Watson’s new “Beehive” lights mounted in a recessed stainless steel bezel are pretty slick pieces that can make your project car look like you spent countless hours engineering, designing, and fabricating the lighting on your custom build. The reality is that Watson’s StreetWorks have taken most of the pain out of adding custom lighting with their recessed amber or red beehive light kits. The Amber light kit is available in part number EL-10A, and the Red light kit is available as part number EL-10R.
These recessed lights mount in a 2.75-inch hole with either the amber or red LED conversion modules. They can work as parking lights, turn signals or brake lights or in conjunction with other lights. Designed to be the simplest mounting lights on the market even from a blank slate, we are going to show the process of installing one of these light kits here.
LED lights have some desirable characteristics that make them perfect for these types of applications. LED lights produce more light from less amperage and voltage than standard incandescent bulbs. They come on instantaneously, create far less heat and lasts 100,000 hours when used within the correct volt range of the unit. Less amperage use helps to relieve the strain placed on car electrical systems and the faster response time means other drivers can respond more quickly. Their low heat generation allows them to be located in tight spots, which makes LED lights perfect for this kit, and their long life costs less over the life of the car.
Here is how a typical installation goes:
The crew was working on an old Vela Rossa project car and discovered that the front turn signals were in bad need of replacement. The chrome was badly pitted and the lenses were actually deformed from the heat of the bulbs. Not uncommon in project cars. Finding the original parts was a proposition that was bound for disappointment and certain sticker shock. Watson’s StreetWorks’ amber recessed beehive lights were the perfect solution to the problem.
The Watson’s StreetWorks recessed bullet lights looked like they might fit correctly so the crew did a quick check to confirmed lights would work in the tight spot. All the lights require is a flat surface for mounting and about three to five inches of clearance behind them.
The kit includes a heavy duty silicone ring that slides on from the back side. The silicone retaining ring goes over the wires and bucket. A few drops of water will help it slide into place. While holding the bucket from the front, press the retaining ring as far as possible on to the bucket.
Once the heavy duty silicone retaining ring is in place, the supplied worm screw clamp is installed over the silicone ring and electrical wires to hold everything in place.
The LED light has two leads, a power and ground. First, connect the ground wire. If you want dual intensity, use the converter that is included, which will allow the LED light to function as both park and turn signals. The red wire connects to the light and the Yellow wire connects to the running light circuit. Finally, the black wire connects to the turn signal circuit.
The crew at Watson’s StreetWorks tells us that the flange on the stainless steel bucket will cover small nicks and chips that may appear when cutting the hole. If you’re careful, you could swap these lights into your car without so much as a paint touch up.
For more information about this or the other fine products from Watson’s StreetWorks, visit them online at www.watsons-streetworks.com