Random Electrical issues in my 240

[DaronNichols]

This all started a year ago when the guy at Advanced Auto parts was a little aggressive in replacing my battery, causing problems with the car not starting on the first turn of the key, replacing all the leads from the battery significantly improved the situation, but I still have some problems. But that isn't the only symptom.

In the past few months I've experienced the following problems (usually just once or twice) ; radio losing all settings on starting the car as if disconnected from the battery, power failure in the radio, power locks, interior lights while driving ( lasted for about 15 minutes) and suddenly returning to normal. a very rapid clicking sound coming from behind the right side of the center console (about where the AC Relay is) when the car is powered on, but before cranking the engine, the sound stops when the car starts, for a day the fuel gauge was reading empty, then bouncing around 'half' despite it being a full tank, For about 2 days the AC wouldn't turn on but now it's working just fine, and finally a faint electrical smell coming from one of the vents. Joy. Oh, and every once in a while it still takes several turns of the key before the starter will activate and crank the engine (it's only ~4 years old.)

I know most of these are on separate fuses, but I'm not sure if maybe the share a common ground wire that might be loose? I'm a loss for what the issue might be. This weekend I'm thinking about pulling out the instrument cluster just to see if any looks amiss.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

[Love2FlyJets]

I had a similar issue with my electrical i.e. horn, front windshield wipers not working along with turn signals. I replaced all the old fuses with new ones. Pay special attention while removing & installing the fuses... the fuses should insert into their sockets firmly with resistance. I had several sockets that were loose/worn because some so called stereo installer spliced in 12 gauge wires for the power amplifier.

Hope this helps.

Good luck!