While the fuse box could be at fault it seems unlikely in this case. If
he is right that pulling fuse 3 stops the battery drain, that leaves a
fairly short run of about 2 inches inside the sealed fuse box for the
problem to exist in. On the other hand, the vehicle wiring fed from fuse
3 is about 20 feet long with various switches and connections. All are
available to be messed with and messed up.

The inside of the 87 fuse/relay panel is a hodgepodge of metal strips
running every which way. There are about 8 levels, separated by about
3mm of air between each layer. The runs on each level are separated by
air with the closest points about the same 3mm apart.

Mark

Richard A Jones wrote:
>>Could be the fuse box itself. I had a problem very similar to this in my '85 Jetta years back - I
>>kept pulling fuses trying to find the current drain, and when I found it, couldn't trace it outside
>>the fusebox. Swapped the fusebox and it was fine for another 10 years. The late model
>>Vanagons use the same or very similar fusebox with flat brass conductors - I'm told moisture
>>can lead to minute current leaks with age.
>
>
> Yes, I had a fuse box problem in my '87 Syncro.  In fact, Mark helped
> solve it by loaning me another.  Turned out to be a loose piece of
> brass--scrap from the stampings, I guess.  But I would think that
> is pretty rare.
>
> If you open up one of those fuse boxes you will have nightmares!
>
> Richard
>