Possible wiring problem ?

J

John Buchtenkirch

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When I flip the directional switch for a left turn (with the ignition keys removed from the column) the under hood engine illuminating light comes on. Is it supposed to do this (I don’t own an owner’s manual) or is a bad ground causing a back feed thru the light ? I absolutely stink :| at wiring problems so any help or information is much appreciated. THANKS ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
John,

The engine compartment light feeds off the low beam headlight circuit (at least in my 72 CS). It should only come on when the light switch is on. The hood wire connects to this line under the left head light cover. Check the switch at the top of the hood. Is it engaging the metal tab mounted to the firewall when the hood is closed?

It is possible that someone has previously messed with the wires. There is a parking light function on the turn signal switch. With the ignition off you can leave the parking lights on on either the left or right side of the car by the position of the turn stalk. Maybe the engine compartment light is connected to this left side circuit and the hood switch is faulty (I am assuming the light comes on with the hood closed).
 
Sven, I guess I should have been a bit more specific. This happens with the hood open but only when you use the park lights function on the left side, when you use the right side park lights function the under hood light does not come on. The car was painted not too long ago, maybe the auto body guy screwed up the wiring ? ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
So does the hood switch work when you press it (ie, turn the light off)? If so, then I do not see any problem. If you want to have the hood light on (for emergency illumintation on a dark night alongside the road), just flip the blinker. It is probably better than having the headlights on in order to activate the hood light.
 
Is your car a Euro model like a csi? I know that on my 3.0 csi, if I leave the turn signal turned to either the right or the left with the key out, the city lights light up on that side of the car. They were designed that way so that you can illuminate the outer side of the car when it's parked (if needed). I can't speak about the underhood light, because mine is missing on my car.
John
 
Sven said:
So does the hood switch work when you press it (ie, turn the light off)? If so, then I do not see any problem. If you want to have the hood light on (for emergency illumintation on a dark night alongside the road), just flip the blinker. It is probably better than having the headlights on in order to activate the hood light.
Click to expand...

Good point, that’s why I was wondering if it was supposed to be that way. Pull over because you suspect something’s amiss under the hood and flipping the directional to the left lights the traffic side of the car plus the engine bay --- it almost seems like it should be that way ??? It would kinda make sense if the engine had died because the battery wouldn’t run down so quickly. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
Does the hood light come on when the light switch is pulled into the parking light (1st) position (no head lights) and the hood is up or does htis only happen when the light switch is in the off position?
 
John,

Your question was timely. This wire from the hood light was among the very last things I am reconnecting/completing in my 2-1/2 restoration. Low and behold, I plug the wire in to the connector behind the left headlight tonight, flip the turn signal stalk to the left, and the hood light comes on. The wiring diagram must be incorrect and your situation is likely normal.

All is well in the world.
 
That circuit is not in the diagrams in the tech section. It makes sense that such a hidden light should not turn on just through the hood switch because a switch fault would silently drain the battery. Either running the 12V from the parking light switch or the turn switch stalk in the OFF key circuit works fine. The latter option is best as it draws half the current. So this may be normal. Gotta go test my car...
 
Son of a gun, my car is also that way, this is the first time I see the hood light work. I bet that even Carl Nelson doesn't know this one, or Blumax.
 
+1

my car has the exact same function and it seems by design and very usefull to me. Wonder if it works on the right low beam circuit for the rhd cars...
 
MANY THANKS GUYS. So it's seeming like I have one less thing to fix and right now I’m just loving that. I’ve definitely been burning the midnight fluorescents trying to get this old coupe on the road before the winter so one less thing can only be good news :-D:-D:-D. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
Tierfreund said:
+1

my car has the exact same function and it seems by design and very usefull to me. Wonder if it works on the right low beam circuit for the rhd cars...
Click to expand...

That is very clever. It has to be on the other side for RHD, here is the designer's logic: If you are messing around under the hood in the dark something broke down and you parked on the road to take care of it. If you are parked on the road you would turn on the side parking lights on the road side which is the right side for a RHD.

Time to test it on a RHD.
 
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