Opened the hood on my Mustang the other day to find this.

Status
Not open for further replies.
wtd said:
I just took off the plastic engine cover to see if I can see any signs of mice and looked over the entire engine compartment and there are 0 signs of mice other than the chewed wires.
Click to expand...
If it was mice I'd think you'd find some droppings somewhere under the hood.
 
Well, when it rains, it pours. I went to MFA to see about the mice poison and come out and my truck will not start. I had stopped at the Ford dealership first to pick up the connector they ordered for the AC pressure switch and it started but when I put it in gear, it died but restarted and I drove to MFA from there. AAA can't come for about two hours so I had someone pick me up and bring me home until they call and say they are coming. Definitely a bad week.

The truck cranks fine and the fuel pump kicks on. I have strong fuel pressure at the test port. It had been idling high on the last couple of starts and running kind of rough but no CEL. I checked all of the fuses related to ignition and ECM while I waited for AAA to call me back and they are all good. Now I have two vehicles to fix.
 
These work well and no kill (it will kill small rodents) but they wont come back after jumping around under the hood for a bit. VW/Audi use them OE, when they step on one it gives them a high voltage blast, they jump to the next spot and get it again and again till they leave.


STOP & GO Marderabwehr-Gerät Typ 6 PLUS-MINUS Hochspannung + Ultraschall 07506 : Amazon.de: Auto & Motorrad

Kaufen Sie STOP & GO Marderabwehr-Gerät Typ 6 PLUS-MINUS Hochspannung + Ultraschall 07506 im Auto & Motorrad-Shop auf Amazon.de. Große Auswahl und Gratis Lieferung durch Amazon ab 29€.
www.amazon.de

Volkswagen 000054650G Marten Repellent M5700N Ultrasonic / High Voltage : Amazon.de: Automotive

Volkswagen 000054650G Marten Repellent M5700N Ultrasonic / High Voltage : Amazon.de: Automotive
www.amazon.de

K K &M4700 Marten combination : Amazon.de: Automotive

K K &M4700 Marten combination : Amazon.de: Automotive
www.amazon.de
 
jhs914 said:
Typical mouse damage. I've never known a cat to chew on wiring. If they don't make a nest in the engine bay you won't see feces. Mice were there and attracted the cats. You saw the cats but not the mice.
Click to expand...

My wifes 3 cats will chew on anything. Laptop charger cords are their favorites, which is why they are banned from my office area.

www.thedrive.com

Honda's Chili-Flavored Wire Wrap Could Save Your Car From a Rodent Invasion

Treat your tiny enemies to something spicy.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

Not sure if that will deter cats, but it will mice.
 
ctechbob said:
My wifes 3 cats will chew on anything. Laptop charger cords are their favorites, which is why they are banned from my office area.

www.thedrive.com

Honda's Chili-Flavored Wire Wrap Could Save Your Car From a Rodent Invasion

Treat your tiny enemies to something spicy.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

Not sure if that will deter cats, but it will mice.
Click to expand...
That may be an option. The whole situation is pretty disheartening. I've been leaving the hood cracked and I just opened it to check the AC pressure switch wiring color and saw that one of the cats had pissed all over up by the battery. The day I found the damage I smelled cat piss. This was fresh since it was still wet.
 
I doubt it's a cat. Mice or rat.

I have a Mouse Blocker Pro in both vehicles. It has a blinking light and high frequency sounds if engine not running. Three levels of high frequency. Drives daughter crazy when walking by. Being older with hearing not so great, I mostly cannot hear the sounds.

Any mouse poison will kill the mice but may also kill any animal who eats the dead mouse such as cat or bird.
 
wtd said:
That may be an option. The whole situation is pretty disheartening. I've been leaving the hood cracked and I just opened it to check the AC pressure switch wiring color and saw that one of the cats had pissed all over up by the battery. The day I found the damage I smelled cat piss. This was fresh since it was still wet.
Click to expand...

Yep, I'd be hunting cats. At the point they are destroying my property and they're not mine, that's when they start getting eliminated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wtd
I want to thank everyone for their responses. I do find it interesting that most people don't think that a cat could chew on wires. I don't know if it's because most people that have cats keep them inside or if it's just not a common thing that happens.

Every other car that I've seen with wiring damage from mice and rats, there were other signs that they were there under the hood and that is why I still question what caused the chewing. I'm probably going to wait until I get back from vacation to set a mouse trap under the hood.

I decided to not do the poison thing because we have free ranging chickens that would probably eat a dead mouse and if it was poisoned, I don't want them to die. Plus the fiancé is also not on board with the possibility that the cats might have caused the damage so she wouldn't want any of them to eat a poisoned mouse/rat.

On a brighter note, I think I fixed my truck. Triple AAA could not make it and so I was going to tow it home with some help. It ended up starting so I drove it home. I put the scanner on it and there were no codes. I did see that the coolant temp was showing -35 so I knew the coolant temp sensor was probably bad given the symptoms that it had which I remembered being the same as my 92 Cavalier with a bad coolant temp sensor. The plastic part of the sensor also broke off when I was taking it out and the pins inside showed some rust. I put a new one in and let it warm up and then shut it off and it started right back up. Coolant temp reading was back to normal and it wasn't idling high like it was before. Hopefully that fixed it.
 
wtd said:
Cats do chew on wiring. I've seen them do it indoors and if you google search it, there are many articles that state that they can and do sometimes chew on cords and wiring. I'm not saying that is what did this but it's possible.

I guess I will try putting a mouse trap under the hood and see if I catch anything.
Click to expand...


Yeah... This is true ^^^^^^^^^

My darn cat Chloe aka Coco chews on my darn cable wires behind our TV. Now those wires have been wrapped with a lot of electrical tape.

She's just wanting to get electrocuted I swear... Dang champion cat I have.

The thick wire needs more electrical tape I can see where she chewed through the daggone tape.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210529_245617362.jpg
    IMG_20210529_245617362.jpg
    58.3 KB · Views: 12
  • Like
Reactions: wtd
The guilty championship cat here....

Loves chewing on wires.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20200918_204403555.jpg
    IMG_20200918_204403555.jpg
    99.7 KB · Views: 16
  • Like
Reactions: wtd
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Ed_Flecko
My amateur rat bait (and/or mouse bait) recommendation
Replies
9
Views
2K
vavavroom
92saturnsl2
I'll be asking for the VIN when ordering parts for other people.
Replies
18
Views
806
97prizm
W
Keeping kittens out of engine bay.
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
wtd
Number_35
2003 Acura TL - Need to find switched 12 V for aftermarket DRLs
Replies
12
Views
1K
Number_35
Hermann
The continuation of being dumped on in Restaurants needs to end.
22 23 24
Replies
470
Views
24K
4WD
Back
Top