NA and NB pop-up headlights are motor-driven, one electric motor per side, and a lazy or stuck light is nearly always a serviceable motor or linkage rather than a dead unit. This is an NA/NB feature only; later Miatas use fixed lights.
Slow, uneven, or stalled pop-ups usually come from dried grease in the gearbox, a worn drive gear, or a tired motor. Refresh before you replace.
- Access the motor: Each headlight bucket has its own motor at the pivot. With the light raised on the manual knob, you can reach the linkage and the motor mount.
- Clean and regrease: Open the motor gearbox, clean out the hardened old grease, and repack with fresh grease. A stripped nylon drive gear is a common failure; replace the gear rather than the whole motor when you can.
- Check the linkage and stops: Bent linkage or seized pivots make the motor labor and draw excess current. Free and lubricate the pivots so the bucket swings without binding.
- Manual knob: Each motor has a knob to raise the light by hand; use it to test travel and to park a dead light up for a night drive.
Adjust aim after any service. The buckets have adjusters that set beam height and lateral aim; set them against a wall so both lights sit level and even, because a rebuilt pivot changes the resting angle.
Sync matters too: if one light rises slower than the other, service both so they move together, since mismatched motors look broken even when both work. Keep the ground connections clean, as a poor ground is a frequent cause of a sluggish pop-up that tests fine on the bench.