Starting problem update

First of all thanks to all that responded to my first posting.
When the problem happened again, I checked all battery connections and the ground. Nothing was loose. I pulled out my volt tester and it read 12.3. So I thought it was okay. Poked around under the hood and could not find anything.
After a few more tries I got it to start.
I took it into the dealership the next day. Explained what was going on and what I did. The service rep. said I should have gotten a volt reading of about 12.8. He grabbed a hard plastic briefcase went out and tested the battery. He came back and said the battery failed their test. They then took it in and retested the battery, then replaced the battery, and tested the starting and charging system(both systems tested fine). So far no problems. Battery was only 11 months old from purchase. Just a case of the defective battery blues:)

Glad that they found the problem. I had a very similar problem with my Explorer when it was about a year old too. The normal, fully charged, no load voltage should be closer to 13.2 volts. The key is to watch the voltage drop when it is under normal load. I bet that it dropped closer to 8 volts when you tried to start the engine. If the battery had a dead cell, or a partially dead cell, it may have near normal voltage as yours did when there is no load on it. The bad cell limits how much current (amps) the entire battery can deliver. The low voltage under load is a symptom of having a current demand that is higher than the battery is capable of delivering, hence the drop in voltage. If you dealer checked the charging circuit and found it to be normal AND checked the battery and found it to be bad, replacing the battery will surely take care of your problems. I have seen too many times where a good battery gets replaced because something was wrong with the charging circuit. The problem then reappears real soon. In your case, I think that you can have confidence that your problems are over.

On my little Toyota 4-banger, I have an electric over hydraulic 7' plow. It would destroy a battery every 2 years and the fan belt every year. So I went to Costco and bought the largest ( highest cranking amp) battery they had. It had a 6 year warranty with no cost replacement after 2 years. So every 2 years I would return it and get a new one free. I did this for 8 years when I lived in VT. Now in Cape Cod there is not enough snow to use the plow that often.
Hope I do not have to do this with my Ridge??