Bug Update: Up Late and Wired

Recently I've been trying to clean every electrical contact on my car. I tackled my fuse box on Wednesday night.

The first step was to carefully wiggle off each female connector. These were really corroded, and I had to use a needle nose pliers a few times. Then I cleaned all of the surface area with sandpaper and steel wool. I did my best to scrub the inside of the connector, too. I worked one terminal at a time so I wouldn't get wires crossed.  It's a bit tedious, but the results were worth it.

Every bulb on my car shines brighter, and for the first time I can see my front turn signals in the daytime. Last weekend I was cut off trying to turn left because the SUV couldn't see the Bug's blinker, so this is making the car safer as well.

But when you're working with equipment that’s over fifty years old, something can break no matter how careful you are. When I thought I was done cleaning, I noticed the terminals that connected the left wires to the fuse box had come loose. I could tell the terminals had broken off before; someone in the past had soldered the terminals to the box. Since I could fit the broken solder connections together, instead of re-soldering the connections at 10:35 PM, I used a toothpick to dab some Gorilla Glue along the edges. I can get lazy when it's late at night.

Gorilla Glue quadruples in size as it dries, so this looks really messy, but I swear I only put on a tiny amount.

The glue does a solid job of holding everything in place. And I'm pretty sure this fix would last for years if I ran it as-is. But these connectors are responsible for the horn, interior light, and the headlight switch, so I ordered a new fuse box from Wolfsburg West.

 I am curious if a new fuse box will further improve my electrical system. I'll guess I'll have to see.

PS. I don't recommend using Gorilla Glue on your car.