I GOT IT WET! PLEASE HELP!

OK, I am going to do my best to describe the situation the best I can, in chronological order. First the machine, 2002 Honda Foreman 450ES 4X4. The only mods are a set of 14" ITP wheels, and 27" swamplite tires, and a pair of driving lights mounted to the front rack. We tapped into the hot wire for the main driving lights when we installed them, so they come on with the lights, no separate switch. We tapped into them behind the digital display in the top light housing. I was testing out the capabilities of my new 27" tires by taking her through fairly deep water/mud holes. Say they were about 2 foot or so. Anyway, after taking it through a pretty good one, I noticed that my four wheel drive indicator light was blinking. Then next thing, I realize that it is stuck in gear. I turned it off and back on, and now it would not restart. The display was also on the fritz. It would come on and off if it felt like it. I used the pull start and manual shift to get myself back to the truck. By the next morning, it restarted and everything was working fine again. Problem solved, right? Well being as smart as I am, I took it out again a few days later and went romping through mud holes. Sure enough, within a few minutes of that, my four wheel light was blinking and it didnt want to shift anymore. Being that I was on a long ride, I didnt have the option of packing up and going home. I rode her with the manual shift and 2 wheel drive. I did have the sense to cound the blinks on the 4 wheel light and gear position. The four wheel was blinking four times in repitition, and the gear select was blinking eight times in repitition. After I would say about an 1-2 hours, the machine gained its functions back. First the shifting, then the four wheel, then the electric start. So, it seems pretty obvious that I am getting something wet, and it is drying off. Does anyone know what it is that could have such a broad effect on the machines performance if it were saturated? Can I seal this off, protect it etc? Has anyone else had this problem, is it normal? I dont think I was doing anything too extreme, so it seems a bit disconcerting. Who wants to go out on the trail on a big bad 450 and be afraid of water that your friends Kodiak can handle? I dont want to have to start calling it the "Foreskin". Thanks in advance.