Under Hood Light
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From: Denver Metro Area, CO
I would open it up, clean it, then lube it with some sort of dry lubricant e.g. graphite - unless it had grease in it originally in which case I'd use maybe white lithium or some such.
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Originally Posted by ctubutis
I would open it up, clean it, then lube it with some sort of dry lubricant e.g. graphite - unless it had grease in it originally in which case I'd use maybe white lithium or some such.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Houston
I couldn't say. I haven't even mounted mine nor messed with it. Got disgusted by it because of the style of bulb it uses I cant find any good quality LED bulbs for it that would fit under the plastic cover.
But I look forward to seeing what you find out tough.
But I look forward to seeing what you find out tough.
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Originally Posted by Rusty_S
I couldn't say. I haven't even mounted mine nor messed with it. Got disgusted by it because of the style of bulb it uses I cant find any good quality LED bulbs for it that would fit under the plastic cover.
But I look forward to seeing what you find out tough.
But I look forward to seeing what you find out tough.
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,958
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From: Houston
Not a high usage item but I personally have used a 6000k pure white LED bulb under the hood of all my vehicles and love how much more illumination they provide over the yellow incandescent bulb. You can actually see under the hood with them.
Now the problem in this case is you cant just simply walk into a auto parts store near you and purchase this bulb as it is a akward design. It has two terminals on the bottom like a 1157 socket bulb but is a single filament no dual. This bulb uses both of the terminals for connection, one positive, the other negative. Unlike BA9s socket bulbs for example single filament bulbs where the side of the socket is the ground and the terminal on the bottom is positive.
Now the problem in this case is you cant just simply walk into a auto parts store near you and purchase this bulb as it is a akward design. It has two terminals on the bottom like a 1157 socket bulb but is a single filament no dual. This bulb uses both of the terminals for connection, one positive, the other negative. Unlike BA9s socket bulbs for example single filament bulbs where the side of the socket is the ground and the terminal on the bottom is positive.
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Originally Posted by ctubutis
Why not just use the normal light bulb the thing was designed to use? It's not like it's a high-usage, high-wattage item or anything...
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Maybe it's just me and my aging eyes, but that thing doesn't look bright enough for me. I used to hang one of those shop lights on the hood when I needed to, or drag it to specific spots. 60 or 100 watts was perfect.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Houston
Yep. I found one on superbrightleds but it does not clearly state that it is the proper dual terminal pos/neg or not but the base is the proper base as their conversion says for a 90 series bulb.
I found some on ebay but they generally are too big for fitting under the plastic cap cover or they are forward firing only which negates the purpose as it would not be shining down on the engine bay.
I found some on ebay but they generally are too big for fitting under the plastic cap cover or they are forward firing only which negates the purpose as it would not be shining down on the engine bay.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Houston
https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...ofit-car/1978/
The one above looks like it might would fit under the cap. It just does not clearly state if both teminals on the bottom are pos/neg or not. I thought of getting this to try but I like buying bulk from ebay.
~Update~
I just found out if you search on ebay for BA15D base LED bulbs do a search for Marine ones. It appears marine bulbs have the dual contacts where one is positive and the other is negative. I found a 80W BA15D marine that uses projector lenses but it will without a doubt not fit.
The one above looks like it might would fit under the cap. It just does not clearly state if both teminals on the bottom are pos/neg or not. I thought of getting this to try but I like buying bulk from ebay.
~Update~
I just found out if you search on ebay for BA15D base LED bulbs do a search for Marine ones. It appears marine bulbs have the dual contacts where one is positive and the other is negative. I found a 80W BA15D marine that uses projector lenses but it will without a doubt not fit.
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Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Goldthwaite,Tx
Be careful when you open it! I got one from a junkyard and it wouldn't retract very much. It has a metal coiled strip inside similar to a tape measure. After cleaning and best I remember I put some white lithium grease in it, it slipped and came uncoiled. After trying several times to put it back together, I had to trash it. But since it lit up I kept the bulb, socket and wiring.
