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I decided to dissect my fusebox after replacing it for a known good one and curing the problem to see exactly what had gone wrong for future reference, and also because rather frustratingly I had read all sorts of nonsense written elsewhere about what goes wrong with these fuseboxes.

My old fusebox with failing headlights circuit, sidelights come on randomly, no headlights, full beam ok (common issue)

The fusebox



The headlamp relay socket




The laminates that make up the fusebox are damp with signs of oxidation.

This is the outer cover removed, here is the area directly behind the headlamp relay



Rivets drilled out and all laminates separated

More corrosion



Opened out like a book



Fully opened out and separated



There was no physical damage to the metal tracks but 2 were shorting behind the headlamp relay due to the melting, they could be repaired though by insulating if needed.

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Whether the damp caused high resistance and melted the relay holder is not known but if your headlights have the symptoms described above or similar then this could well be the issue

Thanks for the investigative work Justin. I think I may have something similar happening in my fusebox around the wiper relay. All positions of the switch operate as intended, but, in addition, the wipers will give a sweep about once every minute, when switched off.

I had exactly the same issue a few months back and even purchased a replacement switch with the intention of fitting it until one day a strategically placed calibrated punch to the fusebox cured the issue.
It's not returned since the fusebox swap either

I'll try my Brummagen screwdriver tomorrow

That's the problem of our cars. The body doesn't age (well perhaps the gelcoat if parked outside), but the wiring gets old, brittle, corrodes and cracks. Together with previous owners who made repairs with clamp on fittings it's a recipe for electrical gremlins and possible fire. The electrical bits on my car are from '89 so 27 years old, but there are plenty Bronzes with 35 year old wiring. On my car the fusebox is close to my right leg (and upside down) so I have the habbit of kicking out a relay if it doesn't fall on the floor by itself. The only solution will be to make a new wiring loom from scratch with all new materials, so a new relay and fuses box as well. Wiring seems hell to me, but there have been good articles about it in the CKC mag that make it look easy.

I'll be honest, the wiring in my car scares me stupid, its the worst of both worlds, full engine management ECU sensors aplenty yet 24 years old and aged and brittle too not to mention countless bodges, I still can't get the fuel pump to work properly, if ever the car fails I'll be totally clueless as to how to rectify it.

Jin wrote:I'll be honest, the wiring in my car scares me stupid, its the worst of both worlds, full engine management ECU sensors aplenty yet 24 years old and aged and brittle too not to mention countless bodges, I still can't get the fuel pump to work properly, if ever the car fails I'll be totally clueless as to how to rectify it.

I totally agree with yourself and Hans, the aged electrics on our Midas does concern me also. This is why with the re comission of my MK2 as I have said in my rebuild thread that the electrical side was the first area to concentrate on. Luckily I'm the only owner so there has been no bodged wiring but even though it has always been kept in a garage I have found a few corroded connections and some brittle wire.

Hola. La caja de fusibles de mi Gold le falta la tapa y está descolgada. Alguien me puede pasar fotos de cómo va colocada y la referencia de la tapa para comprar una? En España es muy difícil localizar repuestos de metro.
Gracias