ElectroBoy
Banned
Engine Lighting Mod
Lots of folks have done a similar mod to install lighting under the hood. I got some good ideas from their posts. Here is my version for a 2018 ORP.
I got 12 volts from the engine fuse box, using a fusetap in an unused constant power location. I snaked it out of the fusebox through a hole drilled through the plastic side case. I sealed it up well with E6000 adhesive afterward to keep it watertight.
The ground connection came from a ring crimp terminal bolted into a threaded spot on the driver side wall. Both power and ground go to the switch through a 2-pin protective connector, loaded with dielectric grease to shed water.
The LED light:
Pilot Automotive CZ-3162W LED dome light. With 3M tape backing, I stuck it to the angled section behind the hood latch where it shines down onto the engine, not your eyes.
https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Automotive-CZ-3162W-Replacement-Bulb-1/dp/B011CFAQO6
I wired the LED to a sheathed 22 gauge twisted pair cable and ran it down to the hood hinge on the driver side. It is protected from abrasion with split cable sheath and taped and glued (E6000) to keep it securely in place. It is routed similar to the windshield squirter tubing on the passenger side. The cable was fished through an existing hole in the metal near the hinge, and down into the engine compartment.
The switch is a waterproof pushbutton that can be wired to illuminate a red center LED when activated ON. It can be pushed halfway to activate momentarily or depressed fully to latch ON. It is nice and bright even in daylight to remind you when the LED is powered on.
Oznium Dot Switch
Waterproof On/Off Push Switch 12v with LED - Stainless Steel
There is an approximately 5/8 inch hole in the horizontal metal bracket near the battery, next to one of the plastic radiator cover clips. I enlarged it a little with a round file so the switch would fit. Using a sharpie pen from underneath I outlined the hole I needed to cut in the plastic radiator cover.
I fed the two wires from the LED, and the power and ground wires, up through the hole where I could solder them to the switch terminals. But first making sure that they also fed through the backing nut to hold the switch to the bracket from underneath. I soldered a wire between the NO1 (normally open contact) and + terminals to make the switch red LED light up when activated.
In the fusetap I installed a 5 A fuse in the top location. A voltmeter was to verify the fusetap orientation so the switch gets 12 volts through the fuse, not directly from the battery.
The switch is slightly recessed with the plastic radiator cover installed on top, so you have to deliberately poke down through it to turn on the light.
The one LED module is bright enough to light up the whole engine area.
Lots of folks have done a similar mod to install lighting under the hood. I got some good ideas from their posts. Here is my version for a 2018 ORP.
I got 12 volts from the engine fuse box, using a fusetap in an unused constant power location. I snaked it out of the fusebox through a hole drilled through the plastic side case. I sealed it up well with E6000 adhesive afterward to keep it watertight.
The ground connection came from a ring crimp terminal bolted into a threaded spot on the driver side wall. Both power and ground go to the switch through a 2-pin protective connector, loaded with dielectric grease to shed water.
The LED light:
Pilot Automotive CZ-3162W LED dome light. With 3M tape backing, I stuck it to the angled section behind the hood latch where it shines down onto the engine, not your eyes.
https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Automotive-CZ-3162W-Replacement-Bulb-1/dp/B011CFAQO6
I wired the LED to a sheathed 22 gauge twisted pair cable and ran it down to the hood hinge on the driver side. It is protected from abrasion with split cable sheath and taped and glued (E6000) to keep it securely in place. It is routed similar to the windshield squirter tubing on the passenger side. The cable was fished through an existing hole in the metal near the hinge, and down into the engine compartment.
The switch is a waterproof pushbutton that can be wired to illuminate a red center LED when activated ON. It can be pushed halfway to activate momentarily or depressed fully to latch ON. It is nice and bright even in daylight to remind you when the LED is powered on.
Oznium Dot Switch
Waterproof On/Off Push Switch 12v with LED - Stainless Steel
There is an approximately 5/8 inch hole in the horizontal metal bracket near the battery, next to one of the plastic radiator cover clips. I enlarged it a little with a round file so the switch would fit. Using a sharpie pen from underneath I outlined the hole I needed to cut in the plastic radiator cover.
I fed the two wires from the LED, and the power and ground wires, up through the hole where I could solder them to the switch terminals. But first making sure that they also fed through the backing nut to hold the switch to the bracket from underneath. I soldered a wire between the NO1 (normally open contact) and + terminals to make the switch red LED light up when activated.
In the fusetap I installed a 5 A fuse in the top location. A voltmeter was to verify the fusetap orientation so the switch gets 12 volts through the fuse, not directly from the battery.
The switch is slightly recessed with the plastic radiator cover installed on top, so you have to deliberately poke down through it to turn on the light.
The one LED module is bright enough to light up the whole engine area.
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