On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 02:54:10 GMT, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

>I did shake out quite a lot of white powder (indicating some corrosion) from the
>battery's positive terminal's cable connector while changing the batteries.

Clean your battery cable clamps with a round wire brush. Check the
cable itself under the insulation near the clamp, make sure it isn't
corroded under there. Check both cable connections at the other end,
especially the ground cable. Unbolt them, clean with a file and
reconnect. Half an ohm resistance in a 115 volt circuit is nothing.
Half an ohm in a 12 volt battery cable is a big deal. Do the math
E = IR If the alternator wants to put 20 amps into the battery,
..5 X 20 = 10 volts drop.