The worst thing you can do is "turn-on" any form of electronics that has been made wet or damp and has not yet dried. That goes for a cell phone or a car. While it may or may not have made a difference with your problem, the best course of action after discovering the car was damp would have been to

1) disconnect the battery

2) proceed to dry the car out. You could put some kind of dehumidifer in the car (making sure it doesn't overflow in the car but automatically turns-off), performed some basic disassembly, carefully used a hair dryer at a distance, etc.

What you want to avoid is turning the car "on" in anyway while it is damp. Do not continue to try to drive the car. I would disconnect the battery if you plan further disassembly and drying.