i tried cleaning it up, and the base of the metal (the bottom right on the picture) just started to deteriorate on me. so i left it as is.

i couldnt take out the black cover, the 3 tabs holding it down wont move when i try to turn them.

should i unplug it for now leaving the connector exposed or what?

edit: also, the connector (the white plug the relay connects to) has some noticable wear in the area in which the metal piece i tried to fix connects to. seems like both ends are f'ed up. crap

for now, im gona drive with my headlights up, and took out the retractor relay.

 

I'd leave it disconnected and buy a new one. Attached is a jpg of one I got out of the junkyard. It looked ok on the outside, but once I cut the three black plastic tabs and removed the black cover..........revealed a rusted piece of junk. I might play with it and try to restore it while watching tv. It looks like junk.

You might swap the left relay into the right side and see if everything else on the right side is ok. Jpg attached.