Hi,
  Whether your battery was damaged by this wire grounding out would depend
on how long it was in contact, etc.  If you still have the battery, you
might try a nice slow long charge and then see if it holds a voltage of
12.5 V or more.  If so, try it in the van and see how it cranks.
  I don't know exactly what kind of cover is over the battery on your
Westy, but late model tin-tops generally have a  steel cover hinged at the
back edge, with a carpet flap that also folds from the back.  The positive
post of the battery is supposed to have a plastic cover.
  On the '91 GL I've been working on, the carpet has a 3/4 inch hole above
that location and the bottom has a burned appearance.  When I looked
closely at the metal lid, I found a very small hole there and that the area
was distorted and bulging upward, presumably from high temperature at one
time.
  BTW, does anyone know whether that big glob of tar-like stuff is the
factory installed method of fastening the carpet to the metal lid?

Larry A.

On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 9:05 AM, Eric Caron <ecaron1@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi Larry and others,
>
>         Not being able to see the Bentley is partly why I rely so much on
> the folks on this list.  I have a print copy but seldom have a person here
> able or willing to look at it with me.
>
>         It sounds to me, from the list info,this wire with the warn off
> insolation is the wire to the dash fuse box.
>
>         I still wonder if when it grounded against the metal it caused
> either damage to my battery or other components.
>
> When I took out the battery everything seemed to be working normally
> except the battery itself, and that only indicated bad at the cold cranks
> when the starter was engaged.
>
> I'm covering up the wire carefully and then adding a pad of rubber against
> the side of the battery compartment wall. there is a slightly sharp metal
> weld there that I think somehow lined up just right with the wire and over
> time rubbed off the insolation.
>
> I'm just glad I found this in my driveway and not out far from home.
>
> Eric Caron
> 85 GL Auto Westfalia
>
>
> On Aug 23, 2014, at 7:16 PM, Larry Alofs <lalofs@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Eric,
> >   I don't know if you have any way of studying the diagrams in the
> Bentley, but what Neil said is correct.  The smaller of the two wires at
> the positive battery post leads to the fuse/relay panel in front.  It is
> unfused to that point.  If it is disconnected there will be no life in any
> of the accesories, or the ignition and ECU for that matter.
> >
> > Larry A.
> >
> >
> >
>