engine bay lighting

[Raider L]

I know alot of you guys, and gals are into keeping your truck in pure stock form. And that's cool. My truck is very customized but I did want to do alot of stock thinks to it as well. When I was building my truck the guys were telling me to put bucket seats in so I could put a stick on the floor. But I told them I had kids and buckets were out because you can't put two car seats in with buckets. So I kept the bench and for a '74, I put in the, at that time 1995, new Chevy truck interior using the same materials. So I had the bench seat done with a saddle tan cloth from the new '95 pickups. It was so nice I couldn't believe how comfortable that cloth was. It sure beat that vinyl with that woven nylon center seat material would get rough after awhile. I did the whole truck interior like that, even with the same carpet of the '95 trucks to.

I got all my cab parts from the local Chevy dealership, factory not aftermarket. So I got my new hood, because mine was bent at those crumple zones alot of my year truck had you'd see going down the road, and got it on and I noticed something I hadn't noticed with my original hood that this new one had a place for a light! I don't think I had that with my original hood, but it was a new hood for a '74 truck so I guess I never did notice that place back there, which is weird.

So I've got all these restoration catalogs and I came across a "hood light". That's all cool and I'll probably get it but I want to know, do any of you guys have that part on your hood, and does your's work? What I'd like to know is does it have a "mercury switch" to make it come on when you lift your hood up? You know, the mercury slides back to those two pins and "makes" the switch, and the light comes on until you close the hood and the mercury slides away from the pins and unmakes the switch and the light goes off.

 

[bucket]

None of my trucks have ever had one, including well-optioned ones. But that's not to say it wasn't available in the 70's. I don't remember seeing one on a truck though. Just oodles of GM cars.

 

[Bennyt]

I've tried a couple of them from different vendors and could never get one to work on a regular basis. I did get one used out of a 90's vette that had an enclosed bulb that worked well. My '89 K5 had the nice wind up light on the firewall which was great at the time.

Now, there are so many choices for nice LED's that actually work and are bright. Take a trip down the tacky aisle at the auto parts store and a lot of choices for $25 or so. Get away from the Mercury switch and just use a push button.

 

[bucket]

But the mercury switch is nice because it's automatic. And won't drain the battery if you forget to turn it off before you close the hood.

 

[AuroraGirl]

But the mercury switch is nice because it's automatic. And won't drain the battery if you forget to turn it off before you close the hood.

most GM cars with mercury switch in my experience required the parking lamps to be ON and hood to be open.. was annoying. i get why, but id rather it be just on if hood open. if you got a project going on, just close hood or unhook bulb.. but so many times during day I want the damn light!

 

[AuroraGirl]

I know alot of you guys, and gals are into keeping your truck in pure stock form. And that's cool. My truck is very customized but I did want to do alot of stock thinks to it as well. When I was building my truck the guys were telling me to put bucket seats in so I could put a stick on the floor. But I told them I had kids and buckets were out because you can't put two car seats in with buckets. So I kept the bench and for a '74, I put in the, at that time 1995, new Chevy truck interior using the same materials. So I had the bench seat done with a saddle tan cloth from the new '95 pickups. It was so nice I couldn't believe how comfortable that cloth was. It sure beat that vinyl with that woven nylon center seat material would get rough after awhile. I did the whole truck interior like that, even with the same carpet of the '95 trucks to.

I got all my cab parts from the local Chevy dealership, factory not aftermarket. So I got my new hood, because mine was bent at those crumple zones alot of my year truck had you'd see going down the road, and got it on and I noticed something I hadn't noticed with my original hood that this new one had a place for a light! I don't think I had that with my original hood, but it was a new hood for a '74 truck so I guess I never did notice that place back there, which is weird.

So I've got all these restoration catalogs and I came across a "hood light". That's all cool and I'll probably get it but I want to know, do any of you guys have that part on your hood, and does your's work? What I'd like to know is does it have a "mercury switch" to make it come on when you lift your hood up? You know, the mercury slides back to those two pins and "makes" the switch, and the light comes on until you close the hood and the mercury slides away from the pins and unmakes the switch and the light goes off.

yes, the gm lights from the era were like that for many years. my 1990 has the same as my 1980

 

[bucket]

most GM cars with mercury switch in my experience required the parking lamps to be ON and hood to be open.. was annoying. i get why, but id rather it be just on if hood open. if you got a project going on, just close hood or unhook bulb.. but so many times during day I want the damn light!

I haven't had a single one like that? I've had close to 70 now, with probably half of those having an underhood light. '70- 90's.

 

[AuroraGirl]

I haven't had a single one like that? I've had close to 70 now, with probably half of those having an underhood light. '70- 90's.

you mean parking lamps?
yeah, if i go to my 1990, my 1999(different design for looks but same concept)x2, and go put a battery to some old cars i bet i would see what im guessing.
but now im intrigued, i kinda wanna put 12 volts to 2 old cutlasses and a grand am and see what happens lol i bet some fuses are gonna pop
i wont bother finding the keys tho so no fun there

If you understood me incorrectly, i was saying that the lights are mercury switched and switched to parking lamps. So if hood open, no light, if hood open and headlights on, works. if hood closed, headlight switch off, no light. if hood closed, headlight switch on, no light still. when i put some on my square(Im putting more than one on since i have so many) I am going to put 2 on hood open and the other+ will be switched and maybe mounted elsewhere. i think held on with just rivets?

to be clear, we are talking about these, right?

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[Grit dog]

Never heard of under hood light being connected to parking lamps. Nor have I ever seen that.
But I haven’t seen everything like some have.

 

[Grit dog]

Raider, unless it’s just for posterity’s sake, I’d get a battery powered magnetic LED light. Much brighter and more handy than an old under hood light.
Although the 90s GM ones on a Cord reel like a mini trouble light were handy!

 

[Craig 85]

This one came in my last truck ('79 K15). I took it out before I sold it thinking I'd use it in my '85, but I bought a 90's under hood light instead. It does work, but I noticed the rubber seal is dried out, so the lens does not hold as tight as it should. A gasket could probably be made from an old innertube. It's a 1 wire hook up and grounds through the body. If you're interested, PM your address and I'll send it out.

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[AuroraGirl]

my research finds this but it could be wrong

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[AuroraGirl]

This one came in my last truck ('79 K15). I took it out before I sold it thinking I'd use it in my '85, but I bought a 90's under hood light instead. It does work, but I noticed the rubber seal is dried out, so the lens does not hold as tight as it should. A gasket could probably be made from an old innertube. It's a 1 wire hook up and grounds through the body. If you're interested, PM your address and I'll send it out.

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that looks like an antique nissan, pretty neat tho!

 

[skysurfer]

What I'd like to know is does it have a "mercury switch" to make it come on when you lift your hood up? You know, the mercury slides back to those two pins and "makes" the switch, and the light comes on until you close the hood and the mercury slides away from the pins and unmakes the switch and the light goes off.

Thinking about this, you would have to mount the switch on the hood with the connection points towards the firewall. With the hood closed the switch is more or less level and the Mercury doesn’t make contact...until every time you hit the gas. Might look weird at night with your engine compartment flashing on and off like something from Fast & Furious.

 

[Goldie Driver]

This one came in my last truck ('79 K15). I took it out before I sold it thinking I'd use it in my '85, but I bought a 90's under hood light instead. It does work, but I noticed the rubber seal is dried out, so the lens does not hold as tight as it should. A gasket could probably be made from an old innertube. It's a 1 wire hook up and grounds through the body. If you're interested, PM your address and I'll send it out.

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That is cool - not sure I have ever seen one before.

My 91 Sub had the magnetic reel light - great idea.

I had totally forgotten about the mercury style underhood lights - wow.

Just like the light bulb above the tranny hump in Goldie.

Maybe the other old trucks had them and I don't remember, or maybe they were burned out and I never knew they were there, or maybe they weren't there.

I dunno.