Can anyone point me in the direction of any instructions as to how to remove the panel under the wiper arms on an NC. I need to change one washer jet and check the pipework. Cheers
You’ll find a cover cap on each side of that plastic cover plate at the base of the windscreen. Remove the cover caps and it gives access to the screws holding the panel down, remove screws. Next remove the cover caps over the nuts that hold the wiper arms on, remove wipers arms from the splines, pull off keeping arm at 90 Deg to the windscreen, a wiggle and they should come free.
Now with the bonnet open you will see a black rubber strip running along the bulkhead cover, once this strip is removed (on small clip t piece type fastenings) you can then lift the the black cover upwards, it splits in the centre. A bit fiddly but you can get at the washer piping at jets by just lifting it up.
I had a jet blocked passenger side, so I thought, it turned out it was the pipe that side, it was full of black gunge. A flush out with hot water sorted the problem.
Remove the circular covers over the wiper arm nuts, undo the nuts & then remove the wiper arms. If they won’t easily lift away, wiggle them a bit & they should come loose.
Remove the 2 small plastic oval covers in the plastic panels, 1 at each end of the windscreen - careful, the clips on these snap easily.
Open the bonnet & remove the rubber seal which runs across the top of the plastic panels - this is located by a number of plastic “v” clips.
Remove the crosshead screws which were revealed when you removed the small plastic oval covers.
Remove the plastic panels by gently lifting at the joint & pulling forwards.
When you reassemble, you should find some helpful “dot” marks on the black portion of the bottom of the windscreen - these indicate where the wiper blades should sit.
Edit
MickAP - you beat me to it! Looks like you posted while I was writing my instructions
While the cover(s) is(are) off, take the opportunity to seal around those pesky white grommet-blocks as well!
That little job could save you a FORTUNE in ECU repairs…
BTW whilst you have the panel off clean up and silicone seal around the plastic/foam oblong grommets each side where those two screws fasten into. It’s a favourite place for water ingress into the cabin, wet carpet in the footwell, it dribbles through the grommets as the foam seal dries and perishes. Some even replace them but a favourite is the silicone fix. Plenty of stuff on the internet about the fix if you input the search mx-5 NC windscreen grommets etc etc.
You beat me to the grommets sealing, always worth doing whilst there in fact a must