck and they'll run off of 12V. Tons of usable light, decently price (I got them on sale for under $20), and pretty low power consumption. Good option for trail repairs.


Shop Utilitech Pro 10-Watt LED Portable Work Light at Lowes.com

 

[flyfisher4822]

I found these at Lowes a few months ago, and I love them. I have two of them. You can use them in the shop and plug them into the wall, and then throw them into a tool kit for the truck and they'll run off of 12V. Tons of usable light, decently price (I got them on sale for under $20), and pretty low power consumption. Good option for trail repairs.


Shop Utilitech Pro 10-Watt LED Portable Work Light at Lowes.com

Thanks for the idea. I ordered one.

 

[3bears]

Anymore info on the led?

I had a similar hoodlight but it broke and I haven't been able to find another one for years! I came standard on my Jeep and I mounted it in the 4Runner many years ago. Here are some old pics. I loved the magnet on the end of the light, because it let you stick it anywhere on the truck and pulled out like 20 feet!

Write-up:

Jason's 4Runner Limited

did not think of mounting to the hood, that would have been a good spot too, maybe even better for overhead light in the engine comparmtnet

 

[Jason B]

Yes, that's where it was mounted when I took it out of the Jeep, and it works great as a hood light in that spot.

 

[JeepKiller]

How much do the junkyards charge for one of these magical extendolights

 

[Jason B]

I also forgot to mention that it has a built in mercury switch, so it knows when you close the hood and the light turns off by itself! You don't need to add pin switch! Did you know that?

 

[Jason B]

This is one of my favorite mods.

 

[7echo]

I also forgot to mention that it has a built in mercury switch, so it knows when you close the hood and the light turns off by itself! You don't need to add pin switch! Did you know that?

The GM/Chevy ones have a lever for on/off, no mercury switch. The last time I picked 2 up the guy at the register didn't even charge me for them. A lot of the little widgets I get are free, they don't seem to be interested in looking it up to figure out a price.