Incorrect headlight wiring & melted fuse

[priesh]

Hi all,

So I finally had some time today to look into my dim low beam issue.

All 3 wires were in the wrong place on the connector! Seems whoever installed the Hella lights swapped the high beam with ground instead of low beam with ground.

I also checked the fuse box, and the low beam fuse is completely melted. I assume it might have happened due to the wiring being incorrect?

Fuse 7 has been messed with as well but that's for another discussion.

So what would people suggest? Am I ok to just sort the wiring for both the lights, replace the fuse and test?

Or should I do something else as well?

   

[Rissy]

(18 May 2018, 23:00)priesh Wrote: Hi all,

So I finally had some time today to look into my dim low beam issue.

All 3 wires were in the wrong place on the connector! Seems whoever installed the Hella lights swapped the high beam with ground instead of low beam with ground.

I also checked the fuse box, and the low beam fuse is completely melted. I assume it might have happened due to the wiring being incorrect?

Fuse 7 has been messed with as well but that's for another discussion.

So what would people suggest? Am I ok to just sort the wiring for both the lights, replace the fuse and test?

Or should I do something else as well?

These original fuse blocks are a load of rubbish.  Even if you fix this one, and everything works great again, it's just a matter of time before the next melting issue happens.  I'd rip that box out and set fire to it yourself, and replace it with three of these:

https://goo.gl/images/64VEw8

This is what i did with my car years ago.  You DO need to slightly modify the tray to hold these, which is easier taking the tray out of the car to do, but it's a good excuse to clean it up and de-rust it etc while you're in there.  You can also assess the wiring leading up to the fuse carrier since you'll take all that out of the way to get the tray out.

Here's mine after doing that job.

[priesh]

That does look like the best permanent option. Might be a job for me this winter.

In the mean time am I OK with just replacing the fuse after sorting wiring?

[Rissy]

(19 May 2018, 15:15)priesh Wrote: That does look like the best permanent option. Might be a job for me this winter.

In the mean time am I OK with just replacing the fuse after sorting wiring?

If you're sure you can dig out the original terminals in order to fit something like the attached picture without any unwanted short circuiting, then yeah.  But it'll just be a bodge.

[priesh]

Thanks yes I'll do that initially as it's due an MOT soon. I'll have to do it properly though sooner rather than later

[priesh]

I've sorted it - the headlights are working properly now  

The wiring was completely incorrect in both cases (all 3 terminals were wrong!). Sorted that and put in new bulbs while I was at it.

I managed to dig out the wiring in the fuse box, and put in an inline fuse holder. I will want to do a more thorough job at some point.

This is the remains of what was dug out - the top bits are the blades of the fuse, and the bottom is the holder!