Chevy-SS

I just bought a 2004 C5 coupe and I noticed the underhood light was unplugged at the connector by the radiator. There was some corrosion on the plugs, as they had been exposed - for quite a while, from the looks of them.

Anyway, I put a test light across the two tiny male terminals (inside the connector) coming from the chassis and it lit up, so I have voltage to the plug. I checked the bulb, and it's good. But when I plug the connectors (after cleaning) I get no light. Should I just replace the whole assembly? Or is there something in there that can be fixed?

thanks

damilleniumboy

RedLS1GTO

Funny, my light didn't come on for the first 2 years I owned the car then all of a sudden one day it came on! Works like a champ ever since!

If you are getting power to the plug there are only a few things it could be. Just keep checking up the line until you get all the way to the bulb and you'll figure it out.

Chevy-SS

Thanks gents

Is there a mercury switch in the light housing? Or is the wiring fed power from a plunger switch activated by hood opening?

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dobewillie

try another bulb good luck

Nightstick

Mine don't work either. Thats the only thing wrong so I'm scared to fix it. God knows as soon as I fix it something else will start acting up.

plasterman

hi dave,it's me...lol...dave,i unplugged the light cause when it's hot out,when i pulled into the garage,i open the hood to let heat excape.i remember it was unplugged when i bought the car too. it alway's worked though....plug it in and mabye start to car and let a cycle happen.mabye a auto shut off...al

CircledWagons

Yes, and this is exactly why I asked a similar question about this a week or so ago, why is there not a switch on the underhood light? When I want it to light up, it stays on for a few minutes then turns off. When I don't want it on, I have no choice but let it sit there and burn.

I see several guys in here that do LED light conversions and apparently there is no aftermarket to solve this, so maybe one of you guys could come up with a switchable light that can replace this mistake?

DeeGee

Its a simple circuit. The lamp is controlled by the relay 37 and fused through fuse #2 in the footwell. Its called the Monitored Load circuit. Its an orange wire to the lamp which grounds at G102.



The circuit routes via the underhood fuse panel to a connector at the base of the hood to a connector on the lamp itself. From what I can see it could only be one of the two connectors or the bulb.

Here's a pic of the lamp unit


I'd say a bit more cleaning and reconnecting should fix it.

Chevy-SS

Thanks for the diagrams.

So, the connector beside the radiator is hot at all times, and the actual switching mechanism is located inside the light?

thanks

poolboy

Although I have never taken it apart, I believe there is a switch (I would assume mercury) in the housing itself.

Dominic Toretto

Subscribed, I have the same issue but never bothered to ask. Thanks guys!

-Alex

ljthe2nd

There is a switch inside the light housing, but it is not a mercury switch it is some kind of mechanical switch. (if you remove the housing from the hood and rotate it to simulate the movement it would have opening and closing the hood you can hear a clicking inside the little round brass thing in the housing)

jraschke11