Topic: underhood power source

[Rogue]

I'm still looking for a good source of power for the underhood light. I'd rather not tap directly into the battery +12, but will if I have to. A schematic would be really helpful...but.....since I don't have one...does anybody know where I can find an unswitched, fused +12 under the hood? Thanks.

[LiquidPT]

I'm still looking for a good source of power for the underhood light. I'd rather not tap directly into the battery +12, but will if I have to. A schematic would be really helpful...but.....since I don't have one...does anybody know where I can find an unswitched, fused +12 under the hood? Thanks.

I'm guessing the fuse box there... but I don't have the schematics in front of me to look up which one.

[DeepBlueGXP]

I ran a terminal ring to the post under the red + cover of the fuse box.  You can run that to a bus bar.

[JRinKY]

DeepBlueGXP: I ran a terminal ring to the post under the red + cover of the fuse box.  You can run that to a bus bar.

I did the same thing, with a fuse attached directly to the terminal post.

[Rogue]

Yea, that's what I ended up doing. That seems a bit "ricer" to me, but it works. I was trying to come up with something more factory looking. Anyway, that's water under the bridge...time to move on to the next project. Thanks for the input.

[JimmyBaja]

Uh hu, and did you by chance use a new mercury switch for this hood light?   

[Rogue]

Nope...a rocker switch so I can turn it on and off when I want it on or off.

[TomatoSoup]

So I realize that I did my hood LEDs just after the ModMeet and I did use a mercury (tilt) switch...

So to avoid being placed on any vigilante lists I'm posting a photo of my junkyard mercury switch (off the trunk of an 80's Corsica) now proudly mounted below my headlight:

[attachment=1]

By the way Rogue, I tapped in to my parking light power wire.  I figured that if it were dark and I needed to see, I'd have (or could put) my side lights on anyway.

[scanner]

These kinds of circuit mods should start with a Fuse! 

Today I saw a car that was just extinguished by the local fire department. The event looked like it started under the hood.  I was reminded of my earlier days of many mods, one of the first recommendations from the experienced guys was - carry a fire extinguisher. Makes sense for some...

[Rogue]

Agreed. The first component in my circuit is an in-line fuse.

[Uranium-238]

Same here. Also, I make sure I'm using the proper gauge wire for whatever load the circuit is going to be drawing. I melted the insulator right off a wire designing a circuit at school once...don't want that happening on my car.