95 Avalon XL wierd electrical activity

I'm having some wierd (I think) goings on. When I start the motor, the door locks click locked/unlocked. The clock is not on and the dome light doesn't work. AFter a bit of driving, the clock comes on but the dome light doesn't. Also, the key dinger doesn't work when the key is in the ignition.

Also, the Check Engine light is on and it's not starting as smoothly as normal.

Any ideas. Otherwise seems to be running fine. I cleaned both battery terminals and cables (had some corrosioin) and the Check Engine light went off for a while but came back on. Nothing else worked though.

Puzzeling.

Well, I'd start by getting the code read. If you don't have a scan tool, take it to AutoZone or one of those places that will read it for free. You shouldn't drive around too long with a CEL.

Where can I find a scan tool? I'd love to get one for just this purpose.

Your '95 would be OBD-I, so you're not going to get all the bells and whistles out of it. But you can also pull the codes by jumping the data port (under the hood) and watching the dash light blink--the process is in the FSM, but you could probably find it by doing a search here or Goggle it. It will generate one or more two-digit codes. You can buy a code reader from just about any auto parts store.

The OBD-II is in newer cars. It's much more informative. An OBD-I reader will not read OBD-II. Be sure you get the right one.

I had a strange problem with my 97 Avalon XLS a while back, where the electronic trunk release would pop the trunk open when I started the car.

It turns out that the voltage was dropping really low during starting (due to an old car battery), then jumping back up to normal once the car was started, and this change in voltage was being interpreted as if someone had pressed the trunk release button.

I replaced my car battery, with a new one I bought at Costco, and haven't had the problem since.