Mazda Repair: headlight bulb replacement, rubber gloves, proter

Question
Hi John, I have a Mazda Protéger 2000 4 doors, and i have to replace the bulb for low beam. I tried to take it out by pushing on the lock on each side of the armature but it wont come out. There is a rubber bushing around it, should i removed it first and turn the armature either left or right? I dont want to pull too hard, dont want to break something? Need help.

tks

Robert

Answer
Well, it works like this.

You have the outer rubber boot, pull this back and disconnect the plug from the back of the bulb before you remove it. Your car is the last year of the 9003 style bulb in a protégé as remember and it will use a spring clip to hold it in as the earlier models. The spring clip with close examination "use a flashlight" will reveal that it is as simple as pushing the spring clip in and then unhooking the ends from the notches they lock into by squeezing the clip together. You can unhook one side at a time if you are unable to get them both unhooked at once. The spring clip will pivot out of the way when you have successfully unhooked the ends. The bulb should then pull out without rotating it. In the event that your car uses a twist lock ring you will have to of course twist the ring off and then remove the lamp, but I have never seen a vehicle that uses your style bulb use a lock ring style back.

As is normal, the bulb is located in an aria that is challenging to reach with any dexterity. I suggest wearing disposable rubber gloves to minimize the chance of touching the glass on the replacement bulb and ruining it. If you do touch the glass with your bare skin you will have to clean the glass with isopropyl alcohol before installing it.

Regards,

John