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Engine Dress-Up, Pt. 4 Installing Under-Hood Strobe Light
For the final trick on this engine dress-up, Andrew installs an under-hood strobe that's certain to make this engine an attention-grabber on the show floor.
- Materials:
- Strobe-light kit, Wire stripper/crimper tool, Mechanic's grabber tool
- Phillips screwdriver, Cordless drill with step-bit, Female spade connectors
- Eyelet connectors, Fuse Tap, Switch and extra wire
Since this CRX will be spending considerable time on the show floor, we opted to install an under-hood strobe unit to really draw attention to the dressed up engine. In addition to the unit itself, additional materials needed for this this simple installation include eyelet connectors, a fuse tap and switch.
- Steps:
- Use the light base as a template to drill two 1/8" pilot holes at the passenger side firewall to fasten the unit to the firewall.
- The wires need to get to the grommet at the other side of the engine bay, so hide them in the split loom.
- If the wiring that comes with the kit is too short to reach inside, strip the ends back one-quarter inch and extend the wiring with butt-splice connectors.
- Insert a mechanic's grabber tool through a grommet in the firewall close to the switch.
- Grab the wires with the tool and pull them back into the interior of the car.
- At the dash, pop out an empty switch panel from behind and take it to the workbench for drilling.
- Tip: The step bit works well for drilling plastic and can provide multiple hole sizes to fit the switch.
- Back at the car, a ground-wire gets connected to the negative switch terminal at one end, and the other end gets connected to bare metal at an existing ground point along with the negative lead from the strobe light.
- Use a fuse tap to connect a positive lead to a switched source on the fuse panel.
- The other end goes to the positive terminal on the switch.
- Connect the positive lead from the strobe light to the accessory terminal on the switch and pop the switch panel back into place.
When all projects are completed, put the battery back online and replace hood. This CRX's engine is now Tricked Out.
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