Something chewed the electrical wiring under the bonnet

CamperMan

Something chewed the electrical wiring under the bonnet..

I tried to start the car this morning, it would start but would not run, it would cut out straight away, so I lifted the bonnet, had a look about and noticed first, that the windscreen washer pipe attached to the bonnet had been chewed to bits, then I looked at all the wiring and found several wires were also chewed through.. and some of the wiring was missing, little pieces of it..

I soldered in new wires and the car is OK now..

why would rodents, probably mice, want to do such a thing?, the car was fine yesterday, and has been for many months, until today

heate

Rodents are a possibility and most likely if they look chewed as opposed to burnt!
Where is the car kept?

gpjordanf1

CamperMan wrote: »

Something chewed the electrical wiring under the bonnet..

I tried to start the car this morning, it would start but would not run, it would cut out straight away, so I lifted the bonnet, had a look about and noticed first, that the windscreen washer pipe attached to the bonnet had been chewed to bits, then I looked at all the wiring and found several wires were also chewed through.. and some of the wiring was missing, little pieces of it..

I soldered in new wires and the car is OK now..

why would rodents, probably mice, want to do such a thing?, the car was fine yesterday, and has been for many months, until today

Sounds like Rats, happened to my brothers Superb a few years back!

-Corkie-

Mice love cars for the heat. You would too if you were a mouse in this weather..:D

CamperMan

heate wrote: »

Rodents are a possibility and most likely if they look chewed as opposed to burnt!
Where is the car kept?

the car is kept outside on the drive.. in the countryside

heate

Country mouse looking for refuge so!

heate

Look online for an in car ultrasonic rodent repellent or some such

headmaster

Oh yes, they're mice alright, i've had the pleasure. Last year I had the car in the shed, had the golf bag and clubs, balls, everything, in the boot ready for an early morning tee time. Next morning came, felt good, bag into the buggy and off to the 1st tee, hand in for the glove, half eaten, balls had all the white dimples eaten away, down in the bottom of the bag where the club handles were, we found 3 little baby mice, mum and dad had gone. Cost a few quid, bloody expensive balls and gear. Grrrrr! I'm not telling you what happened to the baby mouses

gpjordanf1

headmaster wrote: »

Oh yes, they're mice alright, i've had the pleasure. Last year I had the car in the shed, had the golf bag and clubs, balls, everything, in the boot ready for an early morning tee time. Next morning came, felt good, bag into the buggy and off to the 1st tee, hand in for the glove, half eaten, balls had all the white dimples eaten away, down in the bottom of the bag where the club handles were, we found 3 little baby mice, mum and dad had gone. Cost a few quid, bloody expensive balls and gear. Grrrrr! I'm not telling you what happened to the baby mouses

Driver, 3 or 5 wood, would be my guess? How'd ya stick them to the Tee's though??

mondeo

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

How'd ya stick them to the Tee's though??

I'm sure you could be creative about that one

heate

Get a mean ass Cat?

challengemaster

I've had mice destroy speaker cable in the house before, little bastids...

Mc Love

It wasnt this by any chance?

CamperMan

I have seen mice get into caravans before and wreck the interiors over the space of a winter... but I have never in 20 years of car ownership seen this.. irritating little feckers..

dr.fuzzenstein

CamperMan wrote: »

the car is kept outside on the drive.. in the countryside

Pine Martens!
They are notorious for chewing anything rubber in cars kept outside, especially in the country.
I've had the pleasure, once they ate through the wire in the GF's car ('93 Opel Corsa) that switches on the radiator fan, this might have contributed to her car subsequently overheating and the engine needing a new head gasket. Might have, I say, but certainly can't have helped matters. That happened in Ireland.
They also like CV boots, once had to replace all four on my VW van (1984 model, T3). In Germany they are a well known pest for that. That one was in Germany.
It has been said that they chew the odd brake line, but I haven't seen it myself.
I fear a cat won't do, ultrasonic repellant or a bunch of dogs.
Here's some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Pine_Marten
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Would_a_pine_marten_eat_rubber_tubes_in_a_car
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t65198.html

CamperMan

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Pine Martens!
They are notorious for chewing anything rubber in cars kept outside, especially in the country.
I've had the pleasure, once they ate through the wire in the GF's car ('93 Opel Corsa) that switches on the radiator fan, this might have contributed to her car subsequently overheating and the engine needing a new head gasket. Might have, I say, but certainly can't have helped matters.
They also like CV boots, once had to replace all four on my VW van (1984 model, T3). In Germany they are a well known pest for that.
It has been said that they chew the odd brake line, but I haven't seen it myself.
I fear a cat won't do, ultrasonic repellant or a bunch of dogs.
Here's some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Pine_Marten
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Would_a_pine_marten_eat_rubber_tubes_in_a_car
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t65198.html

any idea what pine martin poo looks like??

I have seen some poo in the area of the car, to big to be rat poo, small for cat or dog poo.....

I have seen this a few times in the area...

dr.fuzzenstein

CamperMan wrote: »

any idea what pine martin poo looks like??

I have seen some poo in the area of the car, to big to be rat poo, small for cat or dog poo.....

I have seen this a few times in the area...

Personally I have never seen it, but BBC to the rescue!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/2010/10/your-questions-answered.shtml

CamperMan

looks like it could be a Pine Marten then, destructive bleeder... no doubt it's illegal to kill them...

headmaster

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

Driver, 3 or 5 wood, would be my guess? How'd ya stick them to the Tee's though??

A big Bertha driver, small mousheen taped gently to the head of the driver, ball (eaten one) put on the tee and xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ball went out of bounds, but left a very small grey markeen on the driver. The rest of the drives were much improved and the driver head was perfectly cleansed, as was my bag. If it was balls those mousheens were after, by jingo, they got their moneys worth