Underhood Lighting on my M-715 After recalling many late evening and even nighttime wrenching sessions, I decided to figure out a way to install lights on my 715 to light up the engine compartment.  A long time ago, I had purchased a cheapo set of fog lights. You know the kind, 55W bulbs, plastic housing, and if you're lucky, glass lenses. I still had them lying around, and in order to try and clean up some of my parts boxes, I decided to use them. I discovered that they fit like a glove right underneath the hood. I located them in the spot where a civilian FSJ hood would have the latch hardware mounted to it. As you can see, this setup gives you plenty of light and also extra visibility to other traffic around you, if you are stranded on a roadway. Note how the lights will not blind other drivers, but instead lights up the truck itself.  Now, here's where I moved this project up the bananna scale. I used my friends wire feed welder and welded on the mounting tabs for the lights. I angled the lights so that when the hood was opened completely, the entire engine bay is covered. I wired the lights through a switch that is located in the engine compartment. There was no need to wire an in-cab switch, since I'm gonna have the hood open anyway. This also prevents me from turning on the lights accidentally. And besides, there's enough wiring running into the cab! This next picture shows how the lights fit. The green bar in the lower right is the brushguard. You are looking into the front opening of the  hood. the radiator barely shows up on the left. It's in the shadow.  While at the local auto parts place, I ran across a really cool gadget that makes hooking up new circuits a breeze. I know, I really should have fused the entire circuit, but I didn't.  The little copper plates just slide underneath your posts. As you can see, I also upgraded to different posts. This allows me to quickly disconnect the battery without using handtools.  The switch is housed in a Radio Shack Project Box that was salvaged from an old train layout. That's why it reads Cab 1. The only switch that is currently (Get it? Currently!?) in use is the red rocker switch. Note the sight glass next to the switch box. Yes, there is AC on the 715. Also note the old plug for the old style ignition. After having it fry my Howell TBI filter, I disconnected the old system completely and upgraded to the regular Ford Duraspark module and an MSD 6AL module.  All images and text are © 2004 Ethan Brady. Please do not steal, but feel free to link directly to this page.