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How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:03 am
by Jeff P
Well, this never made it to the Modifications section of BerettaNet, so here it is:

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Installing An Underhood Light
This is the procedure for adding an underhood light to your Beretta.  The example vehicle is a 1992 Beretta GTZ with the 2.3L Quad 4 engine.  The hoodlight can be added to all Berettas, though the wiring and engine bay layout will be slightly different depending on the year of the car.   Install time is about half an hour and pictures are included to help you along.

Why add an underhood light?
One of the great options in the 1987-1990 Berettas was a light attached to the underside of the hood.  This allows you to see things in your engine compartment without the need of a flashlight or shop light.

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Parts Needed
*Underhood light from 1987-1990 Beretta (Other vehicle models may also work)
*Stock wiring for underhood light INCLUDING fusible link (don't want a fire!)
*Two 1/8-inch diameter rivets with a 5/32- to 5/16-inch grip range

Tools Needed
*Drill with 1/8-inch drillbit (Note that some cars have predrilled holes for this install)
*Rivet gun
*Utility knife
*Standard ruler
*Large flat-headed screwdriver (for removing plastic retainers under hood)
*10mm deepwell socket with ratchet or driver
*Whatever tool you need to attach your ground wire (depends on where you ground it)

Procedure
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Remove the liner from the underside of the hood by prying then wiggling the plastic retainers.  Find the reference hole and measure upward (from the top of the hole) along the support brace.  Make a mark at 2-11/16 inches (6.8 cm) and a mark at 3-7/8 inches (9.8 cm), then drill a hole at each mark.   Note:  It is very important that you get these measurements right, especially on the newer cars.  If the hoodlight is too low, it will be smashed on the brake master cylinder.

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Hold the hoodlight up to the support brace so that the plug is hanging down and the bracket is on the right, aligned with the holes.   Rivet the bracket to the support.

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Run the wiring down the hood, then reinstall the hood liner, but leave the right side loose so you can access the hood light.

Look for a faint rectangular outline on the front of the hood liner where the light would normally protrude.   If it is there, cut the rectangle out.  If it is not there, carefully cut around the hood light from the back side of the liner to allow the light to pass through.  Install the remaining hood liner retainers.

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Run the black wire with the red stripe to the junction block and attach it with the other red wires.   Run the solid black wire to a suitable grounding point.  I used an existing hole on the firewall but you may need to drill a new one. At this point the light should illuminate.  If it does not, the problem is a burnt out bulb (#561), a burnt fusible link, loose contacts, or a defective mercury switch.

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That's it!  Have fun :beer:

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:58 pm
by IsaacHayes
I have one that will fit right up to my hood. I've always wondered what this little red wire w/black connector was by my wiper motor though. I'll see if it's a hot wire, perhaps that's where it should plug into for power.. Hmmm.

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:48 am
by Jeff P
You know, it didn't even dawn on me before when you mentioned it....That red wire with the black connector is probably your fuel pump test lead.  You apply 12 volts to it to test the fuel pump.

General Note:  The pictures will probably be down for several days while I move.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:12 pm
by Scanman88GT
Nice write-up you've got here. My 88GT already had the light on the drivers side of the hood, but I wanted one for the opposite side. I got one from a junkyard, and mounted it right across from the stock one, and just ran the wires over to the stock light and spliced them in. This also gave me an excuse to buy a new hood insulation mat. I just cut a hole in it to clear the new light on the left side.

It lights up the whole engine bay pretty nicely at night.

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:39 pm
by IsaacHayes
Jeff, yup, your're right. Rex told me what that was when I came over to his place recently. My hood liner has a cut-out for the light and it's 94. My hood now though is an 89? I think. I have the dome light from it when I took it off to paint it, but never installed it yet....

Any idea when the pictures will be back up?

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:49 am
by Jeff P
Yeah, sorry the pictures haven't been back up.  I'm looking for a new ISP (mine's 'spensive) and haven't found anyone to host the files thus far.  PhotoBucket allows remote image linking and it's free, right?

I know about the whole painting thing, heheh.  I'm still trying to get my hood struts back in from October  Must find a hardware store with the right rivets!

And Scanman, sorry I never answered you way back in November.  Haven't been around much.  I tried the dual hoodlight setup in my '88 GT (I think?  Maybe it was my Z) a couple summers ago, but found I had no clearance.  Glad you got yours working!

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:12 pm
by 1988GTU
Yeah, PBucket is free.

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 2:45 am
by Guest
Any idea when the pictures will be back up?

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:26 am
by Jeff P
Hopefully the pictures will be up within a couple weeks.  Long story short, the pictures are on some media that I have not been able to access (old backups), but have a new drive on the way.  Then hopefully my new ISP will give me some free webspace since they block me from hosting on my own.

On a side note, I bought a brand new hoodliner for my '88 and it didn't have the cutout for the hoodlight.  Seems strange unless they superceded the original part number to just use the newer liners (95+?).  I know they did that with the windshield wiper arms...

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:49 am
by Jeff P
Alright, I can finally access the pictures again, and since I'm unable to edit my original post at the current time, I'll post the pics down here until I get that fixed:

What You're Shooting For


Tools Needed


Drill Points


Riveted On


Hoodliner Ready for Trimming


Wiring

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:55 pm
by 91-GTZ
Thanks Jeff,
I added mine last week.

How To Install A Hoodlight

Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 7:20 pm
by Jeff P
Awesome  I don't know why they got rid of these things!