[Vwdiesel] *HELP! - 93EV electrical ignition fire*

[Rolf Pechukas]

hey all
electricals are my weak point and I don't know what's going on here:

93 EuroVan diesel;
lately when I try to start up I get an intermittent fault:
instead of starter turning over, I get click-click-clicking of  
battery light on dash and one of the wires from the ignition switch  
to the relay box starts to smoke and the insulation starts to melt (!)
what's going on?
an intermittent short, I assume
no fire yet, and it doesn't always happen
but this is dangerous, not to mention inconvenient

how do I track this down?

thanks for any hints
-- 

Rolf in MA