Minivan wiring problems

[dwh4784]

My friend's 89 turbo mini seems to have an electrical problem somewhere. It was idling along and just shut off, then it would just crank and crank but not start. And when you would turn the key to accessory the check engine light would flash and tick. Today was the first I have looked at it, and when he went to start it nothing happened and the tach started spinning backwards. The battery is only showing 8v so thats obviously a problem, but what might have caused it to mess up? We just looked at the grounds and harnesses and they all look fine.

[cadmanspd]

You can get an internal short between cells... creates all sorts of wierd sh*t. Seeing as how our average temp just dropped that would strain an otherwise marginal Batt.

[cadmanspd]

Put a fresh battery in it and pull codes. May clear right up with the battery or, at the least, help reveal the real problem.