Mike,

In my experience it's not necesssary to actually get water into the engine
compartment to cause the problems you describe. The humidity alone can cause
this. For folks who live in really dry climates, dirt and crud (technical
term)  : )  can build up on and in the distributor cap, and the plug wires
can collect crud and degrade, yet everything works fine as long as the
humidity is down. Add a day or two or 100% humidity, and the crud becomes
conductive, or at least enough to cause problems. I've had it happen to me.
Usually turned out to be the distributor cap and/or rotor. Also, I wouldn't
sand any of these parts with sandpaper, as someone suggested. Most
sandpapers are actually semiconductors (garnet, silicon carbide). Not good
around high electrical potentials.
The suggestions you got regarding WD-40, and the remote starter switch, are
really good! I'm gonna put one of those switches in my engine compartment,
too.

Gary

> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 4 Dec 2007 18:29:32 -0800
> From:    Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: So thar I was (Engine wouldn't start)
>
> Follow up question to my "So thar I was" post.
>
> A list member p-mailed and suggested that rain may have entered the engine
> compartment through the air vent on the side of the van. Considering that
> the wind was strong enough to force water through the pop-top fabric, was
> easily 40 mph, and the downpour was actually a side-pour (rain was blowing
> horizontally), is it possible that buckets might have gone in the vent?
> Perhaps causing the engine to just turn over and over but not catch?
>
> The weather side was the driver's side, i.e., the side of the engine with
> the ECU, the ignition coil.
>
>