mad electrics, help me before i blow up

[gordie]

For the past week or so the thick red wire coming from the ingnition switch has been getting very hot when i put my lights on, and one of the brow wires has burnt through completely.

now its started to suddenly stop all the electrics for a second then carry on.

[FredTransit]

What year and model is it? Mk2 and Mk3 have different switches (though I am sure the wires do simular things). Our big un burnt out a wire going to Marlow and I had to travel up the M40 holding the wiring loom together!!! The things you do to get a job done......

[gordie]

it's a J reg with a banana manifold (thats as much as i know)

[rover]

Sounds like you have either got a short circuit, or more likely the dim-dip resistor has gone tits-up, the resistor is located by the off side headlight, unplug it and then put your light switch to on and see if the wire still gets hot, if it doesnt then that shows there are no shorts between the switch and the resistor, and so the resistor is probably at fault, if it does still get hot then you have a short somewhere so check for chaffed wires going to the lights from the switch.

The other possibility is the switch itself but less likely.

Rover.