went to start my car the other day and things went crazy, all the needles on the gauges started spinning back and forth, warning lights were flashing and the trip meter reset to zero. also, starter wouldn't crank, it was like the scene from close encounters. any ideas?
After a few tries the car did start and ran just fine.

thanks.

 

Sounds like you need a new battery.

 

but now it's cranking fine, is there a connector in the steering column that can come loose?

 

Check your battery cables then. The gauge issue sounds like a low or no voltage issue

 

Sounds like a loose cable on the battery.

 

cleaned both battery connectors today, see how it goes

 

no problems since I cleaned everything, phew. inside the terminal clamps looked like black paint, came right off with some sandpaper.