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Mon Sep 15, 2003 12:17 am

I was out in my 78 westy and had some engine problems at night. Besides holding a flashlight between my shoulder and my ear, does any one know of a good light kit to install into the engine compartment to see the engine at night? Without unloading the back deck of all of your camping gear and taking off the cover? I just want to open the engine door and have light, especially when I need to charge up my deep cycle and I get to camp Late or what ever.

Any Ideas? Thanks Guys......

Mon Sep 15, 2003 2:26 am

MCI buses have a couple of reverse lights mounted in the engine compartment wired up to a toggle switch. I never thought of doing it to my vw, but that would be handy if anything happened in the dark. It would be pretty simple to mount a couple of lights with clear lenses from any auto parts store, and wire it directly to the battery terminals with a switch in the line. If you wanted to get fancy, you could wire in a push switch similar to a door switch to turn the light on when the deck lids open, and off when its closed. Jeremy

Mon Sep 15, 2003 2:27 am

Oh, it might be a good idea to put an inline fuse in to. Jeremy

Mon Sep 15, 2003 5:30 am

Wal Mart sells a rectangle RV light with a switch built in. I put one in an old bus I had. Worked great. 8)

Mon Sep 15, 2003 7:18 am

I used the Wal-Mart RV light also. It's easy to install, has a built in switch, and it works very well. I have an automatic transmission so it makes finding the dipstick tube in the dark much easier. Good luck.

Mon Sep 15, 2003 9:12 am

I have a very small trouble lamp with a clamp for emergencies that's very bright. For some reason the bulb started to melt the housing so I stopped using it but it was really bright (too bright I guess and I need a lower wattage bulb).

I've tried using a latern or maglight but they are simply too awkward.

I was about to mount a 3-bulb unit like the westy interior lamp but I decided to buy a Petzl climbers headlamp from REI. You know the one with the soft strap and the 4 LED lights? It's very bright and goes everywhere I'm looking which is even handier when I'm underneath the bus.

Mon Sep 15, 2003 5:04 pm

I've got a 12volt flourescent trouble light that has both battery clamps and a cigarette plug on the end. You can also buy tractor lights that have a magnet on the base so you can put them where you want.

Tue Sep 16, 2003 9:02 am

Headlamp may be the best way to go. I looked at our wal-mart and the RV section was only 8ft and no rectangle lights were there, lights of any kind actually.

Thanks All!!

Wed Sep 17, 2003 6:42 am

Yeah, headlamps are great, when you can find it. "Crap, it's in the OTHER bus!" So I am going to install a light in the compt. It's hard to lose something permanently mounted. Then the headlamp can be used to get up close or somewhere outside the engine area. Wal-Mart is only one place, there are many other stores to choose from. Dave

Wed Sep 17, 2003 8:21 am

You could mount a pre-68 bus dome light in there.

Sun Sep 28, 2003 7:03 am

Western auto, pep boys , auto zone , ect. sells led lights that you can use for any thing. I took a half dozen of them and mounted them in the frame rails pointing straight down and ran the wires in the frame rail square tube. Then wired it up to a pin switch and fused it. It works great in my application and turned out somewhat stock in apperance. The lights were about ten dollars a pair and are ment for accent lighting. They look similar to the led for an alarm system but come in all colors. :lol: