Rodent in engine bay - need advice

[jellyrole]

Hello everyone!

I had a rodent get into my engine bay and go to town on wires and materials. I'm trying to figure out the best way to get this fixed. Pics attached. 2017 GT

First thing - any ideas on how to make sure the creature is no longer in there/doesn't come back? The car is lowered and very low to the ground.

Second - can I just solder these wires back together and heatshrink them or this a better way to go about it.

Third - second pic next to the intake..is there supposed to be another wire coming out of that towards the back of the vehicle?

Thank you for any help/advice. Car has been parked since it's winter and I'm driving my truck right now but I need to get her fixed up asap.

Sponsored

 

[Unbridled5.0]

Oh my f...You may be better off just getting another harness altogether.

I assume it's being kept outside. You really should keep it in a garage with the hood up, lights on and sticky traps set around the edges of the walls if the car is going to sit for any length of time. If it's outside and there's no other way, getting a cat or two might help keep that in check.

I know this will come across condescending through the internet, but you really need to keep a closer eye on your car. That much damage didn't happen at once. Very sorry to see this. A true nightmare for anyone, let alone an enthusiast.

 

[sk47]

Damaged fuse block | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com
Hello; The link is about my chewed wiring. My first bit of advice is to check if the insurance will cover the damage.

 

[s2ms]

Damaged fuse block | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com
Hello; The link is about my chewed wiring. My first bit of advice is to check if the insurance will cover the damage.

^^Absolutely this. Rats or mice did $20K worth of damage to my wife's 2017 Cayenne, which didn't look nearly as bad as yours from the photos, and they did it in one night. Thankfully insurance covered everything except the $500 deductible.

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

Search MouseBlocker for after you get it repaired.

 

[WItoTX]

Call insurance company. A friend just had this, in her garage, hood up, where she keeps the lights on.

That absolutely could have happened in a night or two.

 

[wingnutt]

Wowsa…I have now fixed my 2018 F150 three times from rodent infestation. They have all taken nothing more than wires, solder, and an iron to fix, but yours might require more. I concur with the others, call your insurance first and see what is covered or not… And then get busy!

 

[jloshotz]

1) The plug by the CAI filter should just be jumpered i believe, defintely doesn’t go anywhere. Unplugging it just defeats most of the nannies.

2) I would (and you should) murder every one of those little pieces of s*it at any cost.

Sorry to see this

 

[sk47]

Hello; My rodent damage was a couple of years ago. My truck is fixed. I found that squirrels had made a home in the soffits of my carport. I evicted them.
I also take several measures now.
-I buy some peppermint oil in the candle area of Wal-mart. I put some drops in a spray bottle and spray around the tires and under the hood sometimes.
- I placed some cotton balls under the lid of my fuse box under the hood of the truck and put a few drops of the peppermint oil on the cotton balls.
- I bought some irish spring soap. Cut it up and placed some chunks in the engine compartment.
- Got some Cyane pepper power and sprinkle in on the floor of the carport from time to time.
- A neighbor was giving me used cat litter which i spread around the carport but she moved.
- got a small box of dryer sheets to put in the engine compartment. At first I put one in a mesh bag that i hung in the engine compartment. Now I just put a sheet on one of the rubber bumper pads that the hood closes down onto.
- put a couple of moth balls in a mesh bag that i hang in the engine compartment.
- got an LED bulb which automatically come on at dusk and which is directly over the hood of the truck.
- got some poison bait boxes at tractor supply (Tomcat I think) The poison bait has a hole in it. The bait box has a metal spike onto which the bait fits. That way the mice/tat cannot carry the bait away. Been told rats will take a new food to a nest and feed some to a baby rat. If the baby gets sick or dies the rat wil not eat it. But a bait on a spike forces them to eat it in place. The box is designed with a entrance hole too small for dogs or cats and a curved path the rat/mouse has to navigate. I put a couple of bricks on the bait box.
- do not store dog food near a vehicle unless in a sealed rat proof container
-do not feed dogs /cats outdoors unless you make sure to clean up excess food. Had a neighbor who just threw pellet dog food on the ground. Dog did not eat it all nd eventually his house was rat infested.

Good luck

 

[s2ms]

One thing I did try that absolutely did not work was Irish Spring soap. Cut it up and spread pieces throughout the engine compartment but each morning every piece was gone. Tried that 3 days in a row, finally figured out the mice loved the stuff, no idea what they were doing with it.

Have had success using these electronic gadgets...

https://www.amazon.com/Loraffe-Repe...cphy=9033394&hvtargid=pla-2281435181658&psc=1

 

[Sig556]

If this was my car and being, it's a 2017 I would look for a new or used wiring harness for the engine bay. I f you know what you are doing you could resolder the broken wires using quality solder, flux, and wrap.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

So some advice on rodent removal. After dealing with a large infestation around my duck pen. First remove any and all food and water sources near the car. That includes garbage cans. This attracts them in the first place. Second, rodents follow walls and such, so bait stations need to be placed in their path. Ultrasonic pest eliminators don't work if there is a food source. So don't waste money on them. That also goes for any fancy traps. Third buy an outdoor Wi-Fi camera ($50 on Amazon) and set it up so you can see what you're dealing with. You may be as shocked as I was to see what goes on at night. I bought 2 for more coverage. Which brings me to my final point, Rodents are nocturnal, so make sure the camera can see in the dark. Poison bait boxes are the only thing that works, but they take time. Rodents don't like change to their environments. It can take days or even weeks before they will acclimate to the bait station being there. I got lucky with my situation, the camera showed me where they felt comfortable hanging out and sorry, pooping. And that's where I concentrated on placing poison down. Within days I wiped them all out. Granted my experience took over a month or more to resolve. And at one point I had to move my ducks into the house since removing food sources made them the target. I had to learn a lot to remove these rodents, so I hope that what I shared can help you.

 

[jellyrole]

I know this update is way late but I soldered everything back together and didn't need to add any wire extensions and insulated everything as much as I could/made sense. She's running happy and as good as ever and ready for a Paxton super that's coming in a couple of weeks.

Thank you everyone.

Sponsored