Driver's side Headlight fix

[Connor]

On the drive home from when I bought my MP5 we noticed the driver side headlight to appear dim or off sometimes and looked at it when we got back. The bulb works but it wont click into place and when it does it won't stay there in the housing so we think it is where it connects into the housing and what holds it in place. BUt, does this mean we need a whole new housing? Or what would we need instead?

 

[Hank3]

Is it missing the spring clip that holds the bulb in place? Check/compare with your passenger side. If it's the spring clip, those are pretty hard to come by. It was a poor design on Mazda's part, and some members have been frustrated with that in the past. But...some people have used some ingenuity to make it work.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...light-retaining-clip&highlight=headlight+clip

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...-pics-diagram&highlight=headlight+spring+clip

 

[kms1990]

all h7s are held in by the little metal spring/clip mazda/ford kia/hyundai toyota and several manufacturers use this design on varying models. check your passenger side for what the clip looks like. then just go to a junk yard and pull one off another protege or car with same clip(take your passenger one with you to compare). but your housing might be missing pieces that hold that clip on, in that case a new housing might be the best bet.
clip image as it appears on these cars: http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l585/CaptainCrunch01/Mazda5 How To/Headlamp5.jpg

 

[Connor]

Yup, it's the spring/clip I can get it to hold for now but I'll look into a more permanent solution for sure.

 

[kms1990]

go to a junkyard and find either a protege or protege5 and yank that one out, problem solved