Sounds like the battery is low to me.  I mean I have had bad starters before
and they don't make the lights go dim, they just don't work.  The lights
going dim usually means the battery is too low to kick the starter in.  I
would try either jump starting the van with another car or putting in a new
or known good battery (some times the battery can be bad and jump starting
won't even work).  Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Ken Wilford
http://www.vanagain.com
John 3:16
Phone: (856)-765-1583
Shop:   (856)-327-0027
Fax:     (856)-327-2242