[ds968]

So just as I was praising the reliability of Japanese cars ( on a different thread ) , cars where I confidently stated nothing ever breaks down or needs replacement for probably a million miles ;-) :-) , at just 165 K miles our Pathfinder's "check engine" light came on , Monday. Dammit, I thought now I have to eat my words. So naturally I suspected the O2 sensor finally giave up after all this time. Using my handy OBD II instrument I pulled up two fault codes : engine coolant temperature, and knock sensor - cyl # 5 misfiring as a subcategory. Drove it down to tne local shop and asked tne owner to run a diagnostic test on the real computer and just fix whatever is wrong with it. He calls me this morning and says : uhh ...the wire that goes to tne cooling sensor has much of its insulation missing. For that matter so does the spark plug wire that goes to tne no 5 cylinder. And the insulation and plastic on your engine bay panels has chew marks everywhere ! I think I know what tne problem is , not the first time I've seen this..where is the car parked ?

I told him this one is parked at the curb, in front of our house ...right next to tne sewer drain access. Well, I think you guys can figure out the culprit LMAO. Sonnomabitch ! Now I'm wondering if the two cars I keep parked in tne driveway , one of which is my daily driver 968 are risking the same fate some day . And doubtful there is any solution for this nuisance , other than moving the cat's overnight sleeping venue to inside the 968 at night :-) :-) .

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[Chris Vais]

Drop a hand grenade into the storm drain.

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[MCL968]

Had a squirrel eat the wiring out of my old Jag Mk X years ago. Not a nibble either, but a full on feast. Nothing worked, which I know is rare for Jag. It was an impressive number of wires that eventually required rewiring. Our neighbor had a marmot eat the manifold pressure sensor wire and a plug wire or two out of his Mini. Critters eating wires is certainly not unusual, but it's still a pain in the butt and the wallet.

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[tryan]

I wonder if the Japanese harness tastes better than a German one? Should be able to tell what it was by the teeth marks. Rats go mainly by smell. they have always be gnawing on something to keep their teeth filed down or they will starve.



dryer sheets work pretty good at keeping the mice out of the boats... not really sure about big rats or cats though)) maybe cable tie a few around under the hood.



Does your insurance cover "acts of kitty"? I have bear marks on my fenders and doors and one turkey went postal on my Subaru when it saw its reflection....

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[Rap]

Last year at a rainy DE I started to have water piss down on my right ankle while driving. In DE's you have to drive with the windows open. At first I attributed the water to this. When water started blowing out of my vents it seemed time for a look. The collection area in the front of the windshield yielded a mouse nest and a chewed wire.

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[ds968]

tryan - too funny ( taste preference b/w Japanese and German wires )



I'd have to look at the insurance policy to see if it has a critters dining on parts exclusion , but certainly an interesting question. The damaged wires on the Pathfinder is a relatively cheap replacement , but on our 968s a new harness depending on which one it is ( not to mention that it might be NLA the way things are going lately ) and the labor to replace it may very well warrant looking into insurance as a recourse.

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[JTP]

Man that's too bad. I understand your pain.

I had a '74 914 stored at my brother's lot while I was in the Army, a few years in Alaska and a deployment to Iraq. When I came back the entire car was infested with rats. Wires were chewed, interior full of nests, completely ruined. Full of feces and urine stench. Pulled off some parts and had it hauled away to the wrecker.

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[94SilverCab]

D1R responds with new "Under Hood Mouse Trap" (patent pending)

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[ds968]

Checked and found out that insurance specifically excludes those type of risks ( not surprised ) . Ok, so cars are one thing and a few hundred bucks here, a couple of thousand bucks there won't be life changing for any one, but now of even greater concern is that most if not all homeowners policies also exclude both direct and consequential losses resulting from vermin of any kind, including pets. So if your friendly resident mice chew the wiring in your attic or interstitial spaces and cause an electrical fire that burns your house to the ground ..guess what ?! You're F***d ! And it does happen, my boss' neighbor lost his house that way . Damn, now I have to make sure I block any of the spaces through which they can get into the attic or basement or walls, etc and also place poison pellets everywhere .

I'm a goin' huntin for varmints !

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[ds968]

And now the bastards have attacked my 968 ( the one parked outside ), in spite of the fact that it has been driven daily.   I suppose soon after dark falls, while the engine is still barely warm enough for them to find it as a cozy shelter from the recent month of cold weather and rain, they feast on plastic, rubber and wire insulation.   Fortunately, this time the damage was very minimal with just a few plastic / rubber trim corners and some wire insulation partially chewed but not yet to the point where those wires would be exposed or touch and cause a short or worse..   We'll see if the solutions proposed on anti-vermin sites work; a common one seems to suggest mice and rats will stay away from spearmint or peppermint scent, so I'll test that theory by wedging some mint soaked cotton balls in a small, open container at the bottom of the battery compartment so it does not fly around while driving .   Bob said my car will smell like a giant box of Altoids  :lol:                

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[94SilverCab]

Dude! You need to move outta that ghetto...

 

Jay

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[az968]

Try laundry "fabric softener sheets", the RV guys around here all swear they keep rats out of the vehicles.  And your car will smell "fragrance fresh". And ditto, Jay!

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[ds968]

Hey !  I already moved once to avoid a major risk  ( soon as I read an NTSB report which said : "  statistically, there is a  90% probability that your car accidents will happen within 2 miles of your home "  ).  

And now you guys are suggesting that I move again from this rat-infested, $2-$10mil. homes ghetto ?!   No way, this time I'm in for a fight to the end !   And when you combine a spearmint with fabric softener sheets arsenal, at last the fighting won't stink ..        

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[ds968]

. “ According to reports from publications such as <a class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/style/rats-car-engines.html">The New York Times</a>and the <a class="" href="https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2020/06/09/rats-rodents-nest-parked-cars-coronavirus/3156961001/">Detroit Free Press</a>, mechanics are reporting a dramatic increase in mysterious mechanical / electrical failures traced eventually to rat-related damage. Thanks to the pandemic and related shutdowns, millions of cars are sitting mostly idle, offering a quiet, accessible, and human-free respite for gutter-weary rats looking for upgraded digs. “

 

Aromatic dryer sheets ( like Bounce ) or other sheets with peppermint extract drops or spray on them seem to be fairly effective ways of keeping rats, mice, from climbing into your engine bay. The peppermint spray scent however tends to permeate everywhere, so if you don’t like that smell be prepared to get a strong whiff of it when you turn on the climate control .. Still, a lot cheaper than replacing a Porsche wire harness ..not to mention a NLA one .. 

 

 

Side note : most ( and very likely all ) automobile insurance policies do NOT cover damages resulting from vermin . Oddly enough, most homeowners insurance policies do cover damage to your house from vermin .

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[MCL968]

Dan,

 

I was told a bar of Irish Spring soap cut into chunks and placed around and under the car will have the same effect.

 

Seems an appropriate solution following St. Patrick's Day!

 

M-

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[ds968]

Worth a try ..  

 

( but what if they’re Irish mice who stumble out of the pub drunk and looking to wash their paws with some familiar soap..that might attract them to your car .. ) 

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[94SilverCab]

Funny, my wife's Volvo S60 lit up a check engine light last week. Reportedly, "something big" was chewing near the MAF...he was able to clean the area and away we went.

 

Jay

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[Waylander]

My Brother works for the main London water company, Thames Water, in the yard they have a load of vans and trucks, they are regularly savaged by Squirrels in the wiring and hydraulic pipes,

 

I did see the damage cost estimate for last year at £180,000 GBP, but I suppose when you have 400 vans and 70 plus big trucks like 7.5 tonne and bigger, the costs mount

 

strange part is he works for the sewer department, they have no troubles with rats HA HA

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