Starting here, cut the power...
Starting here, cut the power to the light by unhooking the connector.
It wasn't too long ago that I started having wiring problems-not suprising for a Vette that's closer to 20 years old than not; wiring issues are going to pop up now and again. Add in the fact that "The Phoenix," Team VETTE's "Little Wrecked Corvette," has been in an accident or two in its life, and you've got a problem just waiting to happen.
Recently, battery power has been a little hard to come by. If allowed to sit for any extended amount of time, the '87 coupe has a hard time starting-if at all. To make a short-tech story shorter, the problem revealed itself as a small beam of light that was shining down from the engine compartment. As it turns out, the right-side light inside the hood had gone bad. The small gravity-type stitch on the inside of the assembly that turns the light off when the hood is down had burned out. Replacement leads you to a few paths. Because this is such an easy item to service, you could either directly replace the switch itself, or the unit as a whole. Team VETTE decided to go with replacing the switch, and to do so, we ordered the required parts from Contemporary Corvette. Contemporary, a long-time running Corvette boneyard, sent us exactly what was required, and in no time flat, we were seeing the light-or lack there of.
Why did we choose the route we did when sliding in the new unit was as easy as taking the old one out? There were a few reasons. The plastic housing that the light is packaged in is made of a very flexible plastic. At the factory, the light is torqued down pretty tight, and the area around the screws deforms a bit. The replacement had seen a little more torque then the one on the '87. And while no one will notice either way, I like taking the unbeaten path, and changing out the switch had more of a "car-guy" feel than something about as difficult as changing a light bulb. Enjoy!
 Next, follow the wires up...  Next, follow the wires up and around. Unclip any of the retaining connectors to free the wiring. |  Remove the two screws and...  Remove the two screws and push the grommet into its hole and the assembly is removable. |  Contemporary Corvette, a long-time...  Contemporary Corvette, a long-time running Corvette boneyard, had what we desired and more! You can see what we had to remove. (arrow) |
Here's the culprit. |  On the original piece, a small...  On the original piece, a small amount of filing removed any buildup from 15-plus years of service. |  Pop the pieces back in, and...  Pop the pieces back in, and you're almost finished. |
 Here's why we went the route...  Here's why we went the route we did. While this part will be seen by few people, the one we just pulled from the '87 was in great shape, so why change it? |  Once back at the car, push...  Once back at the car, push the grommet through the hole from the inside and reattach the light. Simple as that. |  Trace the wires back to the...  Trace the wires back to the clips and attach where required. |
 For the final test, reclip...  For the final test, reclip the power supply and test. |  With the hood down, there...  With the hood down, there was no trace of light. Looks like the problem is fixed. | |