LED Hood Light Partially lit?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,774
Likes: 363
From: Midland TX
LED Hood Light Partially lit?
I recently installed one of these LED Dome Units into the stock hood lamp housing. I also installed some LED Strip lights in the engine compartment that are wired into the same stock hood light switch
My situation is... when I open the hood, the dome light and strip LEDs all come on full power as expected. If I close the hood, just before it latches, I can see ALL the LEDs go off completely as expected. The strangeness happens when I open the hood and leave it open for an extended period. After about 10-15 minutes all the LED Strip lights go out (as expected), but the dome light LED array dims about 75%, but NEVER completely goes off? Again if I close the hood it does go off, but why is it staying partially lit when the hood stays fully open after the timeout sequence?
This is the Dome Light Array I installed:
http://www.oznium.com/flexible-5mm-led-dome
My situation is... when I open the hood, the dome light and strip LEDs all come on full power as expected. If I close the hood, just before it latches, I can see ALL the LEDs go off completely as expected. The strangeness happens when I open the hood and leave it open for an extended period. After about 10-15 minutes all the LED Strip lights go out (as expected), but the dome light LED array dims about 75%, but NEVER completely goes off? Again if I close the hood it does go off, but why is it staying partially lit when the hood stays fully open after the timeout sequence?
This is the Dome Light Array I installed:
http://www.oznium.com/flexible-5mm-led-dome
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,793
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria Ca.
I had the same problem on my 98-I believe it's something to do with the load monitored circuit of the underhood lamp not seeing enough of a load on the circuit to do what it's supposed to do.
Fixable,though-I wired a tiny (about the size of the button display lamps on the A/C control) incandescent bulb into the circuit,and everything works as it should.
I used a 115v bulb(don't need the light,just need the load on the circuit),but a resistor would have probably done the same thing-the important thing is that you need to wire the bulb or resistor into power and ground on the LED array(won't work if you wire it in anywhere else),and just attach it to the back of the array with a dab of silicone(this is why tiny is better)
Basically it'll do what the resistor in the headlamp circuit does when you install lobuck HID's(so the lights open and close when you turn them on)
What you're going for is to fool the BCM into thinking nothing's changed,because apparently,it doesn't like it when we "mess with stuff"
Fixable,though-I wired a tiny (about the size of the button display lamps on the A/C control) incandescent bulb into the circuit,and everything works as it should.
I used a 115v bulb(don't need the light,just need the load on the circuit),but a resistor would have probably done the same thing-the important thing is that you need to wire the bulb or resistor into power and ground on the LED array(won't work if you wire it in anywhere else),and just attach it to the back of the array with a dab of silicone(this is why tiny is better)
Basically it'll do what the resistor in the headlamp circuit does when you install lobuck HID's(so the lights open and close when you turn them on)
What you're going for is to fool the BCM into thinking nothing's changed,because apparently,it doesn't like it when we "mess with stuff"
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 20,030
Likes: 289
From: Wylie TX --> Less is More, except under the hood !
I installed something similar to you and mine does the same. It goes to about 1/3 power after 10 or 15 mins and never turns off. I'm not sure why.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 20,030
Likes: 289
From: Wylie TX --> Less is More, except under the hood !
I had the same problem on my 98-I believe it's something to do with the load monitored circuit of the underhood lamp not seeing enough of a load on the circuit to do what it's supposed to do.
Fixable,though-I wired a tiny (about the size of the button display lamps on the A/C control) incandescent bulb into the circuit,and everything works as it should.
I used a 115v bulb(don't need the light,just need the load on the circuit),but a resistor would have probably done the same thing-the important thing is that you need to wire the bulb or resistor into power and ground on the LED array(won't work if you wire it in anywhere else),and just attach it to the back of the array with a dab of silicone(this is why tiny is better)
Basically it'll do what the resistor in the headlamp circuit does when you install lobuck HID's(so the lights open and close when you turn them on)
What you're going for is to fool the BCM into thinking nothing's changed,because apparently,it doesn't like it when we "mess with stuff"
Fixable,though-I wired a tiny (about the size of the button display lamps on the A/C control) incandescent bulb into the circuit,and everything works as it should.
I used a 115v bulb(don't need the light,just need the load on the circuit),but a resistor would have probably done the same thing-the important thing is that you need to wire the bulb or resistor into power and ground on the LED array(won't work if you wire it in anywhere else),and just attach it to the back of the array with a dab of silicone(this is why tiny is better)
Basically it'll do what the resistor in the headlamp circuit does when you install lobuck HID's(so the lights open and close when you turn them on)
What you're going for is to fool the BCM into thinking nothing's changed,because apparently,it doesn't like it when we "mess with stuff"
Toque
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,774
Likes: 363
From: Midland TX
I had the same problem on my 98-I believe it's something to do with the load monitored circuit of the underhood lamp not seeing enough of a load on the circuit to do what it's supposed to do.
Fixable,though-I wired a tiny (about the size of the button display lamps on the A/C control) incandescent bulb into the circuit,and everything works as it should.
I used a 115v bulb(don't need the light,just need the load on the circuit),but a resistor would have probably done the same thing-the important thing is that you need to wire the bulb or resistor into power and ground on the LED array(won't work if you wire it in anywhere else),and just attach it to the back of the array with a dab of silicone(this is why tiny is better)
Basically it'll do what the resistor in the headlamp circuit does when you install lobuck HID's(so the lights open and close when you turn them on)
What you're going for is to fool the BCM into thinking nothing's changed,because apparently,it doesn't like it when we "mess with stuff"
Fixable,though-I wired a tiny (about the size of the button display lamps on the A/C control) incandescent bulb into the circuit,and everything works as it should.
I used a 115v bulb(don't need the light,just need the load on the circuit),but a resistor would have probably done the same thing-the important thing is that you need to wire the bulb or resistor into power and ground on the LED array(won't work if you wire it in anywhere else),and just attach it to the back of the array with a dab of silicone(this is why tiny is better)
Basically it'll do what the resistor in the headlamp circuit does when you install lobuck HID's(so the lights open and close when you turn them on)
What you're going for is to fool the BCM into thinking nothing's changed,because apparently,it doesn't like it when we "mess with stuff"
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 240
Likes: 2
From: Yangpyeong Gyeonggi-Do
The car has gone into sleep mode and it takes much less Voltage/Current to keep the LEDS lit. Use a 470 ohm resistor and you will be in business. Or, as pointed out above you can just put an incandesent bulb in the circuit somewhere.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 20,030
Likes: 289
From: Wylie TX --> Less is More, except under the hood !
Toque
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,793
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria Ca.
If I remember correctly(it's been over a year since I did it),if you only go to the positive lead,it will work differently,but it's still not right.
The resistor,or bulb needs to be wired into the positive AND negative leads that feed the LED array.(or between the 2 metal contacts that the original bulb clipped on to)
Either way,it won't dim the LED's-it doesn't drop the voltage,it just puts a load on the circuit.
That underhood lamp circuit seems to me to be a lot more complicated than it needs to be.....
The resistor,or bulb needs to be wired into the positive AND negative leads that feed the LED array.(or between the 2 metal contacts that the original bulb clipped on to)
Either way,it won't dim the LED's-it doesn't drop the voltage,it just puts a load on the circuit.
That underhood lamp circuit seems to me to be a lot more complicated than it needs to be.....
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
