Hey guys, I'm new to this whole forum thing, so I apologize if this is completely off point.

My headlights went out. I have a 2004 Madza 3 and the passenger side headlight went out in the early afternoon, and then the driver side headlight decided to go out that same evening. So, being the fully dependable person that I am, I really wanted to try to change them myself. I did my research online and got a really good detailed instruction on how to change them. Surprisingly, I pulled it off. Now it may not seem that hard to you guys, but the only thing I can really do with my car by myself is put gas in it and change my wiper blades. (pathetic, I know!)

In any case, my headlights still don't work. I'm getting a 12 volt reading off the connector, so it's not the fuse (plus my high beams and other lights still work) SOOOOO.. I got my dad involved. He decided to try to hook up the bulbs (I got H7 bulbs..) to the connector OUTSIDE of the headlight part (smart man, he is) and realized they don't line up. Looks like I have an h4 connector, but when I took out the old bulbs, they matched up to the new ones I put in.

Now, here comes the stupid thing (and I apologize this is a really long ramble), I threw the old bulbs out and they're long gone. The h7 bulbs are too narrow and the connector prong holes are too wide. How the heck do I get h7 bulbs into the h4 connector?? Is there an adapter? Did I accidentally throw something out with the old bulbs? Can anyone help me?

I was looking at harnesses (???) and is that something that would work for this situation?

I'm really trying to avoid getting raped by the local Mazda dealership. It sounded so easy to do... what did I do wrong??

Thanks!

 

Yes there's an adapter that attaches between the H7 lamp and the car's wiring. It would have been a black semi-cylinder that was attached to the lamps you took out. In addition to spacing the lamp so that it sits firmly in the projector I guess it must do something with the electrical connection as well.

Is there any chance you can get to where you threw your lamps out? If not then I'd say check either a junkyard or call the dealer. Just to compare I'd get a quote from your local dealer, then drop Jason from onlinemazdaparts an e-mail at mazdapart@gmail.com and see who gives you the better price.

 

icspots -

thanks for pointing me in the right direction! got it all figured out now.

p.s. those old bulbs were thrown out in a dumpster - they're loooooong gone!

 

The Light bulb holders list for $9.89 a piece at Mazda

 

Here is a possible cause:


One solution to intermittent or permanent headlight failure can be found on the post by SEVARGMT on 9-29-2010.

It seems to lie in corrosion of the wiring system connectors in the PJB, a specific wire connection junction box located under the passenger side glove compartment box.

It seems possible to repair the corroded pin connector but it is probably best to have the dealer replace the entire PJB to avoid repeats of this problem, as it is a dangerous situation when headlights go out at night, like mine did.

Brilliant problem solving by SEVARGMT and DJS2571. They also developed a convincing theory of what causes this problem: the air conditioning line located above this box creates condensation, which then drips down on the wire connectors and causes them to corrode, causing an electrical fault. They suggest a plastic drip sheet to avoid future corrosion.

Wouldn't it be great if Mazda assigned an engineer to read the forums for problems with their cars and prepare posts with solutions? It is plainly obvious that a problem is very common when you look at the number of "views" listed for certain topics, such the headlights (many thousands of owners have headlight failure problems). Mazda should have issued a bulletin or a recall since the corroding PJB is clearly a safety problem. This looks like a design/engineering flaw. Every electrician and plumber knows to never put moisture sources above electrical boxes. Shame on them.