Cargo light switch

[stefan]

well i gave up trying to find one of the factory latches...

ford escorts have a light under the hood that turns on when you open it up. The light has a built in mercury switch. So i canibalized one so i just had the mercurey switch



and i wired it in so it switched the ground.





then i figured out what angle it switched on at.

then i zip tied it inside that hatch at the appropriate angle so it grounds when the hatch is lifted.





and there you go! its very easy to make and works great.

[25Horseplay]

Thats a great idea, and an easy one!

[nonamekid]

you should be able to get mercury switches at your local autostart/ car alarm installer. They also should sell the typical switches for hoods.

[packrat427]

Very nice discovery and nice job making it all work !!

[freshtiva]

I used an old dome light switch from a parts festiva. Works great

[MTec007]

heres a list of cars with mercury switches, for your reading pleasure:

http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/Mercury/upload/HWMP_FS_Merc-Vehicles.pdf

[fastivaca]

Up here all the mercury switches are pulled from cars being scrapped before they're put out in a yard so I have yet to find one at the local PnP. Thanks for a great idea though.

[MTec007]

well i dont know for sure, but our yard is a little rinky-dink redneck yard so i dont think they would worry about mercury switches

[MTec007]

i did the mercury switch today. the one i got was melted badly but works fine. i didnt have to modify it at all just took a 3 amp mini fuse and plugged it in where the light bulb was at.. bingo and done