Ducman82

so while i was sitting in my chair smoking a CAO i looked at the open hood of the car and noticed i had no bulb in my engine bay light. so that got me thinking.... where is the switch to turn the little guy on? so i consulted the WSM and saw that the light is only powered when the headlights are on (same circuit as the license plate lights). thats seams pointless to me. that nice the the bulb would be wasting away when you turn the lights on. well, a new bulb did not work so i got out the test light. no power to the single contact in the light. but i was getting power to the socket.... well i found this little bugger in the light socket.... seams to be some kind of...... well i dont know. it does not conduct like it should what ever it is. (left side of picture)

so does anyone even bother with this light? and what is the little piece? looks like a little battery. (has a top and bottom contact but its insulated in the center)

Marine Blue

Funny you mention this. I could never figure out why my light didn't work until one day I stopped on the side of the highway with my headlights on and popped the hood to check something. I saw the light on and thought, that's weird why would they design it that way. I thought my light was wired wrong but I guess it's right.

So why would they wire it this way?

Also, can you post the disassembly procedure? I want to disassemble and have the bulb holder replated.

Ducman82

there is a small "tab" that is bent in that hold the plastic parts in side the holder. bend it out and slide the parts out. you will have to clip the wire to pull out the positive contact.

svpmx83

The centre section is a tilt switch so that the light only comes on when the hood is open - make sure it is installed in the right direction

IrishLegend

On this topic, what size bulb do I purchase to replace?

Ducman82

ill have to check that out. but that still does not make sense why the lights have to be on. maybe ill just have to wire it up different.

Marine Blue

So you have to cut the wire to remove this? Seems odd that it can't be disassembled without cutting.

rbrtmchl

I may be wrong, but I think the underhood light only works when your lights are on. This is a safety feature. If you are broken down on a dark road, they don't want you working in front of the car with no lights on.

Ducman82

i would cut it, but there is a connector right were the wire exits the hood. you would have to pull it and fish it out of the hood.. seems like to much work for me

Marine Blue

Yeah that's not a good alternative either.

Ducman82

so i went and tested that tilt switch thing, i can feel and hear something rattle, but its trash. does not work any way. now i need to find another one.