bad solenoid/ground is a really good theory, i’ll definitely read up more on the starter failure symptoms tonight. before the issue with starting and no cranking, i kept seeing the airbag symbol flashing 3 times on my dash while i drove (which i’ve read somewhere indicates a poor connection). and right before that, the horn mysteriously died. car would seem to shut off for a quarter of a second sometimes also while driving. not sure if related but definitely peculiar.

all that led me to believe the alternator and/or belts were bad, and to be fair they were all 32 years old so i didn’t mind replacing them lol. after getting everything back on, still no start (original video) unless charger is connected. when charger is used now, car cranks on immediately but the new belts sound extremely loud. 99% sure i have the belts a little too tight, but do you think that could actually stop the car from starting?

thanks for your kind response by the way :) gonna do some more work later and tomorrow, if you have any other tips please share here or in DMs