Honda mower ... rodent damage

[Gebo]

I cranked up my rider today and out blew all this insulation. Checked it out and it was packed all around. Took the cover
off and there was disemboweled mama mouse. Looked in driveway and found baby mouse 2 dead and my dog found baby
mouse 3 alive for a very brief period of time. I have no idea where this insulation came from???

Anyways, Mama mouse cut a few wires as you can see in the pics. Mower runs ok. But what is that little black box? I would assume
it is important for something???

 

[Nukeman7]

That is the diode that is used in the circuit to stop the Honda engine by grounding the coil.

 

[Gebo]

Hugs and kisses. Thank you very much! I got a mess to clean up....mouse intestines are tiny.

 

[oldcodger]

Insulation probably came from your walls somewhere. If a car is parked in the same structure you probably need to pull the engine cover and air cleaner housing and inspect them for mouse works. Go to Amazon and buy a jug of critter repellent.

 

[Gebo]

It was in my OPE garage. No auto's around.

 

[spasm3]

I'd try to solder and splice that, with shrink tubing

 

[Gebo]

I'd try to solder and splice that, with shrink tubing

LOL....in my dreams....

I know what you are saying is correct. Just not in my wheel house...

 

[The_Sheriff]

.
It beats Three Blind Mice.
.

 

[Gebo]

My wife and I have searched for yellow insulation. Our insulation is pink??? I hate it when I can’t solve a mystery.

 

[joekingcorvette]

1 mouse can practically total out a farm combine with all their wires.

 

[AZjeff]

Maybe the insulation was under the cover already and they rearranged it a bit?

 

[wavinwayne]

My wife and I have searched for yellow insulation. Our insulation is pink??? I hate it when I can’t solve a mystery.

Mouse raided a neighbor's place?

 

[Lubener]

I feel your pain. Last year I had to completely rewire my rider because the wiring was trashed by mice. I thought placing Irish Spring soap bars with in my rider would stop it. This winter, the mice ate the soap and left some deposits just to show they were there.

 

[Marcozi]

You need to get a cat.

 

[Gebo]

You need to get a cat.

I need to shut my garage door. LOL

 

[jeepman3071]

Glad you found the nest, I've seen many cases where mouse nests have cost people engines on their mowers due to overheating. Same with damage in cars. My grandparents have a car that sits a lot since they don't drive much, they had to spend about a thousand on it last year when mice got into the HVAC system.

 

[repairman54]

Bait station and a bucket of mouse blocks from Tractor Supply cured my mice issues. Got tired of dumping the farmers bucket after a while. Previous owner fed the local deer, so garage was overrun with mice. Bird feeders are a mouse attractor also with all the seed they fling off.
Whenever I crank up my OPE I keep an eye out for anything blowing out of the engine, see something then pull the housing off.
Killing them is the only thing that works, forget about the ''humaine'' remedies or repellants, none of them work. Experience there.

 

[Gebo]

Bait station already out. Two of them

 

[Gebo]

Interesting results. I got my part and got it installed. Would replacing the eaten one make my engine run better? Does it have
anything to do with the overall performance of my engine. I could swear the engine runs better than before. Before I replaced this part I could sometimes hear a slight miss? It started missing a little last fall. Not bad but just enough to be noticeable to me. LOL