James, Daniel wrote:
>
> Hope you weekend went better than mine.  Turns out late last week that my
> '83 Vanagon broke down while my girlfriend was driving up highway 101 in
> Oregon.
>
> Bizarre circumstances.  I've been searching the web for clues, but haven't
> found many.  Apparently, she drove for 10 miles and stopped at the bank.
> Wwhen she started it up again, it felt sluggish - like it was running out of
> gas.  She headed back home w/ the hazards on, but someone signalled her to
> pull over.  The catalytic converter was glowing red!
>
> Some mechanic on the coast has it now.  I looked at it on Sat.and the wiring
> harness (all the engine wiring) has significantly melted in a few spots -
> requiring a new harness (new cost = $900!), but he found a used one for
> $150.  But I'm afraid that once he installs that, the original problem will
> still exist.  Also, there's a good chance that the catalytic converter is
> toast (there are scorch marks on the sheet metal below the bumper) and that
> the on-baord fuel injector computer is toast, too.  Both are big $$ to
> replace.  One clue is that the relays for the fuel injection system have
> some molten wires - maybe a relay failed and that caused the original
> prob?....  Maybe the O2 sensor light that popped on 3 months ago was trying
> to tell me something? (I  thought that the O2 warning light was just a
> prompt to check the functionality of the sensor...)
>
> >From what I can tell here's what happened:
>
> the wiring harness failed (short?), triggering the fuel injectors full on,
> pumping excess gas into the engine.  The catalytic converter tried to burn
> off the excess fuel, resulting in a fire inside the converter.  The
> resultant heat melted some more of the wiring.
>
> Any good ideas?

I guess thats the price of progress.
It could never have happened with an old-fashioned unreliable
carburettor.