fatjoe10

Also, check the negative cable where it attaches to the firewall. I've heard of a few members on the board have that cable within a few strands away from breaking off completely.

jelliotlevy

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I feel embarrassed to admit this, but here is what I did and what I found.

I inserted a digital voltmeter into the power outlet. Turning on the lights did verify voltage dropping to around 11.7, which is a bit low. Upon starting the engine (cranking went o.k, although I thought it was a tad slower than I have remembered), I saw that voltage went to about 14.1, and fairly steady. However, while driving along, I would observe that every so often for a few seconds, the voltage would drop to 12.5. This had happened once before with a battery which tested as defective. At that time I suspected a severe internal short of very intermittent nature. These shorts can occur when plates have corroded badly, and occasionally make electrical contact which they are not supposed to make. And then I remembered something else. About a week ago, my radio suddenly and inexplicably lost all its station memories, although it did not lose the code.

Anyway, putting all this together, I drove to my local tire & battery store, where I had purchased this battery in May of 2008. They tested the battery and agreed it was substandard. They replaced it at no cost. Hopefully this cures the problem. So much for my rejection of the battery theory.

P.S. The cranking speed now does seem to be noticeably higher.

Benn-O

glad you got fixed!

21337R

It amazes me how a bad battery can cause so many odd symptoms. I recently helped my Grandmother out when her early model Toyota Echo decided it didn't want to start anymore (out of the blue, according to her). I wasted a few hours trying to diagnose the problem. Almost bought a new starter relay because I was SURE that the battery wasn't the problem. Before investing in a new relay I decided to give a new batt. a shot because it was about time and BINGO!