You Won't Believe What's Wrong With My Car

Tuesday morning my A/C was strangly DEAD. It was so sudden. I last drove on Saturday and the A/C was tossing out ice cubes. Tuesday, nothing; the thing was dead. As I was very busy on an upcoming project deadline, I suffered through w/o A/C. On Wednesday I noticed that my engine was "surging", alternately revving up over and over, when idling. It was very annoying. Didn't keep the car from running though. On Thursday, after an afternoon shower when I tried to turn the wipers off they stopped in the vertical position, 2 streaks standing upright in front of me, and refused to move any more. After I switched them on and off a few times they finally returned to the proper "off" horizontal position. Then someone came up to my window in the parking lot to tell me that the left break light was out. It was starting to seem like the car had gremlins.

Today I took it to the dealership to get it looked at. I was horrified when the mechanic came up front to ask me to come and see the rat's nest in my engine compartment! Yykes! It seems the rat had busied herself chewing wires. The mechanic started by replacing the thoroughly gnawed and mangled wiring harness, then began to work his way back through the various components. My car spent the entire day in emergency surgery while I waited anxiously for word of a prognosis. For most of the day its life hung in the balance, no one could say for sure if would live or die. More and more donor organs were brought in in an effort to revive it. Still, every time I asked, the word was the same, "we still can't say for sure".

It seems the chewed wires were only the tip of the iceburg. The mangled wires led to electrical short circuits which in turn damaged a host of components including the thermostat, radio, a printed circuit board of some kind, and even the main computer, all of which had to be replaced. Thanks to a wonderful mechanic and a car w/o all the electronics extras, I was lucky. My car lived, and the whole thing only cost me a day off from work and $600. I'm told that the average for this kind of thing is $2-3k.

Now if I can just figure out where to park my car...

When I saw the subject line, I was half expecting to hear that Mr. Titmouse was back and devoting his attentions to your car instead of your window! You do have the worst luck with wildlife, glad to hear it ended up not being too expensive!

Actually, ecrane3, I thought (fondly) of Mr T today. As noisy and annoying as his project was, he didn't cost me $600! Not to mention all the stress of wondering if my poor car would even live. Yes, I do seem to be having my share of run ins with the local fauna.

Time to dab the peppermint oil under the hood of your car to keep them out!

thanks, garden_mermaid, I'll have to try that. Right now I have the rat zapper under the right front bumper. In a little while I'm going out to put a trap under the left front bumper. Can't be too safe. I NEED my A/C!!!

[quote]When I saw the subject line, I was half expecting to hear that Mr. Titmouse was back and devoting his attentions to your car instead of your window![/quote} My MIL will be peeing in her pants when she reads this thread this Sunday.

Hi, Equilibrium!
Does your MIL need a vacation? I bet she could REALLY enjoy this a lot more up close. It's the kind of thing you have to experience to truly appreciate. She can park her car on the other side of my driveway if she brings her own rat trap.

You should have seen it. There I was at the dealership all dressed in my black pinstripe power suit and sitting at one of those wi-fi equiped desks they provide for business people, with my little "office suite" all layed out there, laptop, docking station, telephone, looking all business-like and official...when out comes my mechanic who walks up and tells me that the problem with my car is due to the big rat's nest under the hood WHICH he has kindly saved for me to see. I have to admit I was just a little bit embarrased! That was my 1st thought. My next thought was, "OMG, what does it cost to re-wire a car?" and that was BEFORE I learned that the wires were the least of my problems and the damage had propagated all the way to the onboard computer!

While I was waiting for my car, I considered calling a close friend to ask if I might borrow one of his vehicles. I knew that he would say, "yes". I've borrowed one before. Then it occurred to me that I couldn't ask someone else to lend me a car to park in the same spot where mine was when it was eaten by a rat!

When my car was finally finished the mechanic warned me to be careful lest the rat return to finish the job. The significance of that sentence didn't really sink in until I pulled into the driveway, and realized that I had no safe place to put my newly repaired vehicle!

Ok, ok, I DO have a garage, and there is no evidence that the rats have ever been in the garage. In fact, I put the rat zapper in the garage for a month or so and it never caught anything. But I can't find space in my 2 car garage for my Civic! I guess my new project for the weekend will be to clean out the garage - at least 1/2 of it! It is a sad, sad world indeed when you have to bring your car inside to keep it safe.

My MIL is a keeper. I couldn't send her on vacation to visit you... you never know what she might come back with and I certainly don't need any new rats to strengthen the gene pool over here. What are you baiting that rat zapper with? Ours work around here.

You got off cheap at only $600.

Aww honey, I feel your pain. We just had to clean out the garage to be able to park one car in it. It wasn't a pretty sight and it looked a lot worse there for a while then before we started. And then after my husband sighed a big sigh of relief and pulled one of his babies in... he found fresh mouse turds on a nearby shelving unit the very next morning. I decided to run for the hills tbecause I felt a slew of profanities were ready to spew forth out of his mouth and truly figured it best not to watch a grown man reduced to tears. Mice can do just as much damage to an electrical system as a rat. We are now the proud owners of not one but two mice zappers and one of them is strategically place on the floor in the back seat of his toy and the other is rammed into the engine compartment. He caught 4 in the first few days. He was a very happy boy!

Your power suit visual left me speechless. That one is right up there with me bragging about how well mannered my kids were only to turn around to find one with his finger up his nose to the knuckle foraging around up there for who knows what. Lemme tell you the blood drained from me and I sure did look around to see who was paying attention as I stood there in heels and hose. Kids, rats... what's the difference these days. The presence of both can be an embarrassment at times.

Scutler, stick with your titmouse. You'll go far.

ROTFLOL! Yes, children live to embarass their parents, but fear not. When they become teens you will have more than enough time to get even!

Oh, I wasn't saying the rat zapper didn't work. I was saying that I've never seen any indication of rats in the garage. You see, I had rats in the back yard. That's where the birdfeeder is. I bought the zapper to get rid of the rats, but I couldn't put it in the back yard because when I tried that the raccoons picked it up, dumped the food out, and then proceeded to use it for a "football". So, naturally, as with that joke about searching for your keys under the lightpost because that's where the light is, I put the zapper in the garage because that was the only place I could think of to put it where the raccoons couldn't get it - even though there was no evidence of rats in the garage. That makes sense, right?

Don't I KNOW I got off light. When I heard that the computer had to be replaced I was expecting thousands. I have a great mechanic. He has been my mechanic for 16 years. He is absolutely wonderful. He tells me when I don't need things and even though he works for the dealership, if he thinks a used or after market part would likely outlast the car, he'll get that for me. He's wonderful. If he ever moves, I'll have to move, too.

Good to hear that I'm not the only one who can't find space in the garage for the car. Can't believe you actually put the zapper under the hood. I was thinking of doing that. It would fit nicely on that little platform where the nest used to be. Honestly, I'm afraid I'll drive off with it still in there and loose it down the road somewhere.

A toy for your raccoons, how kind of you. I wonder if there's any way to bolt it down? The mouse zapper is much smaller. It slips in just about anywhere. He leaves the hood open on that car. He tells me it will deter mice from getting all comfy cozy.

Out here nobody puts their cars in garages (although I admit that I do still have room in my 2 car garage for my one car...but who knows how long that will last! And if I had a 2nd car there's no way it would fit!). When I lived in Ohio, everyone had a basement to pile their junk in, but here nobody has basements so it winds up in the garage instead!

I'm paranoid now about rodents and cars--I hadn't even thought that they would do something like make a nest in a car, but now I might have to get some zappers myself! There was a little mouse infestation in my house that was cleared up before I moved in, but I know they'll be back at some point!

We don't have any rats by they house but it's that time of year when the mice are making their way in to the house through every nook and cranny. This is not good for me because with them they bring fleas and I've got indoor only cats that end up riddled with fleas so I have to start treating every cat monthly which irks me to no end spending that kind of money on flea control meds. We have two zappers for mice in the house. We use them shamelessly.

I had heard of rat damage to cars but thought of it as somewhere between obscure reality and urban legend. Well, I can now tell you first hand that it's neither. The folks at the dealership indicated that they see quite a bit of this kind of damage. They said they get lots of angry patrons from Kiawah and Seabrook who return to complain about problems with their NEW cars only to find that rats have quietly rearranged all of the electrical components. And I hadn't even considered the potentially far reaching ramifications of short circuits as a result of mangled wires.

One valuable piece of information that I got from the mechanic is that rats usually only do their dirty work in cars that haven't been moved for 2-3 days. That exactly fits the situation that preceeded the damage to my car. I had gone out early on Sat morning and then had not moved the car again until Tuesday morning. Also, this is a particularly bad time of year because as the nights get cooler the rats/mice are looking for shelter and a car that hasn't been moved lately looks very attractive. So even if you aren't going anywhere, at least move the car to the other side of the driveway every day or two, esp in fall and winter. From what I've learned that alone may save you from rather humiliating and costly experience of hearing that your car problems were caused by rat damage.

Here we can't have basements. We are at sea level so the ground is too wet. Many houses here on the coast are built on stilts. Some people refer to the area under such houses as either their basement or their "downstairs" but usually those areas have open or lattice type "walls" designed to let the water flow by in case of flooding so they don't make such great storage places. We used to have attics in most of the houses here but newer designs are using what once was attic space for cathedral type ceilings. I actually have 3 different areas of attic space but no access stairs for any of them. The 2 areas inside the house are 10 ft up and have no flooring. I'm not too keen on the idea of climbing a 10ft ladder while carrying heavy boxes that I can't readily put down when I get "there". The area over the garage is 500 or more sq ft and has a solid floor but no stairs and it's more that 12ft high so it's higher than my ladder. I can't deside whether to have pull down stairs installed now or wait until I can afford to have a doorway cut through upstairs to annex that area which (with the addition of a window or 2 and some heat/air ducts) would make a very nice FROG (yet another attic stealing part of the modern home). So for now, I have neither - but I do have a garage full of junk! But, as usual, I digress.

Oh, and that's not to mention that while I'm sure the rats have not made it into the house or garage, I'm not too sure about the dreaded attic (where the house wiring lives!). I'm afraid to look up there. Out of sight, out of mind, at least until the lights start to flicker and the fridge goes dead and ... OMG, I have to get more rat zappers FAST!!!

Equil, You asked earlier what I use in my zapper. I'm using dog food. Right now I have it bated with Eukanuba small breed puppy food, lamb and rice variety. It lists meat as the 1st 2 or 3 ingredients. It sounds to me like you have mice. I have RATS - and I'm not proud of it either. I'd feel much better saying "mice". But I've seen these beasts and they are mega-mice. Here's how I 1st learned I had "rats". I looked out the window and saw a squirrel on the squirrel-proof feeder. Since it's the kind where the squirrel's weight closes the ports, I was surprised to see that the ports were still open and the squirrel was eating unhampered. THEN I noticed that the SQUIRREL's tail was missing, no not missing, just "bald", no not bald, long and skinny with very short hair, no...wait...OMG, it was a RAT!!! I had never in my life actually SEEN a rat before - and certainly not on my bird feeder! Anyhow, according to the instructions that came with my rat zapper, while mice will use the zapper the 1st day it is put out, rats are more cautious and will avoid it for days before they succumb. The instructions even said that it might be necessary to dribble some food up the shoot to lead them in (and leave it "off") until they get used to eating from it. So, I think part of my difficulty in using the zapper stems from the fact that I have rats - that and the fact that I have to put it outside yet out of reach of squirrels, opposums, raccoons, rain, flood, peacocks, you name it - OMG, I live in a zoo here - oh, and not to mention - titmice.

Equil, you didn't notice any rats by your candy cane composter did you? Even if you chippie doesn't mind it, many others are reporting success with the peppermint oil for rats.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/654903/

garden_mermaid, I am SO glad you reminded me of that (my memory has gone way south these days). I'm going to wash EVERYTHING in the stuff, the house, the car (interior and carpets), and put some pads soaked with it in the attic and under the car hood. You know I love this idea. I had read that rags soaked with ammonia would cause unwanted "guests" to evacuate, but when I considered putting them in the attic I feared it would also force ME to evacuate. If peppermint works, that will be perfect because I love that smell.

No, no rats by the candy cane composter. Just Mr. Chippie there.

Rats I want humanely destroyed. Chippie I want to relocate.

Yaa scutler, well I have a bunch of little nose pickers around here and I'm not proud of it either- so there!

We have rats but they are by the barns across the street. They are particularly attracted to the animal feed. Trust me, I am well familiar with rats. We bait the ratzapper2000's (old models of ratzapper) with anything from left over chicken, to cap fulls of milk, and even tuna fish.

In the house where we have no chipmunks, we bait our mice traps with cheeze whiz, sunflower seeds, and peanut butter or anything else that we think might be attractive to them. I do not normally use these baits outside because I'm always afraid of attracting a chipmunk or squirrel and that ratzapper is much bigger than the mouse zapper and it would humanely destroy anything large enough to enter. I have used those baits on ratzappers but only if they were inside a barn where rats were seen as chipmunks and squirrels generally stay outside.

I share your pain. DH's beloved Corvette has TWICE been attacked by the varmints while parked IN the garage. And he drives it faithfully. May be a day or two when he doesn't go anywhere... The first time we were told it was rats, the second time the nest was right in there. Later, from someone on DG, I found out that you can claim in under your comprehensive insurance. Thank goodness!!

We took down our bird feeders about three years ago when all kinds of critters showed up - a family of skunks (beautiful, but I was afraid to go out at night - every rustle in a bush would make me run screaming into the house!), possums, racoons, and rats. The rats really bothered me. Then they showed up in our attic. We lost our security system and our intercom. They just love wires!! That's when the bird feeders went.

We have the zapper in the garage, but we've never caught anything. Also had the standard rat traps, which worked in the attic, but not in the garage. They'd also got into our bags of vermiculite by chewing holes in the plastic bags.

Oh yes! Almost forgot. We have a screened-in pool and about six years ago, noticed holes in the bottom panels, here and there. I suspected squirrels and also thought they were chewing the plastic around the irrigation heads (had to put wire cages around them). Big scraping teeth marks. So we set out traps in the pool area and got - rats. Had to put in solid bottom panels to stop the damage. But we just found another hole where the rat had apparently gnawed away at the screen while sitting in a shrub outside the screen. I really do hate them.

scutler ..

Just be sure to take the occasional 'peek' inside your glove box, etc. .. in the interior .. periodically! Especially, the time of the year it's getting to be ...

Rats (and MICE) .. can/will chew into and through the rubber 'plugs' around the wiring that goes through an automobiles' firewall (metal that separates the vehicle interior from the engine, under the hood) .. and enter the interior quite easily! They'll chew into and 'nest' IN the seat foam rubber, under and behind the seats. The glove box, however .. is their favored 'out-of-the-way' and 'private' spot, etc. .. but 'anywhere' is an option!

Leave no maps, tissues .. even your car manual .. IN the car! It can all contribute to nesting material !!

And don't leave 'em anything in there, to nibble and dine on .. either!! ... (lol)

- Magpye

Just wanted to update this thread to include what I have since learned:

First, as you might recall, the rat zapper - which usually gets rave reviews - didn't seem to work for my situation. The rats were outside. There was absolutely no sign of rats inside the house. Trying to use the rat zapper outside presented some problems. Once I found it 'swimming' in a 'river' of rain water after an afternoon 'monsoon'; electrical appliances don't like that sort of thing. Then the raccoon kits thought it was a new kind of treat dispenser or toy. They dumped the food out, ate that, then played 'football' with the trap, dumping the batteries out along the way. Even when the raccoons didn't carry the thing off, it seemed that every morning I would go out to find the same thing: the light was flashing (indicating a kill), the bate was still in the trap, and their was no rat. I could never quite figure out what was causing the indicator light to get set, but as there was never a rat in the thing it clearly wasn't working for me.

Desperate to irradicate the rats, I ended up using the Tomcat snap trap. Although a bit gruesome, that thing worked extremely well. Within an hour after I set it out, I heard it slam shut and went out to find the 1st of many dead rats. I was catching no less than 1/day for the 1st few days. Then one night when I heard the trap, I went out, confirmed the catch and then decided to wait until morning to actually remove the rat. Early the following morning I went out to find the trap EMPTY! The next night when the trap sprang I went out just in time to find an opossum stealing the rat from the trap. After that, I noticed that the opossum sat on the back fence each night waiting for the trap to catch his dinner. Every morning I came out to find the trap sprung and the rat gone. This pattern continued for a week or so until at last the rat population was eliminated (or nearly so) after which the trap remained unsprung from that point on and the opossum moved on to greener pastures.

That got me thinking how (after the 1st few days) the results I saw with the Tomcat trap were identical to those with the rat zapper: trap sprung, bate still in it, no rat. If I hadn't heard the trap go off and gone out to see the opossum stealing the rat, I would have concluded that the Tomcat trap didn't work either. So maybe, even probably, the rat zapper was actually working, catching a rat each night (just as the Tomcat did) only to have the rat stolen by an opossum or other hungry creature of the night. The opossum could easily smell/see his dinner lying there in the trap and could just grab it by the back end, pull it out of the trap, and be off with it, leaving me to find an empty rat zapper with flashing light the next morning. Furthermore, once the zapper caught the rat it would not shock the opossum (or anything else until it was reset). In many ways this makes a lot of sense, that with a forest full of hungry wildlife nearby a freshly killed and otherwise 'tasty' meal would not be left to go to waste.

So the moral is: (1) The Tomcat rat trap works, (2) The Rat Zapper was probably working, too, but I just couldn't see the evidence after the cleanup crew came through each night, and (3) per my mechanics suggestion and as has worked for me so far: be sure not to let the car sit idle for more than 2 days as this seems to be the period after which rats think it's safe to move in, remodel, and start a family.

Edited because lately I've been using Google spell check and sometimes it changes my mispelled words into something completely different.

This message was edited Jan 12, 2008 3:29 PM

Ah, the ever so welcome clean up crew. You gotta love em!

You've got a real system going there now no matter what you use to kill the rats. What I'm jealous about is that you don't even have to clean out your traps!

That's so funny...I can just picture that possum sitting there waiting for the magic dinner catcher to do its work!

OMG! I'm glad you got off light! I hate rats and not fond of mice either. I would be fat lady on the table in the cartoons, freaking out! LOL
When I first saw this, I thought maybe Dennis or Rupert were out pounding on your car door wanting driving lessons.......LOL

How in the world did I miss this earlier?

I worked in dealerships for quite a few years in parts and service. This is very, very common. The car does not have to sit very long either.
The best case is when mice, rats, or other creatures try to nest into the air cleaner. That is the cheapest. But I have seen thousands of dollars in damage in just one day. Wires chewed, cases holding delicate computers gnawed and ruined. Vacuum hoses nipped here and there. Not only is it a nightmare for the car owner, but the technician too, as a small bare spot on a wire can be hard to find and track down. When there are hundreds of spots, it is a technician nightmare. No one wants the job. It is nearly impossible to get everything the first time.

Then of course, many times the animal is still there. I have seen rats, mice etc hiding in areas and the techs wondering what in the heck to do. They don't want to be bitten either.

The best story I ever had was a problem with noise in the dash of a car. It was a problem to get to, but the problem was found to be the sweetest, little scared kitten you ever saw in your life. This one had a happy ending.

I've never seen a rat zapper before but did go to their website to see what y'all where referring to. Can this product harm pets? Like dogs, cats and such?