Buick/Olds: 1986 Park Avenue electrical problems, battery cables, alternator output

Question
Hi Harold,

My Buick is experiencing an odd electrical issue.

I have had this car for about 3 weeks (got it from my brother). From the beginning, I noticed the ignition was slow. It would make one slow crank and then catch. Over the 2 weeks, the first slow crank got slower and slower until I knew that eventually it wouldd't crank at all.

Sure enough that happened last week. Bought a new battery and everything was fine - instant fast cranking and starting. A few days ago I noticed when i started the car that all the stereo memory presets had reset. This has happened on and off now for a couple days when starting the car.

Yesterday I went to start the car and nothing happened when turning the key - no sounds whatsoever, no power anywhere in the car. After poking around under the hood and finding nothing, I tried again to start and got full power (as if nothing happened before).

---> Any ideas as to what could be causing this intermittent electrical problem? Should i trust the car enough to drive it?

Answer
Have you checked the alternator output? Are you battery cables clean and tight on both ends?
For your radio to reset, the system voltage would have to drop below about 9 volts for even a split second. This probably happens when you just turn the key to crank. You also could have a starter that is going bad and has excessive draw when cranking.
I would check the cables first, then the alternator output, then the starter.