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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.
A rat moved into my Mini that was parked in a garage! I don't know a thing about engines, but I was relieved to find that the wire that was completely eaten was just a spark plug wire = easy fix.
However, there is another bundle of wires that sits between spark plug #2 and #3, and runs towards front of car. The outer casing was eaten through, but I'm not sure the wires were damaged or not. (there is just a tiny tear in the red wire). Can someone tell me what these wires are for? Can this be repaired or does the whole wiring assembly need to be replaced? THANKS!
Circled area is where Rat ate my spark plug wire! But what is the bundle of wires at the arrow (one red, one black...and I think there is a yellow one) Close up of the wire in question. The Rat got awfully close but the red wire only has a little damage, I think? Car still starts and I'm not getting any engine warnings but I'd like to know what these wires are for. Can I just wrap in electrical tape??
The plug wires are on the right,, #4 is farthest right and then #3 is to the left of that. I will go down and look at my engine and and see if i can figure where the wrapped one goes. You can get a schematic via item # 0015 of the below thread. Going to move you to the Stock Problems/Issues area as well.
Thank you for such and speedy replies! Really appreciate it!
To WayMoyorWorks— the circled wire is the spark plug wire .
But what is the set of wires to the left (arrow pointing to it)? It looks to be a set of three small wires, red black and yellow. That’s the one I’m worried about - is that part of the wiring harness and if so does the whole thing need to be replaced if one wire is damaged?
To WayMoyorWorks— the circled wire is the spark plug wire .
But what is the set of wires to the left (arrow pointing to it)? It looks to be a set of three small wires, red black and yellow. That’s the one I’m worried about - is that part of the wiring harness and if so does the whole thing need to be replaced if one wire is damaged?
thank you!
Like I said the ones you pointed to are the coil power, signal, and ground wires. Just repair them.
The circled ones are just the plug wires.
It doesn't appear that any of the copper strands are cut through. Just get some electrical tape, wrap each individual wire where the insulation is absent, then wrap the whole area with tape. You should be good to go! (If possible, purchase the type of electrical tape that bonds to itself when wrapped tightly.)
I have heard that " bounce" dryer tissues. will repeal any rodent
I had a few things " nibbled" on and since then, I have tied a few bounce dryer sheets to the wires.
Hope this helps and welcom !!
For y'all that travel and worry about bed bugs in motels, bed bugs hate dryer sheets as well. We keep a handful in our suitcases all the time and tuck them around the motel bed before turning in. Never been bit.
I don't remember the link, but there is a company marketing a rodent repelling electrical tape that can be used to wrap wiring. I haven't tried it yet, but have had many an injector wire eaten by rats where we live out in the country and they seem to like black wires best. I read it is because car companies started using bio-degradable insulation rather than plastic insulation and it is apparently bio-delectable to rats.
A friend joked that my "new" 04 Mini apparently came with the rat-option installed; there was a big nest of house insulation behind the rear bumper cover and after removing that and cleaning up the inside of the car I found that something had shredded a roll of paper towels I left in the boot and dragged the shreds through those little grills in the rear sill that lead to the space under the bumper cover. I set traps in the boot and caught a small rat that I think came with and was living in the Mini, although we do have plenty of home grown rats around here too.
I've since stashed bags of moth ***** behind each of the openings in the body back there, covered them with AC filter tucked behind the holes, covered the whole face of the sill with "hardware cloth" metal screen with 1/2" square holes so nothing bigger than 1/2" square should be able to get back in, and replaced the old falling-apart foam with some porous non-skid rubber glued to the back of the sill cover. Fortunately I've seen no wire eating in the front so far, and the only down side is that if I drive with the front windows open I get a heavy draft of moth ball odor from the back that can be overpowering.
Seems to be the same product that Honda sells at a slightly higher price.
Update: I just ordered a roll from the Mouseblocker web site for $29.95 and free shipping; Hope it works since I caught more than a dozen rats in the barn last year and already three big ones this year in addition to the small one in the boot.
Last edited by philwarner; Jan 29, 2018 at 06:29 AM.
after finding a nest in our 540i I got cats, 3 garage cats that kill 3-4 mice per week, they also kill moles, flying squirrels, turkeys, regular squirrels, and have chased off racoon
after finding a nest in our 540i I got cats, 3 garage cats that kill 3-4 mice per week, they also kill moles, flying squirrels, turkeys, regular squirrels, and have chased off racoon
We currently have three cats but lost the only one that hunted to old age; he'd bring us several mice, rats, and ground squirrels a week. The other three are apparently democrats who prefer to hang out in the house and be fed.
This is like the 3rd post i have seen with rodent damage. They really like those wires under the Gen 1 MINIs. Mine was so bad they fixed the clutch line, main wires, chewed the insulation and repainted the underside of the hood. I had the car outside for one early spring day. Now i keep it in the garage.
This is like the 3rd post i have seen with rodent damage. They really like those wires under the Gen 1 MINIs. Mine was so bad they fixed the clutch line, main wires, chewed the insulation and repainted the underside of the hood. I had the car outside for one early spring day. Now i keep it in the garage.
I live out in the country overlooking Beaver lake and this year has been a really bad one for rats. They've eaten injector wires in four vehicles (that I know of so far) and I have live trapped four big ones in my pole barn since the first of the year and more than a dozen in the last quarter of 2017. Besides the wiring, they literally ate the vinyl off the bows of my Jag E-Type convertible top that I had stored in the barn for "safe Keeping". Ha! There's another $600 I'll have to spend to replace it. I hadn't used rat poison because of the one hunting cat who might be sickened if he found a dead one, but now with three indoor Demo-cats I think I'll put some out. The irony is that I am pretty sure I brought the Mini rat home with the car - as if we needed more.
Many cars have wiring under the hood that’s wrapped in insulation made from soybeans. That makes the insulation eco-friendly, but apparently also makes it a tasty treat for rodents.
Soy based?
I didn't know that this was a thing.
Yet another example of "noble intentions" gone wrong.
Last edited by Oldboy Speedwell; Feb 4, 2018 at 09:28 AM.
I believe there is a class action law suit against Honda for this very problem and Honda now sells this rodent repellent tape under a Honda part number. Guess they were saving the planet from pollution because it is nearly impossible to emit hydrocarbons without working fuel injectors.
