Under Hood Work Lights - What Do You Use?

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BHopkins

Joined
Nov 3, 2013
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Location
Northern Utah
When visiting my son at his shop, he was using a Milwaukee M12 under hood work light, and I was amazed at how well the light illuminated the entire engine bay, with few shadows. So I'm getting the itch to pick one up for me. The reviews are very favorable, all except for battery life. But that is to be expected.

https://www.amazon.com/Clip-Light-M...ee+underhood+work+light&qid=1775160829&sr=8-1

But before pulling the trigger, I thought I'd ask, what do my fellow BITOG mates use? Do you like it? Is it bright enough? Does the battery last long enough? How well does it attach to the hood? Both of my cars have aluminum hoods, so lights that attach with magnets are out of the running.
 
It shines brightly under the hood of a Chevy Express van. At full brightness it takes 2 5Ah batts to last throughout the day.
Tomioka

Post in thread 'What are you working on today?'

2003 Chevy Express 3500 Van 6.0L water pump replacement. 186,000mi on van.

Getting the shroud off made the engine front end accessible.
IMG_0531.JPG


New water pump, t-stat, tensioner, idler pulley and belts installed. Reused original fan clutch. Hated that someone was in here already with the aftermarket water pump and all the constant tension clamps replaced with worm clamps.
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For future reference in case someone tears into the belt system so they don't have to replace still good parts. Cuz the belt system looked like it has been replaced not that long ago.
IMG_0533.JPG
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This was my setup with a pair of Astro's 52SL's prior to the Milwaukee M12. Only downside is the non-swappable battery so these lights need to take a lunch when at full brightness.
Tomioka

Post in thread 'What are you working on today?'

2008 Ford F150 4.6L intake manifold replacement. I dreaded the job every time I kept thinking about it because it's a lot of R&R work. Didn't take that much pics because I ran into a bunch of snafus particularly the last half of the manifold install.

Manifold removed which begins the horrid part of the job, cleaning and removal of coolant. Coolant down the tube seals and the valley. Cleaning and checking head mating surfaces since I read a few instances of pitting around the coolant passages. Put a dab of RTV around the coolant passages on the head. After the cleanup was done, I also...
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I've used it in interior work to light up the area but not as much in crevices where the 52SL's shine.
 
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I have the Makita 18V - battery life on full bright is about four hours. Light is bright and even. I am in both the Makita and Milwaukee battery ecosystems - and it just stands to reason that the light with the 5.0 Ah 18V will have a longer battery life, at the same brightness, than the 2.5 - 5.0 Ah at 12V.

IMG_3900.webp
 
I use the same Makita DML818 as @Astro14 does. A bit pricey initially (~$200 for tool only at HD), but solidly built and comes with the attaching bar/hook set-up that allows for a good range of adjustment. I have 9 Makita batteries that range from 2.0-5.0Ah so it fits right in. Very bright (on high setting) and even light, with a couple 5.0s it'll burn for seemingly days on end.
 
BHopkins said:
When visiting my son at his shop, he was using a Milwaukee M12 under hood work light, and I was amazed at how well the light illuminated the entire engine bay, with few shadows. So I'm getting the itch to pick one up for me. The reviews are very favorable, all except for battery life. But that is to be expected.

https://www.amazon.com/Clip-Light-M...ee+underhood+work+light&qid=1775160829&sr=8-1

But before pulling the trigger, I thought I'd ask, what do my fellow BITOG mates use? Do you like it? Is it bright enough? Does the battery last long enough? How well does it attach to the hood? Both of my cars have aluminum hoods, so lights that attach with magnets are out of the running.
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That's the light I have. No complaints. I use it for interiors too.
 
I have an older one from Astro but it needs to be charged but after reading in this thread I realize it is time. I am looking at this Dewalt from HD for the price it seems like a good buy. I have plenty of the regular non powerstack batteries I no longer use to feed it.

Dewalt DCL045B
 
I have had so many of the portable battery-powered lights, and strap-on head lamps fail that I'm resolved to never buy another one again unless it is name brand.

Now, the Makita DML818 is something I could get behind now that I'm in the Makita 18v infrastructure.

However, doesn't this seem like a good application for a corded light? Don't get me wrong, I love my battery powered impact tools, but doesn't a tool that only gets put in place once and never gets moved seem like a good corded application? Especially with how expensive the batteries are?
 
I have several retractable drop lights with long cords attached to the ceiling and just hang or stick them somewhere under the hood. I keep thinking about a rechargeable one, but these are still going strong.
 
I'm a Milwaukee guy and don't believe in having multiple platforms and chargers. The M12 is great. Run 6.0 or 5.0 XCs and you might change the battery once in an 8 hour day.

I used to have a corded one but absolutely despise cords and hoses.

I also won't own anything with integrated batteries if external, swappable batteries are available. Thus the Astro craze confuses me. If you forget to plug it in overnight it's out of commission the following morning
 
bdc101 said:
However, doesn't this seem like a good application for a corded light? Don't get me wrong, I love my battery powered impact tools, but doesn't a tool that only gets put in place once and never gets moved seem like a good corded application? Especially with how expensive the batteries are?
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The corded ones come with very long cords (which is handy) because you need to be able to take it to full lift height.

Yes, plenty of operations require topside and underside work and you can't be removing the light every time. Sometimes I'll run a vehicle up/down 5-6 times in an hour (granted, some of that is because I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer)
 
D60 said:
The corded ones come with very long cords (which is handy) because you need to be able to take it to full lift height.

Yes, plenty of operations require topside and underside work and you can't be removing the light every time. Sometimes I'll run a vehicle up/down 5-6 times in an hour (granted, some of that is because I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer)
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Yes, I agree, but it's a huge PITA to move a 36" light around under a car on jack stands (or even a quickjack in my case). I would continue use my normal corded stand-up light for underhood (which is likewise unwieldy to use on top of the engine)
 
bdc101 said:
Yes, I agree, but it's a huge PITA to move a 36" light around under a car on jack stands (or even a quickjack in my case). I would continue use my normal corded stand-up light for underhood (which is likewise unwieldy to use on top of the engine)
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I dunno what you're talking about but the hood light stays on the hood 100% of the time as the vehicle goes up/down and if I'm under the vehicle I'm usually just relying on my headlamp, although I do also have the M12 magnetic under-hoist light.

It sounds like whatever system you have works good for you, so that's fantastic
 
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