Under Hood lighting question
#1
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Car: 2001 Camaro
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Under Hood lighting question
I tried to do a search before posting but came up empty.
Here's my dilemma. I have an 83 Z28 with the steel hood. The under hood light was working with no problems, but I wanted to spice it up a bit for car shows. I bought 4 24" led strips to attach under the hood to replace the ancient incandescent bulb. It looked pretty straight forward... single positive wire to the bulb, grounds out to the hood... so I snipped the wire and connected everything up. There were 2 bolts holding the light to the hood, one holding a wire that runs into a loom, the other not. If I ground the leds to the bolt with the wire, they stay on all the time, even with the hood closed. If I ground them to the other bolt, they dont come on at all. The wire seems to run through the loom and connect to a 2nd bolt on the fender along with a bare ground strap. What sort of sorcery has Gm used to make this little light turn on and off?
Oh and running my multimeter from the bolts to the + battery terminal results in 2 different readings... with wire = 12v, without wire = 6v. 3rd my useless Haynes manual proved itself to be even more useless as it has wiring diagrams for every damn light in the car but that one!!
Here's my dilemma. I have an 83 Z28 with the steel hood. The under hood light was working with no problems, but I wanted to spice it up a bit for car shows. I bought 4 24" led strips to attach under the hood to replace the ancient incandescent bulb. It looked pretty straight forward... single positive wire to the bulb, grounds out to the hood... so I snipped the wire and connected everything up. There were 2 bolts holding the light to the hood, one holding a wire that runs into a loom, the other not. If I ground the leds to the bolt with the wire, they stay on all the time, even with the hood closed. If I ground them to the other bolt, they dont come on at all. The wire seems to run through the loom and connect to a 2nd bolt on the fender along with a bare ground strap. What sort of sorcery has Gm used to make this little light turn on and off?
Oh and running my multimeter from the bolts to the + battery terminal results in 2 different readings... with wire = 12v, without wire = 6v. 3rd my useless Haynes manual proved itself to be even more useless as it has wiring diagrams for every damn light in the car but that one!!
#2
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Car: 1989 Iroc-z
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Axle/Gears: 9 bolt - 2.77
Re: Under Hood lighting question
The under hood light socket/holder that bolts to the hood has a mercury switch inside of it. You'll have to come up with a switch to turn your leds on and off.
#4
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Car: 2001 Camaro
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Re: Under Hood lighting question
Thanks guys... I noticed this about 10 minutes ago actually. I think Im going to go to Radio Shack tomorrow and pick up a small weather proof rocker switch. Thanks for the replies though.
#5
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Car: 1989 Iroc-z
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: Auto 700R4
Axle/Gears: 9 bolt - 2.77
Re: Under Hood lighting question
You could even get a mercury switch from radio shack and wire it to your leds. Take a little fabbing to get it to work.
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