39 Mercury starting issues resolved

[ford38v8]

A similar but different issue once... I was on an extended road trip, and while driving at night, my headlights went dim, then went out, and I stalled. The starter couldn't even turn over the engine. The battery checked as low charge, but during my checking of connections, I was able to start it right up with bright headlights. The problem turned out to be the braided ground strap at the battery. I could literally wiggle the strap and make or break the connection. It looked good, but had developed internal resistance from battery acid, to the point of the failure I had that night while headlights were on. i improvised the strap and continued my road trip.