more electrical gremlins

went to fill up the car weds. no problems. starts fine. everything working properly. go out yesterday, turn key, dash indicator lights ok. turn key to ign, nothing. dash lights die. check battery which is less than three months old, full charge. drop dash panel, try again. relays all clicking happily but no turn over. try to pop up headlights. no go and oddly tach and speedo needle bounce around. i recently replaced the soleniod. i suppose i'll start looking there. perhaps an open circuit in the soleniod? who knows. i hate this stuff.

 

battery was replaced as routine. it was seven years old. i agree the primary connections are a starting point. checked the battery terminals. all tight and clean. started to raise car today. tapped on soleniod and starter to perhaps free any stuck contacts. no response. when i recently replaced the soleniod i removed and cleaned the engine to frame ground strap. next will inspect battery to frame ground although i think i may have just done it. i hate this stuff.

 

i swiched to birdman fuses years ago but at this point anything goes. did i say i hate this stuff. the thing that makes me nuts is how it ran perfectly and the next day, nothing. how does these things happen.

 

kind of like playing russian roulette with an automatic pistol. removes the uncertainty.

 

another good starting point. i'm devoting this entire weekend to solving this thing. or hanging myself on monday

 

so went out to make a determined run a fixing this thing today. took out the battery and checked all cables and connections in front. all seemed in good order. put everything back together. just for a test i thought i'd see if the car would, at least, turn over. turn the key, the car fires right up. so what happened? it seems like perhaps something reset itself. how do these things occur? all i did was take out the battery and put it in. i hate this stuff.

 

actually this is the first and only electrical problem i've had with the car in five years and nearly 10k in miles. i suppose that's what's so puzzling.