Slartibartfast Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Last winter, I helped my uncle fix an ignition problem with his GMC pickup. To my surprise, it had a little light built into the underside of the hood, which struck me as a really good idea. I started to wonder why my Pathy didn't have one. More recently, I saw this thread, and read that Nissan had made such a part, but only for R50s, and only overseas R50s at that. I started wondering how hard it would be to make one. The trick is to find a switch that makes contact when the hood's open. Turns out, the WD21 factory alarm system includes one of these. It's bolted to the firewall between the brake lines and the wiper motor. If you don't have one, the junkyard probably will, and it should swap right over. It looks pretty easy to get to with a socket. My dad's R50 has no switch that I can find, so if you want to do this on an R50, you'll have to build a new bracket or something. You could just turn the light on and off manually, but where's the fun in that? I could've made this mod look pretty legit by using a spare dome light, but I didn't have one. I did however have an Altoids tin, a bit of clear acrylic, a little switch so I could turn it off if I wanted to, and one of those $10 blindingly bright 36-LED dome light panels off Ebay. I glued a folded-over metal bracket to the back of the tin so that I could bend it around if needed for clearance or to redirect the light. Then I wiped the dirt off the sticker under the hood (the one that says nothing needs adjustment) and foam-taped the bracket to it. I ran the wires behind the fiber blanket stuff, hooked the - wire to the hood switch, and ran the + wire into the passenger's side relay box. I stripped the end of the + wire, popped out the horn relay, stuck the wire into one of the holes in the horn relay connector, and then stuck the relay back in. And there was light! This mod should reduce the amount of time I spend trying to hold a flashlight with my chin, and IMO that's totally worth the $10 and the hour or so I spent on it. Now I'm looking back through that parts thread at the glovebox light. Just so happens I've got a smaller LED panel looking for a home. How hard can that be? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 blindingly brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdauria Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I've been wanting to do this for ages... Only problem is I seem to forget or not care until the next time i'm working in the dark -___- Kudos for actually taking the initiative and doing this! Looks really well done! I really want to do something like this, but with a power source that isn't dependent on the battery being connected and charged. This way you'll have light when you REALLY need it, stuck in the dark with an electrical fault or something. But seriously bravo on the execution it looks really clean and heat/dirt resistant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Cool idea with the Altoids can. I've pulled the insulation (another victim of that damn mudding going on in my sig pic) and have thought about keeping a magnetic light in the center console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 R50s have a hood switch next to the driver's side headlight assembly. Cool mod, nice work! Looks bright for sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theexbrit Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 R50s have a hood switch next to the driver's side headlight assembly. Cool mod, nice work! Looks bright for sure. You beat me to it, I was just going to mention that switch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Love the mod, I need to do this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swofford.nick Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 pretty clever man and the altoids tin makes it even better, just call it custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 Thanks guys! Good to hear the R50 guys aren't left out on this. And yeah, having it dependent on the battery and fuse links isn't ideal. I can always go back to holding a flashlight with my chin if the electrical system fails. The thread I saw the hood light in also had a glovebox light. Looks like Rob can sell the whole setup for just over $20, but I'm cheap and I had another LED panel laying around. I didn't find a plug to draw power from, so I ran wire through the dash to the marker lights (one of the pink wires on the headlight switch plug). There's no existing switch, so I made my own... ... out of a shotgun shell. I knocked out the primer bit and used a piece of plastic rod as a plunger. The rod's sprung on the front, and it's got contacts in the back, one of which is made from some of the brass I trimmed away. Now that's custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdauria Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I guess the flashlight still works as a back up... Maybe I mess around with wiring stuff too often, haha. WOW I am pretty blown away with that switch setup its really ingenious!! Seems like something you'd see in MAKE Magazine or an instructable or something. Hats off to you, sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvdloc Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Hahah oh boy, that is good lol i like that, shotgun Shell switch. Anyways my question is location of the light under the hood and how it handles the heat, curious cause it looks like it sits ontop of that air intake manifold thing. I'm sure you've done your homework and its a non issue but have you drove it around, no melting? Personally I have a couple pressure switches and I was thinking about trying this, but ill one up you with 2 lights lol one mounted on either side of the hood, just thinking might light up more area in the sides of the motor? Just an idea, but I really like what you have done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Looks good ! I think most underhood lights just use a Mercury switch to turn them on and off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 LOL thanks guys. I am kind of considering doing an Instructable on the switch. Seems like it would make a badass door switch for a rat rod. I've taken it to the post office and back and it's sat out in almost 100* the past two days with no issues so far. I'll give it a good shakedown next month (road trip). The foam tape's the weak link IMO but it seems to be holding up alright. The tin sits just above the fan shroud when the hood's closed, so hopefully it's far enough from the intake to escape most of the heat. Two lights sounds like an improvement! Mine doesn't light up the area between the engine and the sheet metal too well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Very clever! I have these which have magnets on the back and build in hooks and are quite similar to what you made. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/5-pc-grip-led-light-kit.aspx?a=789156 And these keep me from having to hold a light as well... http://www.energizer.com/flashlights-lighting/flashlights/headlight/Pages/trailfinder-3-led-headlight.aspx B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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