Headlight Cover Removal

[CheeseHelmet]

Hi again,

My driver-side headlight is cracked and sadly I don't have the funds to replace it atm. The problem is that a lot of condensation gets in there and I'm worried about it either shorting something out or it cracking even more when the temperature drops below freezing. For the time being I'd like to remove the cover and epoxy the crack.

So my question is: how do you remove the darn thing? From what I can see (page 09-18-5 of the service manual), there are 3 bolts and one of them is behind the bumper. Does that mean I have to take off the bumper to remove the plastic headlight cover? Also, can you buy just the plastic cover? The parts manual suggests that you can only get the whole headlight which is rather expensive.

Thanks!

 

[SirDaft1]

To take off the cover you're going to want to bake the headlight in the oven. There is only one tiny little screw that looks like it held on the lense. The rest is some nasty heavy duty glue that wont come apart unless its been warmed up. I put mine in the oven for 10 minutes at 240 degrees. Just set the headlight on a cookie sheet w/ some aluminum foil and it'll come right apart.

And yes, to take out the headlights you'll have to take off the bumper. Here are a few pics from when I blacked out my headlights this past weekend.

The red circles are where the bolts are to take off the bumper. The blue circles are where the two tabs are to take off the grill. There are also 4 additional bolts under the bumper that hold on the mud guard that you need to take off to access those two bolts that attach the bumper to the underside of the vehicle.

Here's with the lense off the headlight. Its a bad pic but you can see all of the glue I'm talking about on the lense.

Hope that helps. And let us know if you can find new lenses. I kind of thought about if it'd be possible to find new lenses while I had it apart b/c even after I buffed out the lenses, they're still not perfect.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Damn, that looks like a lot of work. I didn't realize that the two halves of the headlight were glued together but it makes sense to keep out moisture.

Perhaps I should just wait till I buy a replacement, I don't think it would be worth it to go through all that trouble to fix it up temporarily. That said, thanks for the pic and the instructions, I'll be sure to use them if I decide to go through with it.

 

[SirDaft1]

Yeah it's def a pain in the butt. But if you have an afternoon it can be done.

 

[P5Rydah]

To take off the cover you're going to want to bake the headlight in the oven. There is only one tiny little screw that looks like it held on the lense. The rest is some nasty heavy duty glue that wont come apart unless its been warmed up. I put mine in the oven for 10 minutes at 240 degrees. Just set the headlight on a cookie sheet w/ some aluminum foil and it'll come right apart.

And yes, to take out the headlights you'll have to take off the bumper. Here are a few pics from when I blacked out my headlights this past weekend.

The red circles are where the bolts are to take off the bumper. The blue circles are where the two tabs are to take off the grill. There are also 4 additional bolts under the bumper that hold on the mud guard that you need to take off to access those two bolts that attach the bumper to the underside of the vehicle.

Here's with the lense off the headlight. Its a bad pic but you can see all of the glue I'm talking about on the lense.

Hope that helps. And let us know if you can find new lenses. I kind of thought about if it'd be possible to find new lenses while I had it apart b/c even after I buffed out the lenses, they're still not perfect.

How'd the blackout turn out?

 

[SirDaft1]

It turned out good. Only big downside is that a few months ago I sanded down and polished the clear headlight cover b/c it was all nasty looking. Well they looked good afterward with the regular reflective insides. But now that the trim inside the headlights are blacked out, you can see every little imperfection in the plastic cover now. I might give the plastic covers another sanding/polishing, but otherwise they look great. Also put in some 5000k low beam and 4300k high beam HID's at the same time. Its a night and day difference.

 

[justanothermp5]

try plastix from meguirs or try the mag and aluminum polish
both work very well on a yellow buffing pad and high speed buffer

 

[SirDaft1]

Yeah I might try that. Before when I cleaned up my headlights I picked up a headlight polishing kit from autozone that came with a few types of sandpaper, a buffer and some wax. It worked wonders... but apparently not enough wonders lol

 

[burchett]

I understand the whole thing on how to get them apart! But can I ask you guys what are you using to glue them back together. I cant remember the stuff I used on my last car...but it almost failed, it almost melted the plastic. But I was able to save them. I think I need to black mine out since everything else on the wagon is! Thanks in adavace!!

 

[SirDaft1]

You don't need any other glue to put them back together. The adhesive that is already there will warm up a become pliable once you put the headlight back in the oven after you put it back together.

 

[burchett]

Wow really....... see that last set I did, I didnt put them back in the oven.
Did you clamp it with something or just press it together and stick in there and bake away?

 

[SirDaft1]

I put the headlight back together as much as possible when it was cold and then put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes to heat up. After it was heated up I just took some oven mittens and pressed it back together. Once the tabs on the headlight are back in place, it should be pretty much all set.

 

[e1or0]

MPV Headlight Power Connector

Sorry if this is not where this should be posted let me know if I'm in the wrong area

I'm struggling with the headlight power connector, what is the proper procedure to disconnect this power connector of the Mazda 2006 MPV? , first time doing this I haven't been able to replace a bad headlight bulb any help will be appreciate

Thank you

 

[justanothermp5]

^if its anything like the protege, you should just be able to pull the power connector off, then there is a clip holding the bulb into the headlight