Under hood lighting!

[CanadianGuy]

After making the 3 season room and installing cove lighting in it I had lots of LED strip light that is powered off 12 Vdc. I decided to add some under hood lighting so I can see when I work in the dark (winter), checking oil, windshield fluid, find the block heater plug etc.. The stuff I got is waterproof and works at low temperatures. Can easily be found on ebay, actually everything I used today was off ebay.

Plunger switch to allow the lights to turn on only when the hood is lifted and unlocked from the cabin. This is great as it is now easy to navigate when there is no light. I installed it on one of the bolts by the hood latch. Is it was meant to be I think


Fished the ground wire following the hood release cable (under the headlight) and then the washer fluid lines. Tie wrapped with black ties every 6 inches of so. The whit line where the light should be is a clothes hanger I used to fish the wire.



For the positive I taped off an always on source. In this case the signal light fuse. I added a 3amp fuse for the led lights (they draw less than 500ma)


The strips have a adhesive backing for easy install. You must really clean the paint surface to get rid of any oils or other contaminants or it will not stick. You can also see I tied the wires to the washer hose and then fed it behind the liner to keep it clean. Not too impressive during the day.



Now the money shot. The camera flash is off and the cheap cell phone is crap at night. But I can see EVERYTHING under the hood. Even used it to plug the headlight in as I forgot. This was more of a, can I do it project, but I am really happy I did and it turned out well..

 

[Spaceman_Spiff]

Awesome! and fairly cheap, to boot! You should add this to the Cheap Mod thread...

 

[CanadianGuy]

Awesome! and fairly cheap, to boot! You should add this to the Cheap Mod thread...

And done. Can also confirm the engine heat is not a factor. 1 hour + drive not even a slight curl or anything. They are rated to +85c so they should be fine but always good to know in practice.

 

[BlueBomber]

Nice! bump for a cool project.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Nice! bump for a cool project.

Thank you. The other thin with this one you could do what ever colour you want. The led strips are cheap now. But I'm old school that remember the old light under the hood activated by a mercury switch. Ah before mercury was a toxic substance.

 

[OCS12]

Thank you. The other thin with this one you could do what ever colour you want. The led strips are cheap now. But I'm old school that remember the old light under the hood activated by a mercury switch. Ah before mercury was a toxic substance.

It's funny you mention the mercury switch option. I still have the replacement OEM underhood light from my old Jeep sitting in the garage that I was going to install in the Fiesta. This little guy http://www.tascaparts.com/jeep/wran...nd-components-scat/?part_name=under-hood-lamp with an LED bulb was enough to light up my Jeep's engine, so figured it should work fine in a Fiesta. The Mercury switch is built into the unit. It lights up when the hood's raised, and it's only ten bucks for an OEM unit.

(Not sure if it still actually uses Mercury or just a ball bearing, but same concept)

 

[CanadianGuy]

It's funny you mention the mercury switch option. I still have the replacement OEM underhood light from my old Jeep sitting in the garage that I was going to install in the Fiesta. This little guy http://www.tascaparts.com/jeep/wran...nd-components-scat/?part_name=under-hood-lamp with an LED bulb was enough to light up my Jeep's engine, so figured it should work fine in a Fiesta. The Mercury switch is built into the unit. It lights up when the hood's raised, and it's only ten bucks for an OEM unit.

(Not sure if it still actually uses Mercury or just a ball bearing, but same concept)

Do it! Likely a ball bearing/tilt sensor as mercury is a no-no now. Depending on the light bulb capacity you could easily find for high light output LEDs for it. Also you could install more than one.

 

[OCS12]

Do it! Likely a ball bearing/tilt sensor as mercury is a no-no now. Depending on the light bulb capacity you could easily find for high light output LEDs for it. Also you could install more than one.

I'm liking your idea of adding a second one. I had a fairly high output LED in that same unit in my Jeep before I smashed it (hence the reason I had a replacement on the shelf), and it was pretty bright. Installing two is a great idea. I feel a little silly that that never occurred to me. I just need to take a look under the hood for mounting options. I've always been a big fan of at least decent underhood lighting. It just adds so much convenience, often at times when you're not in a good mood to begin with!

 

[CanadianGuy]

I just need to take a look under the hood for mounting options.

Well the flat spot near the hood latch where I have the large rectangle bunch is a great place is it point straight down when the hood is raised. IF I was you. I would install 3 one be the hood latch for full front and general view (washer, fluid, dip stick etc..). I would put 2(or o1) more where I put the long strip to wash the bay from the back to remove shadows if your head is in front of the top one. Use some good double sided tape on a clean surface.

 

[ModBargains]

This is genius! Mod-friendly cars should come off the lot with this!

 

[CanadianGuy]

This is genius! Mod-friendly cars should come off the lot with this!

Thank you. Now I need to bling up the cover...

 

[brbauer2]

I just got my ST and this is on the list. I had it done on my '12 & '14 Fiesta SE. It's so easy and simple but is extremely practical.

 

[brbauer2]

My under hood lighting using a panel on the just traded '14 SE.

 

[brbauer2]

I just got my ST and this is on the list. I had it done on my '12 & '14 Fiesta SE. It's so easy and simple but is extremely practical.

Wired up the LED panel this afternoon.

+ Runs behind the air box through an online fuse to the switch. Then follows the washer fluid line up to the hood. Ran under the hood liner to its mounting spot. Reverse the run down to the ? grounding post for the battery to complete the circuit.

There was already a hole where the switch is, just needed to make it a tad larger to fit.

Before

After

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