Tracy,
Following Bob Nuckoll's advice on aircraft wiring is the main reason I have
a separate starter contactor, as Bob Rogers points out.

"You might want to look at this article on the subject by Bob Nuckolls of
the
Aeroelectric Connection.  http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/strtctr.pdf
According to him, the initial current rush of the starter is really hard on
it"

TJ