More battery woes

[centro]

Sorry to bombard the forum with battery related stuff!

Every now and then I have trouble starting the van. When I have the hazard on for 10 mins or so, the van wont start – not a sausage, not even turning over although dash lights do come on. I turn off the hazards and the van will start. This says to me the battery is flat, but if it was flat, then why would it suddenly start? – where is it getting the power from?

I had a quick look at the battery with a view to cleaning the terminals and I noticed a wire looks a bit burnt! I want to fix the battery issue and fix the wire issue myself. What is causing this wire to burn? Could this be the root of the battery starting problem?

I am pretty clueless when it comes to anything electrial, so go easy on me !

Here are a couple of photos of the wire in question:

http://centrodesign.co.uk/images/battery1.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://centrodesign.co.uk/images/battery2.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[VWCamperfan]

Ahh, that wire...!
You see the thick wire... that's to the starter motor.
Your thinner wire is for everything else in the van that runs through the fuse box or ignition key.
You will need snip off that connector on the end of the wire and crimp a new one on. It seems like the crimping around the wire has become slightly loose and is either arcing inside, creating heat, or is going high resistance and creating heat. Either way it could do with replacing!

[centro]

Good man. Thanks so much for the reply!