Stock USDM P5 headlight beam

[Reaper11982]

So, my 02 USDM for some reason dsnt shine a beam of light in front of the car. When i bought it i figured the bulbs were goin out so i swapped them out for some ebays. I got more of a shine but, for some reason the beam seems to be "spread" out in stead of forward to shine on the street. I have to do my best to get home before dark because i cant seem to figure out how to "adjust" ive seen pics online of a horizontal adjustment screw along with a "vertical" my car seems to only have the vertical adjuster. Does anybody else have this issue? I really love driving my p5 and im sure i would love it even more if i was able to drive at night. Any help would be dope. Thnx

 

[Hank3]

The horizontal adjustment screw is on the outer edge of each headlight and behind a nylon cap. You have to take the cap off to adjust the beam horizontally. And to do that, you'll have to remove the headlight which requires taking off the front bumper. Once you have the nylon cap off, you can actually adjust the horizontal beam while the headlight is mounted through a slight opening from the top with a small flathead screwdriver.

Front bumper removal how-to:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123782943-How-To-Bumper-Removal-for-Protege5-w-pics!!!

And here's a pic of the passenger headlight where the horizontal aiming screw is:

Once the cap is removed, you'll see little teeth where a small flathead can be used to turn the screw.

For reference:

 

[TheSwapnessMonster]

Has anyone succeeded in putting a ratcheting wrench in there from the top?

 

[Hank3]

Has anyone succeeded in putting a ratcheting wrench in there from the top?

IIRC, I don't think there's enough room to do so. The small flathead is what I found to work best. The movement will be in smaller increments, but it works just fine.

 

[LostinCanada]

Thanks Hank3! I installed new lights on my P5 a few months ago and with summer hours being so long I never got around to aiming them, nor the PIAA fogs I replaced my broken OEMs with either. Once I get my engine back together this will be first on the list - I have all these nice bright lights pointing nowhere at the moment - kind of useless on dark rainy nights!

 

[Hank3]

Thanks Hank3! I installed new lights on my P5 a few months ago and with summer hours being so long I never got around to aiming them, nor the PIAA fogs I replaced my broken OEMs with either. Once I get my engine back together this will be first on the list - I have all these nice bright lights pointing nowhere at the moment - kind of useless on dark rainy nights!

You're welcome. Here's some additional info:

http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/ecespec/

 

[Reaper11982]

got it!

The horizontal adjustment screw is on the outer edge of each headlight and behind a nylon cap. You have to take the cap off to adjust the beam horizontally. And to do that, you'll have to remove the headlight which requires taking off the front bumper. Once you have the nylon cap off, you can actually adjust the horizontal beam while the headlight is mounted through a slight opening from the top with a small flathead screwdriver.

Front bumper removal how-to:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123782943-How-To-Bumper-Removal-for-Protege5-w-pics!!!

And here's a pic of the passenger headlight where the horizontal aiming screw is:

Once the cap is removed, you'll see little teeth where a small flathead can be used to turn the screw.

For reference:

So, i took the front bumper off, took the headlights off, removed that nylon cap and was able to adjust the passengers side to where i got a beam shining in front of the car. The drivers side, for some reason i cant seem to get that same beam effect. I found a philips screwdriver works better for the teeth on the adjuster once its all put together. I dont kno, ill keep trying for that beam. Maybe the bulbs are put in wrong? Is that possible in these cars? This is my first "import" car. I grew up with and all i ever drove were f-bodys, corvettes and silverados so, im fairly new to all these little details on these cars. Fucken love this p5 tho!!

 

[Reaper11982]

Thanks to all you guys replies, every one of them helps!

 

[Hank3]

Glad you got one side fixed. As for the other side, can you explain what the headlight beam looks like or take a pic of what it looks like on the road? It could be the bulb not being seated correctly I suppose, but could also be that the reflector is out of socket. The two aiming screws essentially tighten the reflector into the back of the headlight unit as a ball and socket. One of them might be popped out. Does the driver's side reflector seem loose?

And yes, a Phillips screwdriver (or 10mm socket) is easier to use to aim the vertical beam, but I don't recall if it's possible to aim the horizontal screw once the headlight is mounted and bumper is on.

 

[P-Funk!]

^x2 for the bulb not seated correctly - I had to be careful during the bulb install... and keep looking through the lens to make sure I had it 'right'...