- My model of MX-5 is: NC2
- I’m based near: Lymington
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Surely there must be an easier way to change the NSF light bulb.
…TOO MANY!!
1 Like
It’s ridiculous but seemingly common in modern cars. Why can’t other manufacturers look at how Volvo & Porsche etc engineer their headlamps for ease of access ? Faking infuriating !!
2 Likes
Agree, bldy infuriating , skinned and bldy knuckles, swearing and tool throwing, they put a Man on the Moon 53 years ago, and yet modern computer assisted designers can’t figure out how to build in an access hole big enough to fit an Adults hand in to change the bulbs.
I had a similar problem with a VW Passat estate I owned a few years ago, unless you had an arm like an Octopus tentacle , or that of a 5 year old, you had a real struggle on your hands, as well as cuts and blood.
2 Likes
It is infuriating, I agree. Partly, the price we pay for having the lights neatly recessed away behind the nose and poor design.
I’ve tried both the wheelarch liner loosening and the move the fusebox methods. I now favour moving the fusebox. I just remove the three 10mm bolts securing it to the body and gently lift the fusebox off the threads - you don’t need to do any more than that and you can get your hand in to remove the plug, cover and bulb. (obviously large hands may be a tight fit)
I was surprised how little movement of the fusebox was needed to give much better access and without removing a wheel or getting dirty.
Of course, there is the third option of removing the nose to do the job… but that’s just overkill although not hard.
All three methods work and everyone chooses their least worst… or get Halfords to attempt it!
I bought the bulbs in Halfords. Woman behind the counter asked did I want them fitted. I just laughed!!!
If I had the time, I think I would have let them just for the fun factor.
2 Likes
when the bulb went on my clio, i found to my horror that to change it i had to strip the front end of the car!
litterally had to take the bumber off and then take the whole headlamp out just to change a bulb!
The problem I had was actually disengaging the spring clip from the bulb holder because you can’t actually see anything. Maybe the attached pic of the rear of the lamp might help.
1 Like
oh i have a quick tip.
before you try to change the dip beam its handy to have a replacment bulb holder!
old bulb holder have a nasty habit of breaking when you pull the ceased connections apart!!
you can get em on mx5 parts or main dealer.
Done a few, even early ones with no problem. Overheating due to poor connection appears to be the primary cause.
In age when Health and safety has become paramount , you would think that blown bulbs ,particularly at night would be considered dangerous enough to force car manufacturers to make replacing them easy for safety reasons, but apparently not.
1 Like
Those that care replace them, those that don’t wait until MOT time and get a fail. According to the DVSA 30% of fails are down to lighting and signalling - presumably bulb failure in the majority of cases.
Even some of the fixings that hold the bulbs in place are antiquated Heath Robinson affairs with strange shaped springs and clips that have to be taken off and replaced in a certain way, why cant bulbs just be held in with a simple bulb holder that is just turned and released easily just by feel ?most modern cars of full of high tech everything, why can’t this be applied to making maintenance jobs easier?
As petty as it may sound I find that jobs that should be simple and easy but have been made unnecessarily awkward ,a total wind up, like the plastic packaging of certain small items that you can’t open without scissors or a Stanley knife.
Rant over 
My BMW was as complicated as that, about a two hour job. A very pleasant surprise was my Volvo S40. At the back of the headlight was a simple stainless steel strip with a bent over end. Pulling it upwards out of a slot released the entire headlight unit, which then slid out of the car sideways. A two minute job requiring no tools.
The BMW I owned (330D) had other complications when servicing. To change the air filter the top suspension brace and the lower windscreen scuttle cover had to be removed (wipers removed first) then the air filter housing had about ten screws holding it on, some of which had to be removed by feel because they sat behind the line of the windscreen! After a series of expensive things going wrong with that car I traded it in and now own a Fiat Panda 1.2!
1 Like
I’ve never found an easier way! Infuriating. Actually there’s little need to remove a wheel, just turn it on full lock.
When my NC Miyako was scraped and the nose cone had to come off for respraying, I was astonished to find it made no difference whatsoever to lightbulb access. The lamps are within the engine compartment not the nose.
Madness that the French require you to have a spare set of bulbs…it’s hardly a roadside job!
1 Like
Lots of room for a head and a friend’s arm holding the liner out of the way. Just make sure you chock the car up safely before inserting head! Still working blind though!
I’m a big chap, turning wheel on either lock didn’t give me enough room.
I tried and failed from above (i’ve only suceed in changing the position lights from above),
so i went to the local car electrical repair shop and let them change it, they went from the wheel liner without removing the wheel! and suceed 