How do I get the old bulb out and the new bulb in on a '99 MX-5? I pulled the big round rubber grommet off the backside, but there's two clips holding the bulb...I bent one moving it, and can't reach the other. I have reached the limits of my limited expertise.
I had the same problem two years ago with my '99, and when I figured it out I posted it here. The following is a cut-n-paste:
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The back of the light bulb has three flat metal electrodes. If you look close you'll see there are little holes through them. The first thing you want to do is disconnect the black boxy power connector from the back of the burned-out bulb, but if you grab the connector that plugs onto these electrodes by the top and bottom, you can tug and tug but it won't come off. Grab it by the sides instead and squeeze in a little, it's got a latch which, when you squeeze it, releases the pins that hook into the holes on the electrodes, and then the connector slips off easily. I'd never seen a headlight connector that latched onto the bulb that way before. All this is a lot easier, too, if you do it in the daylight where you can actually see, rather than at night under a street lamp.
Next pull off the waterproof rubber sleeve, and provided it's daylight out you'll see a wire spring holding the bulb in place from above and below. If you're working on the (US) passenger-side light facing the back of the car, the spring is hinged on your right. Take your finger and press down and in on the top left end of the spring, and it comes free from where it's hooked on the metal housing and swings out to the right. Now the bad bulb drops out and the new one slips into place. It has three fingers sticking out from it so you can only put it in the opening in the correct orientation (where the middle electrode is up). Put the rubber sleeve back on and slip on the electrical connector and you're done, a two-minute no-tools-necessary job once you know how.
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Hope that helps! By "down and in" I meant "down" (toward the ground) an "in" (toward the front of the car.)
Also make sure you don't touch the new bulb with your fingers. Handle it with a clean paper towel or napkin. According to the package for the Sylvania halogen bulbs I bought, even just the infinitesmal amount of skin oil you leave on the bulb by touching it will cause it to burn out. The outside surface of halogen bulbs run very, very hot.
yrs jp
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