[Paul Workman]

That is "a bit" low. Two things come to mind:

1) battery is tired OR needs a good de-sulfate charging cycle and then check voltage while cranking. It should be closer to 10.1V (Marc Hiabeck can be more specific. IIRC, the ECM gets "iffy" if the voltage drops below 10V).

2) corrosion of the battery terminals. For sure if you feel heat on the terminals when cranking, YOU HAVE CORROSION that needs to be cleaned! Same goes for the connection to the frame (negative cable). Be sure all connections are clean (and I use dielectric grease on the batter terminals to stave off corrosion. Or, there is battery terminal spray-on protective coating - avail @ most auto parts stores. (Also dielectric grease is usually available there too. Comes in handy for wire harness connections to keep them from oxidizing AFTER they are first shined up!)