Installed a Under hood lite

[paulclassa]

At junk yard I grabbed it off a caddy , now it's my first modification & it feels right I want to install a switch at front doors that activate floor lite & I have to get dome working & vibe has no lite for hatch ? Load & unload in dark ? I lost some mpg going from Saturn sl2 but vibe is a by far better car just the seat alone sold me & room I have room now & I'm not sitting on the road that Saturn sat so low & was difficult to exit , the vibe turns a tighter radius & the lite on rear view mirror is the best,

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by paulclassa » it's my first modification & it feels right Great job Now for your second mod ........................... more lighting I presume The other night when I left the rink after my 10pm hockey game (was after midnight) I loaded up my gear into the Vibe and the parking lot lights just went out. It was so dark I couldn't even see my sticks on the pavement. Definitely going to get my puddle light mod (part of the door mirror mods) AND I'm seriously looking into a rear hatch puddle light of some sort also so that it shines down on the pavement so you can see any stuff that you're loading. Good luck with all future mods

[paulclassa]

You are the man!! 3 vibes I'm something like 6 months to 12 away from 2nd vibe & it will be a 05 & then I'llLook for another 05 & get rid of my 04 beater hea you inspired me to think years ago I had a 94 escort wagon it had a lite on the hatch that shined on the ground as well as inside , so now I'll grab another caddy underhood lite & wire & put it on hatch yea it will stick out ( not ressesed) but will be useful I like your hood with the scoops man , I have 6 - 6x9 speakers I want to cut up door panels front & rear & at tail lite area to use them up , it will be a butcher job & I won't do it to my 05's when I get them I'll never get over $4000Out of my 04 it's pretty rough one man I picked it up in the hood in Miami it's been shot at 4 times driver door is so wrinkled up that I'll replace it

[journeyforce]

I think the car with the hood scoops in tpollauf's pic is a Pontiac G8My Vibe has a hatch light(i.e. the light that lights up the cargo area) it has a 3 way switch on it(ether turns on and off with the doors opening or stays off all the time or can be turned on and kept on with the hatch closed) it came in the car. Are the 03-08 different then the 09 and 10 in that respect?On my Aura and LeSabre when I unlock the doors with the remote in the dark the license plate lights come on acting like a puddle lamp. My Vibe is manual everything so I don't have this but I would think the keyless entry vibes would have this

[ParknVibe]

I had a underhood light on my old car. It is a nice thing to have. What I believe it had within the hood is a special switch that when the hood is lifted up to a certain angle, the switch contacts would touch to make the light... light. I never saw the switch, but maybe it was built into the light socket. Anyway, you must get the special switch as part of the wire harness, or else the light will stay on and you wouldn't know it.

[journeyforce]

Good point ParknVibe. That will cause a dead battery quick enough. A lot of GM vehicles have the under hood switch tied into the head light switch so that they only came on with the headlights or parking lights on

[hotbug1776]

It's like a mercury switch. My sunfire has one on the trunk. Door closed, liquid pools away from the contacts, lift and it pools on the contacts, light on.

[MrHatchWagon]

I know how you feel, going from a Saturn SL2 to a Vibe. That's what I used to drive too, and I agree it's very low to the ground and not so roomy. Lots of cargo room with the seats folded down, too. Funny story, a friend of mine was impressed when she sat in my Vibe because of how roomy it was compared to her roommate's Yaris! And people are always telling me I have a nice car, etc.

[ParknVibe]

Quote, originally posted by hotbug1776 »It's like a mercury switch. My sunfire has one on the trunk. Door closed, liquid pools away from the contacts, lift and it pools on the contacts, light on. Yes I know of mercury switches. The liquid mercuy enclosed in a glass bulb. Would of suggested that, but I would not believe they would use that because the rocking around of the car would make the light flash all the time. But I just don't know, maybe they did have one like you said.

[hotbug1776]

Quote, originally posted by ParknVibe »Yes I know of mercury switches. The liquid mercuy enclosed in a glass bulb. Would of suggested that, but I would not believe they would use that because the rocking around of the car would make the light flash all the time. But I just don't know, maybe they did have one like you said. I would think they would use a solid, like a small bearing, but, they use these http://www.parts-express.com/p...0-852Just mount at an angle that makes contact only whe the hood is up (think hinge) and the light should stay off. I'll look at the truck light as the underhood switch on that is right next to the socket.

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by paulclassa »You are the man!! 3 vibes Actually, take a closer look ...... only TWO Vibes Quote, originally posted by paulclassa » I like your hood with the scoops man As journeyforce pointed out, the center car is indeed the "WIFES" G8 GT The grilles are very similar but that is the only close item on these cars. The 6.0L engine is no match for the Vibe 2.4l Quote, originally posted by journeyforce » Are the 03-08 different then the 09 and 10 in that respect?No & YES Not to confuse you. The 09-10 Vibes also have the 3-way switch like yours BUT the placement of the light is such that it only illuminates the cargo area and at a slight angle shining forward. It is pitch black from the edge of the hatch area downward and you can't see a thing towards the ground. There is a lot of room in the rear hatch panel to install some bright LED's and have them shine down on the ground. This will be a very easy mod that I'll perform soon.

[paulclassa]

Caddy lite has a sound "click" when tilted I liked that & it just looked better than other ones I looked at

[paulclassa]

I wish vibes were around 35 years ago when I went to the drive in theater on dates