• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Super Mouse!

Share this page

PAUL161

PAUL161

Great Pumpkin
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Had a mouse in the barn where I keep my truck and it did a number on my wiring harness. I guess when I pulled the truck in for the night, he found a warm spot on top of the engine and built a nest. I don't care about the nest, but he had dinner on my wiring harness! Couldn't figure why my airbag warning light and the washer fluid light wouldn't go off after starting up. Took it to the dealer for a diagnostic check and the gave me the bad news! :rolleyes2: Since the warranty on the truck ran out last summer, it's an out of pocket repair. To get to the wiring, they have to pull the right front fender off, to pull it off they have to remove the grill! Cost, about $500.00, mostly labor. The mouse is gone!
I couldn't put any kind of poison bait out due to our pets, but I just found out that peppermint/spearmint oils will cause mice to run away and is safe for humans and animals, the barn now smells like peppermint candy! Wish I knew about this sooner, could have saved a bunch of money and aggravation. The product is called MOUSE MAGIC. Wasn't a good day. PJ
 
Wife's cousin had the same on his VW Jetta. It took VW several weeks to get it fixed. As he had driven to Georgia from Kansas where he lives he ended up flying home and then back again to get his car.

David
 
Speaking of mice, wife's computer mouse stopped working. Turns out the standard poodle chewed the cable from the mouse to computer.
 
Mouse damage... seen much of it.

Adding "Mouse Magic" to the inventory!
 
Drown that sucka in a bucket of soapy water, Doug!
 
Chipmunks ate the wiring on Mrs JP's beetle - interestingly she has just left the employ of a church who had presented her with a cash gift as a farewell. Repair on the car was almost to the dollar the amount of the gift. Easy come - easy go :rolleyes:
 
...n ex-mouse.
 
We once tore the engine down on a Vette that had been in a barn for thirty years, a family of mice managed to get into the valley and made a nest. All of the lifters on one bank were so frozen in place that after a few days of trying every conceivable penetrating oil and method for freeing them up, I was told to take a cold chisel and break them up. The pitting was terrible and we had to have the block reamed and sleeved to fit new lifters.
 
That would indicate mouse urine is both corrosive and penetrating.
 
Yes, very much so.It was a true PITA to work on, if it hadn't been the correct LT1 we probably would have just built a different small block.
 
Could be worse. Years ago I had a Norway rat take up residence in a rear fender on top of one gas tank of a Sunbeam Alpine. Never did find the rear part of the wiring harness when cleaning it out...
 
Rodents are trouble will always prevail regardless of our human - or humane attempts.

Learned that car manufactures have designed eco-friendly wiring harnesses and outside coverings / fabrics from palm in effort to make their vehicles more recyclable. For example, Volvo claims close to 100%. Anyway, all these efforts are particularly attractive to rodents.

Rodent damage repair to my Audi Q5 was $600+! There were signs of nesting etc. on the front of the engine, but apparently the damage was towards the back on cam sensors and other electronics. Mechanics use chili-pepper infused electrical tape which is supposed to keep rodents off the wiring.

I've tried other solutions, peppermint, lysol, etc. but a series of daisy chained sticky traps (use zip ties) lashed to the engine cover is most effective. I hate using the traps but there doesn't appear to be other alternatives that work. Ninja, a cat who adopted us for 2 years, was extremely enthusiastic about rodent control but he's gone now. All of our neighbors hire exterminators. We don't, and our front and back yards have likely become a "sanctuary" for clever rodents. Fortunately, none of them have made it into the garage or house. GONZO.
 
We had squirrels chew the propane hoses on a travel trailer we once had, I replaced them twice, the second set I coated with hot pepper sauce and never had another squirrel take a bite of one. Only thing is, I found out pepper sauce will turn the brass fittings green! No more squirrels but green fittings! :highly_amused:
 
In the process of tearing down the MK1 Jag , that had stored in a barn, I found a nest as big as a five gallon bucket, acorns and all behind the area of the glove box. When I worked in a Jag shop we were told that any old cars or winter stored cars had to be pushed backwards in the stalls. I fired up a 38 Plymouth and shot mice and babies at the wall for 10 minutes. Fired up a storage unit XJS V-12 and swept up almost 4 lbs of dry dog food after starting and warming up.
 
Semi-related, we had an Audi 4000 which was sold by our dealership and only a few days old, come back with an overheating problem. Changed t'stat, checked for hose blockages, still got hot. Pulled radiator out and dislodged (with compressed air) a dead rat from the radiator! The rad got swapped out for a new one. Pickled rat!!
 
Back
Top