Rats Eating Wiring

1,656 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by GrapevineAg
Ag In Ok
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AG
So my EGR cooler needs to be replaced under warranty and sure enough, they find the wiring eaten into. So no longer is the warranty issue with the cooler but rather the wiring. How common is this for a truck that is garaged?
fixer
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Rare for garaged truck ( unless you have a previously unknown rodent problem). Did you park somewhere recently for a long period?

I've heard of this happening on trucks that parked in a field for just a few days.

Soy based wiring is the culprit...

I've resorted to rodent repellent spray like this Amazon.com: Rodent Defense Vehicle Natural Repellent for cars, trucks suv, RV Boats, peppermint and other plant based oils to deter rats, mice and squirrels: Garden & Outdoor

I spray it on the wheel wells and on the fender wells every week or so.

Ag In Ok
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AG
Odd to me - i understand the use of soy based products. But this?
Garage is clean - not an issue at all and where i work it is kept in a parking garage. We do camp often and i can see critters wanting to get near the engine block overnight.
fixer
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My coworker bought a brand new platinum f250 a few years ago. Had 500 miles on it.

He drove to his ranch. Spent a few days there.

Got in to drive home. Click. click.

Rodents went ape**** in a matter of days. EGR system, starter system, injectors, fuel pump wiring, speed sensor and abs wiring...

Insurance paid for the bill and it was hefty...

4runner form and tundra forum I'm on has a rodent thread about every 3-4 weeks on there. Its a systemic issue...

Ag In Ok
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AG
Well, i hope USAA sees this as nothing new. One quote is 4,700 - going to get another to look at it.
Wild, never had this before including spending weeks at the farm and normal life. At least the trailer doesn't have this problem.
My luck (seems extraordinary now) has run out.
JamesPShelley
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In our high desert locale certain residents leave their hood open and with a light upon the engine. Works, according to those that live in the sticks.
380Ag
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AG
More common for outdoor parked trucks but not all that uncommon for garage park either. It has happened to me twice in my non-rural neighborhood. I park outside though. Both times I had not driven the truck in a long time. This is more common in colder months. My mechanic told me to put moth balls in the engine bay. Since I've been doing that, I haven't had any problems. Not sure if that is working or if rats just found better wiring to chew.
fixer
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yeah forgot about moth balls...that was a solution many folks swear by.
fixer
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Ag In Ok said:

Well, i hope USAA sees this as nothing new. One quote is 4,700 - going to get another to look at it.
Wild, never had this before including spending weeks at the farm and normal life. At least the trailer doesn't have this problem.
My luck (seems extraordinary now) has run out.
That seems fairly high unless there is more damage.

My coworker's quote was 4500 but the entire truck was practically rewired with new harnesses. perhaps that is how the shop is approaching it not really being able to see full extent of damage they are thinking a full re-wire....who knows.
ItsA&InotA&M
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My buddy and I fought the rodent problem for years at the deer lease. Despite what we did, they continued to chew the wires to our Jeeps.

A few years ago I bought Rodent Stopper at a feed store. I've had no issues since while others on the lease, that don't use the product, have.
It's also available on Amazon.
GentrysMillTX10
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AG
JamesPShelley said:

In our high desert locale certain residents leave their hood open and with a light upon the engine. Works, according to those that live in the sticks.


At the family ranch in central Texas, we back our farm trucks into the sheds and leave the hoods open facing the uncovered end of the shed for this very reason
Aggie65
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AG
Last year I had rats chew up some smaller gauge control wiring for winch and lightbar wiring under the hood of my UTV while stored inside a cargo container. I now leave the hood open with a small light shining in that area when stored (fortunately have electricity to the container). No problems since I started leaving the light on.
Sgt. Hartman
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AG
You need to have a Jerry Clower style Rat Killin
fire09
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AG
4500 seems to be a new master harness job. I know this because I've had to replace one on a 4runner. The whole dash has to come out.
Cassius
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fixer said:

My coworker bought a brand new platinum f250 a few years ago. Had 500 miles on it.

He drove to his ranch. Spent a few days there.

Got in to drive home. Click. click.

Rodents went ape**** in a matter of days. EGR system, starter system, injectors, fuel pump wiring, speed sensor and abs wiring...

Insurance paid for the bill and it was hefty...

4runner form and tundra forum I'm on has a rodent thread about every 3-4 weeks on there. Its a systemic issue...



Holy cow.
FLATOUT
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AG
We see it all the time at the dealership here in CS. Shocking to see how much it happens out here compared to when I was working at our Houston area stores.

Andy
Fairview
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AG
We bought a ranch recently that was a guys second home he never visited and let get a little run down. He never used the barn and we had a major pack rat infestation. Tried all sorts of stuff with varying degrees of success.

Ended up buying some rat zapper ultra's and they did the trick fast. Had them all cleared out within a week. Put some peanut butter in the back of that thing and they can't resist it. I had four going in different sections of the barn and the first week almost all four were full every day with pack rats, mice and other rodents.
GrapevineAg
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AG
Just had a squirrel chew the knock sensor wiring on my '06 4Runner. It's underneath the intake manifold in the valley between the two banks - took a bit of time to get everything off to get to it. My car sits in the driveway, sometimes for days without being driven. @#$% rodents!

A friend had something similar happen several times with his son's car (late model Ford something), and he said the only thing that stopped it was moth balls.
WSCTR
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