electrical questions, replaced fuses, then... Options

[double-a]

i replaced all the fuses on the fuse block today, many looked quite sorry indeed. now, after doing so, the headlights do not rotate up or turn on, no fog lights, and no wipers either. on the front of the fuse panel, all fuses are good, and i think they're all in their correct places. on the backside, everything looks good. there is, however, a wire up under the dash, near the fuse panel but not connected to it, that is a single spade with four brown wires. does this go anywhere on the block? and if not, what would happen if it had touched something on the back of the fuse panel?

thanks for any help. i did consult the color wiring diagrams, they are little help to me unfortunately. i'm good mechanically, but not much of an electrician. i would very much like for my headlights to work!

~a

[double-a]

Remove the 4 wire brown group from Pin 31 of the flasher relay, it don't go there. I don't know off hand where it goes but, if you are positive that all four wires are solid brown, they all go to ground some place. Find a solid ground and connect them to it. Pin 31 of the flasher relay is not a good enough ground.

Terminal 31 on the flasher switch (E3) is where the factory wiring diagram shows the four brown wires going to. The switch is not being used as a ground, one of those four wires continues to a good grounding point.

i'll leave those wires at terminal 31 for now, since my real problems don't have anything to do with those wires really. i just wanna figure out if i burned out the relays or if there's something more sinister involved. everything started when i plugged those four wires (mistakenly) into the fuse box, thinking they came from there. a little heat and a little smoke told me that what i did was bad!

i wish i could understand that wiring diagram. it's pretty, and i can grasp little things here and there, but mostly it's a mystery. a mystery i want to solve however.

~a