[John S Peterson]

I've been reading these posts and unless I'm missing something I've yet to read someone say that they are running a negative battery cable from the negative terminal all the way to the engine block and then to the frame. The basic HP books on Electrical Systems even say to do this to prevent any possible voltage drops that "could" occur. This is considered best practice, and I know everyone that hasn't had these problems are saying I just run a short cable from the neg terminal to the frame and then the frame to engine...There is no rhime or reason why some work that way and some don't. It's just electrics. Unless you have 25 feet of leads on your voltmeter there is no way your going to reach from the negative terminal to lets say your engine block while your cranking the motor to see what your voltage drop is from begining to end.......Voltage should be consumed by the device, not the resistance in the circuit. Batteries need to be charged properly. Do not let the alternator try to charge the battery if you had to jump start or used a jumper box. It is not it's job and will not do it completely. Have battery tested the right way as well and you might be surprised that the battery might have been weak to begin with...
just some thoughts...
JP