Shedding Some Light On The Subject...
One of the best items ever in older vehicles was the conscious thought of having an under hood light so you could see what was going on under there at anytime necessary. I think with the advent of what we here have termed over the last decade or two as "Closed Hood Laws" which in essence are the little by little chipping away at your abilities to maintain your own vehicle by the manufactures (and bureaucrats) without having to take it to if not a specialist, the Dealership of all places.
So the Hood light disappeared from use much by the mid to late 90's. More and more vehicles came with more complicated electronic sensors and the addition of the engine and all of its details were starting to disappear under plastic covers of all things, the oil dipstick & cap were still visible among brake reservoirs, oil fill, windshield washer fluid, and sometimes even a radiator cap in lesser complicated open coolant systems, all the things they wanted you to still worry about but we digress.
Many times in random driveways and parking lots we see many people with the all to familiar cellphone flashlight app trying to find a leak or a noise under the hood and being limited in possible charging resources or low battery when you may need to make that emergency call. The battery life of your phone then may be of more importance to call someone than using it to look for fluids spewing from the engine...
The pics to the right clearly show the differences between the two scenarios and for more than just simple looks. The amount of light that appears and deeply within the engine bay is stunningly useful and a great impression of artificial daylight at a relatively low cost as a modification and a great tool whether on the trail or in the driveway.
The amount of shadow light we seen is impressive from the front and well behind the fenders & front doors. We like complimenting this with our multiple functionality & use line of thinking within products. Including the way we use Rock Lighting to compliment the under hood lighting, adding it in a way that compliments the ability to inspect under and around the vehicle rather than being the latest craze in underbody lighting for just aesthetic appeal.
When orchestrated correctly, it certainly add to the functionality of being able to see completely inside the engine bay, completely around the entire front axle assembly / wheel & brakes, the rear wheel & brake assembly and fore / aft of the rear differential with our proposed 8 light rock light setup. This gives ample light to see or inspect anywhere underneath front or aft of the truck or SUV and of course the engine bay.
The LED strip light; comes in 4 lengths with a waterproof switch already pre-wired inline with a lead of wire as a DIY economical option and are available here on our site.. [Click Here]
A prepped and proper length of LED light strip that will be made to fit exact to tolerances and meant to make the installation as easy as possible. As each vehicle is slightly different. All necessary plugs, clips, screws, grommets, fuse, zip ties, etc.. will accompany each kit as complete kits to complete your install. Each harness comes with heat-shrink and loom for protection and for a professional factory look. - starting at $112.00 shipped *
Those wanting more of a complete and simple kit to install. We are adding vehicles to our line up as fast as we can get accurate measurements and parts kits together for those specific vehicles. Because much of our following is older vehicles, many falling in the 20+ years old category; parts are rare and in order to keep costs down, we try to engineer the kit to be as consumer friendly as possible along with clear instructions or soon to be installation videos.
12° North Industries
Las Vegas, Nevada 89118
Email: sales@12degnorth.com
Ph: 702.781.0302
Additional photos:
* - Local Installation by appointments only, add $35 flat fee for installation, call/email to set up an appointment
