Underhood lamp

[scottio]

Anyone know how to turn the Underhood lamp on?

thanks
scott

[docopharm]

If you have an '03 or '04 - you don't have one,  it was deleted by the General  

[docopharm]

Oh, and welcome to the club!  

[scottio]

No it's an '02. The lamp is there but can't figure out how to turn it on.  Tried all other lamp switches.  The only thing I can find in the manual says that the underhood lamp will turn off with Battery Run-Down protection but no info on how to turn it on.

[docopharm]

Well, I'll leave this to the '02 people then since I don't have one. I'm sure you've already checked this but you might want to look for some kind of pin switch that may be sticking, is the bulb itself good, maybe a loose wire? Hopefully somebody else w/ an '02 will chime in.

[PUNISHER]

   when you lift the hood try giving it a little thump.  or lift the hood with a little umpf.  it should come on for you.  it will turn off when you lower the hood.  it operates a little strange.  guess that's why they eliminated it.

[SovereignMgmt]

It works on a murcury switch. When tilted up the light should go on.  If it does'nt, try taking it off the hood and see if it works.  The bulbs could be blown.

[Bisonovich]

i had the same problem with my hood light when i got my Av...it'd come on every once in a while...but i figured out that it was a loose wire when i had to clean my engine compartment and the light would turn on and off when the stream of water hit the wire...

Patrick

[Lewdog]

You can try to take the light housing off the hood and tilt the thing back and forth.  You should feel something sliding around...I think it's some kind of switch.  Mine's a little flaky also.

[scottio]

Thanks a bunch everyone.  I'll give those things a shot.  Glad I found this site.

[bikerchic1977]

yeah i know i have to knock mine around every once in a while to get it to go on..

[ChevyV8Man]

Man that sucks about the 03 models not having a darn under hood lamp! I mean what possible reason would they have to delete this??

[vawhitez66]

It works on a murcury switch. When tilted up the light should go on.  If it does'nt, try taking it off the hood and see if it works.  The bulbs could be blown.

It dose not have a Hg switch it has a little ball bearing that slides back / down when you raise the hood and completes the circuit. I have had the same problem 3 times with three different problems.
1.  The bulb was bad.
2.  The fuse (can't remember witch one) was blown.
3.  The contacts inside were corroded.

Yes it can be taken apart it has 3 clips that has to be depressed to get it apart. If you look at it close you will see it. Hope this helps. If you have any question PM me and I will try to help.  

Dave  

[vawhitez66]

Did I help any?  

[DCP]

The underhood light works like a mercury switch, from the hood being in the HORIZONTAL position when closed the ball bearing gets gets stuck in that position. I have always had to just tap the light with my finger after opening the hood for the light to work. Tap it like a man!

[vawhitez66]

The underhood light works off a mercury switch, from the hood being in the HORIZONTAL position when closed the switch gets stuck in that position. I have always had to just tap the light with my finger after opening the hood for the light to work. Tap it like a man!

It is NOT a mercury switch.

[Durwin]

Hello Folks.
There is nothing like reviving an old thread.
Has anyone else had an issue with the underhood light? Mine used to work if I hit it. Now it doesn't work at all. I've looked on GM sites for the replacement assembly part number. I never could find it.

Any ideas?
Durwin

[Dutch]

My 96 Yukon had one.  It was on a small reel so you could un-clip it and pull it around to the rear wheel wells.  Never used it like that but had to replace the bulb a couple of times when I got too close with the car wash spray.  You might see if you can find it by searching under Tahoe/Yukon from the late 90's. 

Dutch

[RENORCR]

Have you try unclipping the light unit and shaking it? See if it rattle, maybe stuck.
Check bulb, too.

[MooseAlanche]

Man that sucks about the 03 models not having a darn under hood lamp! I mean what possible reason would they have to delete this??

GM wanted to save a few cents 

[Durwin]

I tried rattling it. Nothing. It's dead.
Durwin

[02 Z71]

Try taking it apart. As someone else said, either the bulb is bad or the contacts could be corroded. I had to take mine apart a few years ago. There is something like a big ball bearing inside that rolls back and forth when you open the hood. If that ball is corroded it will also cause the light to not work since it will not be making good contact. I sprayed everything down with WD-40 after I cleaned everything up and haven't had problems since. You also might want to put some bulb grease in the connector after you make sure that you are getting power to the light.

edit: corrected spelling error 

[BigBlackAv]

check ebay...they are easy to come by...i add 2 to my hood ( the type that had the cord and magnet assembly).
Good luck!

[Durwin]

Good Morning,
Does anyone have the generic PN for the underhood bulb? The GM part number is 9437173. I've looked on a few auto parts websites and there is not a standard bulb number listed. I tried the owners manual. Nothing.

I'll probably just end up taking it apart anyway, but it would be nice to have the bulb number ahead of time. How great of GM to delete this in later Avalanche's.
Durwin

[BigBlackAv]

lamp # 98 is my bet...i found it for an '01 tahoe...take it with you to be sure.
good luck!

[Durwin]

I will. Thanks much.
Durwin

[bucklwi1]

Hello Folks.
There is nothing like reviving an old thread.
Has anyone else had an issue with the underhood light? Mine used to work if I hit it. Now it doesn't work at all. I've looked on GM sites for the replacement assembly part number. I never could find it.

Any ideas?
Durwin

GM part # for the whole lamp assembly is

12450086

[loneraider]

I also fixed mine, took it apart the lens and the casing cleaned the brass contacts with sand paper . then i put the box back together and applied dielactric grease to the brass contacts for the bulb only!!! it works like new,,,,,,,,,  loneraider white  2002 ave z71 4x4  ontario/

[avz66]

Try taking it apart. As someone else said, either the bulb is bad or the contacts could be corroded. I had to take mine apart a few years ago. There is something like a big ball bearing inside that rolls back and forth when you open the hood. If that ball is corroded it will also cause the light to not work since it will not be making good contact. I sprayed everything down with WD-40 after I cleaned everything up and haven't had problems since. You also might want to put someone bulb grease in the connector after you make sure that you are getting power to the light.

edit: corrected spelling error 

Thanks for the tip I did mine yesterday 

[phildaddy73]

I have an 04 AV and was wondering if it's easy to add the underhood lamp?

[pmt257]

Mine was like that too, it would be intermittent.  Cleaned it up and it would work good for awhile, but then need to be cleaned back out.  I ended up removing the ball bearing and just putting a small toggle switch in the the main body of the light near the connector.  Just need to remember to turn it off when you close the hood.  It is controlled by the RAP system so if you do leave it on it won't hurt anything, just drive around with it on.

On my 02 the lamp clips into a hole on the hood, I don't know if the 03s have that hole or not,  if they don't then you won't be as simple as getting the lamp fixture, you would need to find a way to mount it to the hood.  One idea I have had, I have seen white LED trailer lights They are the long skinny kind (a single row of like 5 LEDs each)  I thought of getting 2 of these and mounting them to the hood, or to the firewall area by the brake boaster/ac condensor.  That would look really nice and do similar job.