Urgent! Fuse box dramas

[DieselMk1]

Hey guys, fuse 11 keeps tripping after rain and after swapping fuse boxes twice (now back to the original one) and wiper motors it keeps happening. After a few days it stops tripping but as soon as it rains again it trips. I've siliconed up the bottom of the windscreen and the antenna hole but I need it fixed asap. I have the fuse box out of the car to try and see if I can find where it's shorting in the box but can't get to the actual circuit board.

My Golf is a 9/80 model and the back of the fusebox looks a whole lot different to my '79 one



Any help much appreciated

Sent from my potato

[sports racer]

OK, it only happens when it rains so it's caused by water seeping into an electrical connection.

If it's working now have a look around the fusebox to make sure it's all dry. Check out the wiper motor and all around to make sure it's dry too.

Now get out the garden hose and start wetting the screen until the problem starts again. Disconnect the wires to the wiper motor and put a new fuse in or connect your circuit tester. Is there still a short circuit? OK, it's not caused by the wiper motor. If there's no short circuit connect the wiper motor and test again. Could be the motor thats letting in water.

Look to see where it's wet between the wiper motor and fusebox. You're looking for where the water is getting into an electrical connection so you might have to feel the wires, sometimes you won't see the water because it has seeped into a small crack in the connection. You could also undo all wiper to fusebox connections to see if any are damp inside.

This is assuming fuse No 11 is only for the wiper motor. If it feeds power to anything else then that will need to be checked.

Let us know how you go.

Cheers

Paul

[DieselMk1]

Thanks Paul great reply!!

I've done a basic version of your reply previously but today I nutted out the problem, on the pic I posted previously there are two pieces of metal at the bottom corroded together that I completely missed trying to get to the circuit board itself. I've cleaned up the area and have put a dab of silicone over an opening over that exact spot on the back of the fusebox, as well as the aforementioned silicone under the windscreen and antenna hole. The problem is now fixed and hopefully stays that way!! Thanks

Sent from my potato

[sports racer]

Great to hear.

I love old Golfs, so easy to fix. Sticky tape, bailing wire and Silastic can fix most problems.

[DieselMk1]

Haha true that!

In obvious Mk1 fashion though as soon as I put the fuse box back together along with the dash and tried my wipers again the fuse blew so now have the box pulled right down, have traced all the wires, and can only determine that it's the motor doing it even though it's a separate motor to the original one that I replaces trying to stop it last time. Ugghhhhhh

Sent from my potato