What Streets said!

Actually, keeping the best connections that you can in the electrical system goes a lomg way to avoiding the sort of frustration you have been experiencing. Battery terminals are the number one source of this sort of problem, followed closely by the cables themselves. The hydrogen sulfide gas emitted by the battery - even the "sealed ones" - seeps into the joint where the cable fits into the clamp, and starts to corrode the connection there; the cables are not really well made, and they are quite prone to this type of corrosion. I use a grease called "Anti-Cor" on my cars. I cleaned the place on the block, frame, and the solenoid, where the cables and ground straps connect, to bare metal, and put the grease on both the cable ends, and the attachment points, as well as the bolts or studs, washers, and nuts, and after they were tightened, wiped the leftovers off really well. They never give me any trouble. At the battery, I greased the "joint" where the cable goes into the clamp, or the cable end, wiped it clean, and sealed it with heat shrink tubing. I clean and grease the posts and clamps, or terminal pads, about every three months, or more often if they show signs of corrosion, but with regular attention, I seldom have any problems. EXCEPT - in my '59 Chevy pickup, where the headers run real cose to the starter; there, its "get it on the first try, or cuss for a while". I'm still using a stock starter, one of the old fat kind, and it is just a big heat sink; and when a chevy starter gets hot, it don't want to work.