Chevrolet's built-in Trouble Light was the original flashlight hack
Published on Sep 28, 2025 at 10:33 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Sep 24, 2025 at 3:59 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Long before iPhones made every pocket a flashlight, Chevrolet drivers already had a trick built in: the Trouble Light.
Under the hood of ’80s and ’90s trucks lurked a corded lamp on standby.
Need to check a dipstick in a dim garage? No problem.
It wasn’t an app, it wasn’t fancy tech – it was the original flashlight hack, decades ahead of its time.
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The built-in hack hiding under Chevrolet hoods
Chevy’s Trouble Light was brutally simple, a small incandescent bulb mounted to a retractable cord.
Pop it free and suddenly you had portable light that could follow you around the truck.
The cord was ridiculously long, too – enough to snake all the way to the back of a Suburban.
This wasn’t a gimmick.
It was designed for grease-under-your-fingernails practicality.
Midnight breakdown on the highway?
Pull the light.
Oil check in a dark driveway?
Pull the light.
It was the kind of clever detail that made trucks feel like toolboxes on wheels.
GM even catalogued it officially as part number 15528774.
Not every truck got one, but plenty of Chevy C/K pickups and SUVs in the late ’80s and ’90s rolled out with the feature.
And for anyone who grew up with one, that little lamp was a lifesaver more than once.
Other brands had their own takes on the Trouble Light
Chevy didn’t corner the market on built-in lighting.
Datsuns of the era had corded lamps as well, and BMW tucked rechargeable torches into gloveboxes.
Mitsubishi’s Montero came with a removable unit, though half the time it was missing by the time a second owner came along.
The idea was always the same: cars that could help fix themselves when the unexpected happened.
These days, it’s all been replaced by the flashlight on your phone or maybe a USB-charged headlamp tossed in the glovebox.
Way more convenient, sure, but nowhere near as charming.
If you want to relive it, original GM Trouble Lights still float around on eBay for pocket change.
Chevy’s little lamp might have been retired, but it nailed the brief.
Light where you need it, no apps required.
The first flashlight hack, and maybe still the best.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
