Hi Guys

I'm a British serviceman currently stationed in Dijon, France. I've been having startup issues with my 2004 crossfire (manual) for sometime. Clearly in France the language problem exists and lack of qualified mechs!!

The symptoms are similar to what I've read about on this stream already but seem to be a lot worse, if not exclusively occurring in the cold/rain (something that hasn't been mentioned on the stream. They are:

1. Car drives......after a while (in poor weather) multiple dashboard lights come on and the speedo / RPM and engine heat dial all drop to zero. Car will still drive normally.

2. If I turn off the ignition while these problems exist I have trouble restarting. The engine will start and die immediately (as if it was immobilized). I can do this 3 times and then I get nothing. If I wait a while it will often start again, especially if I've opened the bonnet and removed the fuze box covers etc.

3. If driving but in the city, often the problem will come back AND the radiator will go crazy, making a really loud noise.

I've read about the RCM maybe being the issue and I'm REALLY interested in the thoughts of people on here who seem to know what you're talking about.

I've taken it to the Chyrsler garage here (well it says it is, but is now fiat) and they don't have the diagnostic computer (after keeping it for 2 weeks!!). I've had it serviced but the problems remains.

The weather here is no great and the car is running no problems. I must have started and stopped it 10 times this morning alone with no issues at all. In addition, I removed the cover under the engine and cleaned the earthing cable. It was green and is now back to bronze....could this have been causing or adding to the problem?

As I said, I'm convinced it's an electrical issue, linked to wet weather.

Thanks in advance for ANY thoughts you may have on the issue.

Dave