3G Protege: Remove amber reflectors from sedan headlights
January-29th-2002 | 01:48 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Protege Newbie
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 12
From: Mississauga, Ontario
3G Protege: Remove amber reflectors from sedan headlights
First of all...sorry for the late info...
If y'all interested in removing the amber reflector from the headlight assembly...it's well worth it...but, it takes a while and it's AT LEAST a 2 person job...so if you're planning on doin this mod, get someone to help you...
First things first...the WHOLE front bumper must come off the car...there are about 6 screws underneath that u must remove...u have to take out 4 plastic screws in the wheel well...3 on the front and 1 on top...once the screws are off in the wheel well u must get to 2 screws inside of the bumper by getting inside...they are on top and they are quite difficult to get to...i'm pretty sure all screws are now removed...the next part is pulling the bumper off the car...there is almost a latch that is in between the headlight assembley the bumper and the car...u will have to pull the bumper off, but be careful and not to break anything...don't forget to pull out any bolts or screws on the top of the bumper...you'll have to pop open the hood to examine which screws are still holding the bumper...once the bumper is off, the fog lights and the grill with the mazda symbol should be pulled off...the fog light wires are still attached to the car...all i did was place it on the floor with some clothes under it so nothing will scratch...this is only info on how to remove the bumper...get thru this and your almost there...
To remove the headlight assembly is easy...nuthing but 4 bolts to remove and it's off...
To pry open the headlight assembly you will need to somehow melt the sealant...u could use a heat gun, but in my case i didn't have one so i juz used a simple hair dryer...the key in separating both pieces is to heat up ONE side only...the side i heated up was the end, the one where the amber is...there is a lot of sealant so you will have to heat this up pretty long...with a friends help, one of u should be heating the assembly and the other person should be removing as much sealant as possible, while prying it open...BE VERY CAREFULL IN PRYING IT OPEN...as soon as u can pry one side open, heat the rest while pulling it, as it will eventually come off...this procedure does take a while...
Once u removed both pieces break off the amber by prying it off...i did cuz i don't care about it anymore...u will be surprised that there is a chrome ring around the bulb, i think it makes it way better, and i don't know why mazda put them on?...anyways, there u have it...amber reflector...GONE...
Now putting it back together...i forgot to mention to get some good sealant somewhere...nothing to big or expensive...i juz grabbed some clear handheld squeezeable sealant...in my case i put a lot of sealant onto the housing and then tightly squeezed the clear lens onto it again...once it was all attached, i took some electrical tape and wrapped the assembly together so it's tight...six hours later i checked back and the sealant was somewhat dry, so i put more sealant where i first began to pry, so no moisture can get in...y'all should do the same if u see any spaces...after all this i didn't check it after 24 hours...
Now, y'all can remove the tape and clean anything that's dirty and y'all can put it back on to your car...everything is still the same, juz in reverse order...and there u have it...
These instructions are pretty precise...(my memory is kind of blurred since i did this bout a month ago)...but it will get u there...oh, btw, i claim no responsibility if something goes wrong, so juz be carefull out there...
If y'all interested in removing the amber reflector from the headlight assembly...it's well worth it...but, it takes a while and it's AT LEAST a 2 person job...so if you're planning on doin this mod, get someone to help you...
First things first...the WHOLE front bumper must come off the car...there are about 6 screws underneath that u must remove...u have to take out 4 plastic screws in the wheel well...3 on the front and 1 on top...once the screws are off in the wheel well u must get to 2 screws inside of the bumper by getting inside...they are on top and they are quite difficult to get to...i'm pretty sure all screws are now removed...the next part is pulling the bumper off the car...there is almost a latch that is in between the headlight assembley the bumper and the car...u will have to pull the bumper off, but be careful and not to break anything...don't forget to pull out any bolts or screws on the top of the bumper...you'll have to pop open the hood to examine which screws are still holding the bumper...once the bumper is off, the fog lights and the grill with the mazda symbol should be pulled off...the fog light wires are still attached to the car...all i did was place it on the floor with some clothes under it so nothing will scratch...this is only info on how to remove the bumper...get thru this and your almost there...
To remove the headlight assembly is easy...nuthing but 4 bolts to remove and it's off...
To pry open the headlight assembly you will need to somehow melt the sealant...u could use a heat gun, but in my case i didn't have one so i juz used a simple hair dryer...the key in separating both pieces is to heat up ONE side only...the side i heated up was the end, the one where the amber is...there is a lot of sealant so you will have to heat this up pretty long...with a friends help, one of u should be heating the assembly and the other person should be removing as much sealant as possible, while prying it open...BE VERY CAREFULL IN PRYING IT OPEN...as soon as u can pry one side open, heat the rest while pulling it, as it will eventually come off...this procedure does take a while...
Once u removed both pieces break off the amber by prying it off...i did cuz i don't care about it anymore...u will be surprised that there is a chrome ring around the bulb, i think it makes it way better, and i don't know why mazda put them on?...anyways, there u have it...amber reflector...GONE...
Now putting it back together...i forgot to mention to get some good sealant somewhere...nothing to big or expensive...i juz grabbed some clear handheld squeezeable sealant...in my case i put a lot of sealant onto the housing and then tightly squeezed the clear lens onto it again...once it was all attached, i took some electrical tape and wrapped the assembly together so it's tight...six hours later i checked back and the sealant was somewhat dry, so i put more sealant where i first began to pry, so no moisture can get in...y'all should do the same if u see any spaces...after all this i didn't check it after 24 hours...
Now, y'all can remove the tape and clean anything that's dirty and y'all can put it back on to your car...everything is still the same, juz in reverse order...and there u have it...
These instructions are pretty precise...(my memory is kind of blurred since i did this bout a month ago)...but it will get u there...oh, btw, i claim no responsibility if something goes wrong, so juz be carefull out there...
January-29th-2002 | 06:14 PM
#2
MP3 Owner
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 568
From: Florida
Thanks for the info...I might try this one of these days 
I thought about getting some paint the color of my car and painting all of the plastic around the chrome housings the same color as my car. What do you think that would look like? Good? Hmm.... 
I thought about getting some paint the color of my car and painting all of the plastic around the chrome housings the same color as my car. What do you think that would look like? Good? Hmm....
April-9th-2002 | 06:25 PM
#4
Protege Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 90
From: London, ON
A How-To for Clear Signals
For anybody that would like to have clear front bumper signals like mine, I finally wrote up a how-to on how I did mine. I've had mine on since October and they have held up great through the winter. I am very happy with this apperance modification.
1. I purchased APC 95-98 Mitsubishi Eclipse signals, their cost was about $70.
2. You will need a good Acrylic glue (like the one pictured below), a Dremel tool with a sanding wheel, and a reaming bit. And few sheets of 150 grit sandpaper.
3. Install the reaming bit on the Dremel and begin to cut the side of the reflector all the way around. You want to cut between the lip of the reflector and the lip of the backing plate being careful not to touch these with the Dremel or the edges will look crappy afterwards. Cut into the clear part until you see that you have reached the chrome part of the backing plate.
4. You can then pull apart the 2 pieces. Install the sanding wheel on the Dremel and sand the rough edges away on both parts. Do this until both pieces will fit flush together. Do not worry about uneven edges right now, that will be fixed in the next step.
5. Lay a sheet of sandpaper on your work table and sand the edges of both pieces until they are perfectly smooth and leaves no gaps when the two are placed together.
6. On the back side of the backing plate there are some tabs that need to be removed. There are two at one end and two at the other. Sand them away with the Dremel. Make sure to do this or the reflector will not sit flush on the bumper.
THERE...
...GONE
7. Clean both pieces very well, you don't want the dust to be trapped inside. Then glue together with the acrylic glue and apply some pressure for about ten seconds. I then taped the pieces and let it dry for 12 hours.
8. Once dry added a 1/4" strip of silver adhesive vinyl to the edge to cover up any screwups and to make the piece look like one.
BEFORE>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<AFTER
9. To mount it on the car you pop off the amber reflector and you will see 3 holes behind it. You will have to trim a notch out of the center hole to fit the slightly larger bulb housing of the new reflector.
Anyways that's about it, if you have any more questions I'm here to help!
Ciao, Mark
1. I purchased APC 95-98 Mitsubishi Eclipse signals, their cost was about $70.
2. You will need a good Acrylic glue (like the one pictured below), a Dremel tool with a sanding wheel, and a reaming bit. And few sheets of 150 grit sandpaper.
3. Install the reaming bit on the Dremel and begin to cut the side of the reflector all the way around. You want to cut between the lip of the reflector and the lip of the backing plate being careful not to touch these with the Dremel or the edges will look crappy afterwards. Cut into the clear part until you see that you have reached the chrome part of the backing plate.
4. You can then pull apart the 2 pieces. Install the sanding wheel on the Dremel and sand the rough edges away on both parts. Do this until both pieces will fit flush together. Do not worry about uneven edges right now, that will be fixed in the next step.
5. Lay a sheet of sandpaper on your work table and sand the edges of both pieces until they are perfectly smooth and leaves no gaps when the two are placed together.
6. On the back side of the backing plate there are some tabs that need to be removed. There are two at one end and two at the other. Sand them away with the Dremel. Make sure to do this or the reflector will not sit flush on the bumper.
THERE...
...GONE
7. Clean both pieces very well, you don't want the dust to be trapped inside. Then glue together with the acrylic glue and apply some pressure for about ten seconds. I then taped the pieces and let it dry for 12 hours.
8. Once dry added a 1/4" strip of silver adhesive vinyl to the edge to cover up any screwups and to make the piece look like one.
BEFORE>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<AFTER
9. To mount it on the car you pop off the amber reflector and you will see 3 holes behind it. You will have to trim a notch out of the center hole to fit the slightly larger bulb housing of the new reflector.
Anyways that's about it, if you have any more questions I'm here to help!
Ciao, Mark
Last edited by RiceWagon; April-9th-2002 at 07:31 PM.
June-10th-2002 | 08:57 PM
#8
Protege Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 332
this is awesome, but the pics dont work 
. try hosting them in hypermart.net. its free. If you want ill host them on my account for you. I really want to do this mod. PM me and email the pictures to zackyfarms16@hotmail.com. the path for them should be http://teampriority.hypermart.net/pics/!!filename!!.jpg
thats the directory that it will be in. tell me if you need me to do that. peace
. try hosting them in hypermart.net. its free. If you want ill host them on my account for you. I really want to do this mod. PM me and email the pictures to zackyfarms16@hotmail.com. the path for them should be http://teampriority.hypermart.net/pics/!!filename!!.jpgthats the directory that it will be in. tell me if you need me to do that. peace
June-11th-2002 | 10:14 AM
#9
Da Original Don Dada
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 286
From: Oak Harbor,Wa
good info....but you can purchase the clear bumper lights for a lot cheaper then $70 bucks
http://www.procarparts.com/store/dis...314-1401P-CL-U
http://www.procarparts.com/store/dis...314-1401P-CL-U
June-11th-2002 | 01:31 PM
#10
Protege Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 332
Originally posted by zuMP5
good info....but you can purchase the clear bumper lights for a lot cheaper then $70 bucks
http://www.procarparts.com/store/dis...314-1401P-CL-U
good info....but you can purchase the clear bumper lights for a lot cheaper then $70 bucks
http://www.procarparts.com/store/dis...314-1401P-CL-U
June-11th-2002 | 04:48 PM
#11
Da Original Don Dada
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 286
From: Oak Harbor,Wa
I don't have these on my car...I was just saying that you can get these for less then $70 bucks like ricewagon was saying...of course you have to do some modifications to these...thats what this whole thread is about...ricewagon was giving instructions on how to modify them to fit the MP5
June-11th-2002 | 11:23 PM
#13
Protege Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 332
yea, i actually just went to the link and downloaded the pics. I just ordered these today. Hope theylle come in soon. thanks for the how-to. Now all i gott do is find a damn dremel tool and buy all that stuff. Whered you get the silver vynl from and approximatly how much?
June-12th-2002 | 04:57 PM
#14
Protege Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 90
From: London, ON
vinyl
I got the vinyl from a local sign shop, they just matched the vinyl to the color of the car and charged me $6.50 CAN for a yard of material, I was also able to use the vinyl to make some eye-lids for the headlights.
