Hi all, I've seen similar problems like this described, but none exactly like this. I have a '98 Neon that gets very unhappy when it's wet. When it's wet, if I try to start it, the lights go dim, the radio cuts out, and the starter just "clunks" like the battery is completely dead. At first I thought it was a linkage thing because I could normally get it started by holding the key to start and wiggling the automatic shifter in park or neutral. Then I realized I could also get it to start when the battery was acting dead by simply flicking the lights on and off a couple of times. It's like there's some poor connection somewhere that's shorting out and flicking the lights dries it out. Prior to starting the car however, the lights, radio, and internal electronics work fine.
Another strange behavior is that sometimes (not always) when driving when wet the engine runs fine (no misses, surges, etc. that I'd expect if it was a wires or cap issue) but the electronics will just die for half a second. It's like I turned the key off: radio goes out, speedometer drops to zero, abs and break lights come on. Very unnerving. I'm certain the two are somehow connected but I don't know where to look.
The only obvious underhood thing is the positive battery terminal is corroded. The charge is fine, but even so, I don't think corrosion could account for all of this. It seems like there's a short some where. Thoughts on where to look?
-Mark