Under Hood Reel Light

[Machspeed]

Me?

I think brass is fine as a contact.

There is spring brass, but that is kinda specialist and you'd likely find it from a clockmaker.

I've torn open a regular wall receptacle to hack a wiper contact before.

I'm not big on oils or grease in a dusty environment.

I would probably try powdered graphite since it's slippery and conductive.

It won't attract and stick to grit and dust.

It's alive....LOL! I JimGyver'd it beautifully. As Jim suggested, I tore apart a wall receptacle to scrounge some parts. The wife doesn't use the toaster oven so she won't notice it missing. More on all that when I do the write-up. I temp installed the unit as I will be pulling it and going back inside to do just a couple small things.

There's not a lot of room inside to add a switch and extra wires, run in the only place one could put it, could interfere with the reel. I bought a couple of toggle switches and while they are small the reel has to come out to install. Again, don't want to do that. I may source another unit and pull the reel on it for added write up, but not pulling mine if I don't have to.

I've been thinking about a different kind of switch though, one that I can put in line with the power feed into the light and screw into the back of the hood. There's a name for that type of switch but I can't think of it. Can someone advise?

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

It's alive....LOL! I JimGyver'd it beautifully. As Jim suggested, I tore apart a wall receptacle to scrounge some parts. The wife doesn't use the toaster oven so she won't notice it missing. More on all that when I do the write-up. I temp installed the unit as I will be pulling it and going back inside to do just a couple small things.

There's not a lot of room inside to add a switch and extra wires, run in the only place one could put it, could interfere with the reel. I bought a couple of toggle switches and while they are small the reel has to come out to install. Again, don't want to do that. I may source another unit and pull the reel on it for added write up, but not pulling mine if I don't have to.

I've been thinking about a different kind of switch though, one that I can put in line with the power feed into the light and screw into the back of the hood. There's a name for that type of switch but I can't think of it. Can someone advise?

 

"screw into" as in surface mount the whole of it?

Or just having the toggle or rocker exposed and the body and wires inside the channel of the hood?

I snaked the wires for my LED's up inside the ribs and only have the toggle exposed.

That's a little finicky to get the depth adjusting nut set in the back but worked out for me.

Easier (I think ) would be a rocker switch that snaps into a hole from the front.

[Nemesis F150]

"screw into" as in surface mount the whole of it?

Or just having the toggle or rocker exposed and the body and wires inside the channel of the hood?

I snaked the wires for my LED's up inside the ribs and only have the toggle exposed.

That's a little finicky to get the depth adjusting nut set in the back but worked out for me.

Easier (I think ) would be a rocker switch that snaps into a hole from the front.

The Under Hood Light on my rig hasn't worked for several years. Don't know when it last worked because it was never used. HOWEVER .....

Decided to use it today and because the bulb didn't light up it was decided to look into it. First step was to take the light out of its device but I couldn't figure out how to do it. There are two "clip" thingies that seem to be necessary to remove it (along with the 20-foot retractable cable).

There are no instructions in the 1985 "Ford Truck Owner Guide" that came with the vehicle about how to remove the Lamp (with cable attached) and can't find anything on the net. The instructions on the device don't go into any detail, either.

There is a "Clip" on the side that can be pulled outward but it doesn't accomplish much. The Lamp can only be pulled up about 1/8-inch and that is about it. Don't want to pull too hard so as not to break anything.

Secondly, there is another possibility. Just below the clear Lamp cover it appears the cover can be rotated. There is another apparent clip that has a small tooth.

It appears the cover is designed to rotate; however, it doesn't, probably because the tab with "the tooth" won't let it. Tried pulling it out to enable rotation but didn't want to break it, either.

So, any ideas about how to get this critter out?

[Nemesis F150]

The Under Hood Light on my rig hasn't worked for several years. Don't know when it last worked because it was never used. HOWEVER .....

Decided to use it today and because the bulb didn't light up it was decided to look into it. First step was to take the light out of its device but I couldn't figure out how to do it. There are two "clip" thingies that seem to be necessary to remove it (along with the 20-foot retractable cable).

There are no instructions in the 1985 "Ford Truck Owner Guide" that came with the vehicle about how to remove the Lamp (with cable attached) and can't find anything on the net. The instructions on the device don't go into any detail, either.

There is a "Clip" on the side that can be pulled outward but it doesn't accomplish much. The Lamp can only be pulled up about 1/8-inch and that is about it. Don't want to pull too hard so as not to break anything.

Secondly, there is another possibility. Just below the clear Lamp cover it appears the cover can be rotated. There is another apparent clip that has a small tooth.

It appears the cover is designed to rotate; however, it doesn't, probably because the tab with "the tooth" won't let it. Tried pulling it out to enable rotation but didn't want to break it, either.

So, any ideas about how to get this critter out?

Went back to give it one more try to remove the Light and decided to just remove the whole assembly in order to get a better look.

There are two tabs that must be pulled out slightly to remove the Light! One is clearly visible (even though not clearly identified as something that must be "un-latched" to remove the light), but the other is on the back side of the assembly and toward a recess in the sheet metal of the hood (clearly invisible, and not much space to get a finger in to unlatch it). Both must be unlatched AT THE SAME TIME time to remove the Light.

Local knowledge required.

Also, the retractable wire is a 2-conductor and must travel though the small rectangle hole on its way to the spring-loaded spool. Have not explored it (don't want to, either) to see if twisting the wire would cause a spooling problem where it wouldn't get through the marginally small hole. Surely (hopefully) it was designed and tested so it will.

As an under-hood light this would be helpful to check for engine oil, radiator leak, or some other problem.

Picture of Bulb and Base:

[edit: added picture of bulb & base]

 

[Sparky]

Went back to give it one more try to remove the Light and decided to just remove the whole assembly in order to get a better look.

There are two tabs that must be pulled out slightly to remove the Light! One is clearly visible (even though not clearly identified as something that must be "un-latched" to remove the light), but the other is on the back side of the assembly and toward a recess in the sheet metal of the hood (clearly invisible, and not much space to get a finger in to unlatch it). Both must be unlatched AT THE SAME TIME time to remove the Light.

Local knowledge required.

Also, the retractable wire is a 2-conductor and must travel though the small rectangle hole on its way to the spring-loaded spool. Have not explored it (don't want to, either) to see if twisting the wire would cause a spooling problem where it wouldn't get through the marginally small hole. Surely (hopefully) it was designed and tested so it will.

As an under-hood light this would be helpful to check for engine oil, radiator leak, or some other problem.

Picture of Bulb and Base:

[edit: added picture of bulb & base]

I'm not sure why yours is so hard to pull out. Mine comes out pretty easily by rocking it one direction to disengage one clip then rocking it the other direction to disengage the other clip. I can do it with one hand. I can't imagine Ford intended for people to pull out each clip individually just to release the light. Maybe shaving down the tab on each clip so it doesn't grab so tightly would help.

[Nemesis F150]

I'm not sure why yours is so hard to pull out. Mine comes out pretty easily by rocking it one direction to disengage one clip then rocking it the other direction to disengage the other clip. I can do it with one hand. I can't imagine Ford intended for people to pull out each clip individually just to release the light. Maybe shaving down the tab on each clip so it doesn't grab so tightly would help.

Thanks for the reply Steve.

I'm not sure why yours is so hard to pull out.

One reason is probably that it has never been pulled out, and it is a tight fit.

In the 2:44 post I didn’t know there was a clip on the hood side. The plastic is 37 years old so as plastic ages it often becomes brittle. After reefing on the light and only getting it to come up slightly on one side, a decision was made to see what was on the other side that was holding it back. Not wanting to break anything I decided to remove the assembly: only two screws on the ears and one for the ground wire. Ooops …. noticed the power wire wasn’t even really connected, the male and female connectors were close together but didn’t actually make electrical contact. Probably disconnected years ago back when the garage mechanic worked on the throttle body.

Removed the assembly without dropping a screw down into the engine bay for closer examination. Found the recalcitrant clip on the back side that was a mirror image of the first one. Both clips are small, thin, and very stiff. Even with the assembly removed it was a struggle to get both of the clips open enough to remove the light. Not a user-friendly design. Oh, and the assembly has “ITT” molded on it.

Mine comes out pretty easily by rocking it one direction to disengage one clip then rocking it the other direction to disengage the other clip. I can do it with one hand.

Now that I’ve got some local knowledge how the thing works, if it is ever needed I’ll give it a try, pulling up on one side just enough to keep that clip disengaged then go for the other clip.

I can't imagine Ford intended for people to pull out each clip individually just to release the light. Maybe shaving down the tab on each clip so it doesn't grab so tightly would help.

Ford may not have intended that two hands would be required. Whoever at Ford wrote the contract for ITT probably didn't specify the requirements well enough. "Say what you want or you get what you don't need".

Also, to avoid the annoying light when working in the engine bay the hot wire will be disconnected again. A little in-line rocker switch would be a nice addition. Light goes on or off when the hood is raised or lowered at about 2-feet.

Just checked and Amazon has LED replacements for the GE #90 filament bulb @ $9.89 each [edited 9/24] but the filament bulb will stay original for now (and maybe forever?). Ditto with the idea of filing down the hook on the far-side clip (now that its assembly is installed again). Onward to the next (fun) project … the gas gauge issue.

[Bllyfrd85]

An internal mercury switch controls the light. A few forum members solder the mercury switch and add a toggle switch, but this can lead to battery drain if you forget to turn it off. Drill the rivets, clean the internals, check the wiring, and spring.

I have not done this, yet, but I will soon as mine died too. The wiring is so brittle, and the light won’t retract. I hope I get it working again. It’s not the most suitable light for the task, but it sure is a cool feature.

Hello, so I tore my light apart today because the reel would not come out and it was stuck, I found the cord wrapped around the spool, as I under the cord the spring went crazy, I’ve spent the better part of the day trying to get the spring to work right again, I’ve rewound it and there’s nothing wrong with the spring, the spring will rotate and recoil back like it should but it also gets stuck and won’t rewind all the way, it won’t unwind enough, any advice would be great thank you

[Gary Lewis]

Hello, so I tore my light apart today because the reel would not come out and it was stuck, I found the cord wrapped around the spool, as I under the cord the spring went crazy, I’ve spent the better part of the day trying to get the spring to work right again, I’ve rewound it and there’s nothing wrong with the spring, the spring will rotate and recoil back like it should but it also gets stuck and won’t rewind all the way, it won’t unwind enough, any advice would be great thank you

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