The halogen light strip underneath the kitchen range hood completely burned out last week, leaving the entire cooking stove surface in pitch darkness. Changing the bulb did absolutely nothing, meaning the internal transformer box or the control circuit board was totally fried from the grease heat. Bought a basic universal LED replacement panel kit to rewire the system.
The old fixture housing was completely caked in a thick, sticky layer of cooking grease that made everything slick. Trying to back out the tiny mounting screws while looking upward underneath the cabinet was an absolute pain because the screwdriver kept slipping out of the slots. Had to use a pair of needle-nose pliers just to grab the screw heads and force them to turn millimeter by millimeter until the old metal frame popped loose.
The real breakdown happened during the wiring splice phase inside the narrow metal casing. The manufacturer used these incredibly short factory wires that barely extended out of the main wall conduit hole. Squeezing my fingers into that tight, sharp metal alcove to twist the wire nuts together while balancing a flashlight on my shoulder was an absolute puzzle.
Screwed the new LED panel down flat into the hood frame and snapped the clear plastic lens cover into the tracks. Flipped the kitchen breaker back on and tested the high and low toggle settings on the panel switch. The stovetop area lights up perfectly now.