Lighting Mod - Engine Bay

SgtGoldy

I was hoping to get some advice:

I wanna do a lighting mod for the engine bay. No not rice, just a High Intensity LED strip (White LED's of course) that activates when the hood is lifted to provide enough light to either
A.) Show off your engine bay to friends
B.) Work on surface parts ie. taking off engine cover, running wires, battery, steering/brake/engine oil levels, etc.

Now my question is what kind of trigger can I use to discretely have it automatically turn on when the hood is raised? I have yet to really find anything that doesnt require drilling/cutting. I wanna stay away from that as much as possible.

Ill even make a DIY once I get the items =D

That is... if people would be interested in that sort of thing.

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DEpointfive0

I'd like something like that too...

The only thing I can think of is a direct hookup to the battery with a push switch that you can buy at Radio Shack.

BTW, your sig says Stillen UR Pulley
I think you mean UD pulley

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SgtGoldy

I thought murcury switch but that might slosh around while driving. If I can get a push switch that is pretty damn skinny I might do it and just drill a hole through the metal somewhere inconspicuous to mount it at.

and for the LED bar I wanted something rigid. Preferably black so it blends in but right now this is the closest thing to what I want:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...-chip-leds/99/

isnt UD unorthodox?

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ChipsWithDips

Try using a magnetic reed switch. There are a bunch of different types out there, some of them are commonly used in home alarm systems to detect when a window is opened for example.

They can come in a ton of different shapes and sizes.
35-756-BU: Magnetic Proximity Reed Switch: GC Electronics
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8642
Magnetic / Reed Switches | Mouser

You would want a NC (normally closed) switch, meaning that when there is not a magnet near the switch (hood is open), the switch will be closed or "on".

Although apparently you can turn a NO normally open switch to NC if you use two magnets.
Form B Reed Switch & Permanent Magnet - Parallel Position, Perpendicular Movement

Make sure the one you get is rated for at least as much current as your LED strip requires.

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SgtGoldy

Perfect! Thanks Chips, exactly the type of switch I needed!

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DEpointfive0

When you figure it out, buy 2, I'm coming down to install one too! Lol


Btw, I don't care for superbrightLEDs... I had a few not so great experiences with them, and eBay from China is way cheaper

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SgtGoldy

really? Good to know, I've never dealt with them before

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DEpointfive0

Oh, if you go with eBay, you'll see that the difference between a $1 light and a $2 item is shipping time, so if you NEED it in a week, go with the $2 one

And the eBay sellers in China are willing to bend over backwards and contort themselves into balls if your order has ANY sort of problem

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SgtGoldy

awesome... Frickin china gives better customer service from 1000's of miles away across land and ocean while the guys your standing in front of here in the states look at you like its your fault they sold you a faulty product... lol

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DEpointfive0

LOL!!! They do, and it hurts to not support America, but I think if they could give you a happy ending with your purchase they would

(And US sellers are getting 99.9999% of they're stuff from them anyways... And if anyone feels really butthurt about not buying from a US seller, just order from eBay and say their item didn't arrive or doesn't work, and you'll get another of that item, LOL!!!)

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Japanjay

You can get a switch from any car alarm store. Same ones used for the hood pop trigger.