Had some wires catch fire in our 1980 camperized b200. The main harness in the engine compartment and the wires from the ignition are all toast.
I don't want to write the van off. Is it worth replacing the wiring? Any tips? Sources for new wiring harnesses? How do I figure out what the problem was? I'm thinking it was the ignition switch since thats where the wires are burned the worst. All wires connecting off teh main harness (ie to headlights, alternator, etc) are all fine. And How do I test the electircal components after I replace the harness to make sure they didn't cause the problem to begin with?
Hopefully someone out there has some ideas? Thanks.

 

For the wiring harness you could check some of the salvage yards to see if they have your year van. A friend of mine and I did that for one of his vans that caught fire under the hood. We managed to find a same year van and the wiring matched up. Soldering the wiring to the vans original harness that is still good and using heat shrink tubing to protect them.

Might try ebay for a Factory Service Manual for your van. It would be the best source for the wiring diagrams. It will also show you how to test each of the components to be sure they are in proper working order.