Is this a battery problem?

[Benson]

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

Here is another real possibility. If the timing is just a LITTLE fast or advanced it will cause the starter to kick back when the engine is warmed up and it will act like the battery is too weak to turn the engine over. This condition will also bend the starter armature. I have a small box of bent armatures that was caused by my daughter forgetting to retard the spark on her model A when she was a kid.

Debra,

The next time the engine balks at starting ... turn off the ignition and if it cranks normally with ignition off then the problem is just what Purdy says!