Brown wires in engine compartment one not connected - why

you don't want that loose wiring to get caught up in the fan belt, a vehicle as prone to fires as these buses don't need any additional encouragement from botch wiring.

 

I think you cracked it earlier -
Brown in van is earth, brown in house is live.
Black in house is (was) neutral, black in van 12v.
House man does van wiring one weekend and...
Strip it all out.

 

just for interest (but probably no help to you what so ever ;D)

Quite a few old British classics used brown as live and black as -VE

 

to add to the fun, white on trailer electrics is earth, white on a westy fridge is live, this i now know after smoking wires and popped fuses when wiring up the fridge.

 

That wire does look much bigger than the stuff VW used for its earths. Having done my engine bay wiring I've not seen any differences in wire size except for battery +, alternator and starter wires.

Best way to find out where that wire goes is to track it to see where it goes to. It really isn't uncommon for these buses to have house hold wiring in from people doing things with little skill.

I do like Fritts idea that of keeping it in in case you need to wire up/take a live from the front of the bus. They are not the easiest things to do this on.

If it went under the bus it will be coming out behind the N/S kick panel. However it may have been bought in anywhere else. So best to track its route and find its entry point and where it ended up.

You may find it was put in to power up an inverter or such under the rear seat by previous cowboys. I've seen bell wire used to power up things from engine bay to cabin area.

 

as birdy says ..trace em back ...then youll know ....i agree there not vw spec wiring ...aftemarket halfords brown chunky wire