Chevota

A couple weeks ago I gotta dash alert moments after starting in the AM. Something about PRESAFE and I lost ABS, Traction & Stability controls, Cruise Control, plus it made the Power Steering, Speedometer and the engine glitchy. ABS and traction, good riddance, but the others I want/need and that dash warning popped up so often I got tired of clearing it.
So today I decide to take a look. Xentry said nothing other than it couldn't communicate with the "B29/4 Left rear bumper intelligent radar sensor", and to check the fuse. Fuse was fine.
I crawled under and could barely see the sensor, which I was going to unplug if I could reach it, or cut, because it's useless anyway. Then I saw the wires... This pix isn't all of it, just the worst looking part.
Cutting the wrap off I see one comms line was broken in two, the other hanging by a thread, and who knows how much of what was shorting out to what. Damage spread across ~24", but an easy fix and so far so good.

Previous Rat attacks were destroying the cloth firewall and insulation, to make a nest no doubt. And packing my eng with seed pods, sticks, and my insulation to add insult to injury. Took a while to pick it all out too. And of course crapping and peeing all over everything. I have two traps by the car, a gnarly CO2 powered skull crusher, and a catch 'em live trap, which I bought after they F'd up my last car. So far in ~4 years I think I've got three... My cat had got maybe six. I guess I'll have to devote a night and stake the place out with my thermal scope, which I also bought after they F'd up my last car. I wish I could snap my fingers like Thanos and all Rats everywhere vanish, forever. Well, I'd have a list, but Rats first.
At least Xentry pointed me in the right direction! A first, but worth it. No OBD codes regarding the radar sensor, but I did get a few misc codes I hadn't seen before, including "Ride Level Control Module", which I don't have. OBD is just shy of useless.
So fyi for others, this is not the first time Rats have caused me car trouble, and won't be the last, so something to consider when weird stuff happens.

WRC-LVR

so sorry to hear that but glad you found the issue. Maybe try putting those TomCat rat killer pellet chunks in places around the car. Also might try using one of thiose Ultrasonic pest chasers under the car?

Snarla

My god...what a bummer. I hate rats.

that said...

A few years ago...I thought that the driver and passenger floor mats in my new BMW were defective, in that every morning I would find a pile of fuzz on the mat. Then one lovely day whilst driving to my junk store....A RAT RAN ACROSS MY DASHBOARD!!!!!!! I thought I was going to die! He went under the passenger seat. I never drove the car again. No.

My god.

Petersla

That sux. But glad you found it... You'd think they'd make materials out of stuff that rats/mice don't like! Put a nasty flavor in there, lol.

Chevota

Here's a pix of my eng compartment in March. It was pristine before this btw. They did similar to my last car so I had been making a "Tea" with Carolina Reaper powder. Like a 1/2 Tsp to maybe 10oz water, cook for a bit, strain, put in spray bottle and spray all the insulation under the hood.
Omg it's wicked nasty. Cooking it burns my eyes and is hard to breathe. Spraying it, despite being super careful, gets on me and burns. One day after applying it, I washed my hands super good, and took a shower b4 bed. I woke up in the wee hours with my eyelid on fire. Apparently, somehow, there was still some microscopic residue still on my finger, and I rubbed my eye...
The spray seemed to work but I guess I wasn't applying it often enough. It's not like there's instructions. So if anyone needs this I'd say repeat every four months? I was trying to do it every 6 months but wasn't keeping good track, so when they struck it may have been 6, maybe more. Point being it doesn't last all that long. I never thought to look behind the bumper and spray.

I tried poison years ago, which "may" have killed one rat based on a few teeth marks on the bait. Now they won't touch it. I have an ultrasonic thingie with a strobe light, and "if" it works it's radius is to small to be of use and I'm not putting four or five of them under the hood. So while I still spray, and they haven't chewed any more insulation under the hood, I still get turds, nest debris and seed pods pretty much every time I look. At one time I even had sticky traps under the hood, for a least a year, including one on the ECU because it's their favorite spot to crap and pee, but never caught a single one with them.
I have a cat that lives for hunting them, and she's a master at it, but the Rats generally only come out after dusk. The problem is so do Coyotes, which are in the yard quite often, maybe every night.

Another note; maybe 4-5 years ago, my last car, also a C207, was getting hot at stop lights. When I got home I checked the fan, which would move but was super tight. That's a classic fan thing they do when they die. On closer inspection I discovered a seed pod (those long brown things in the pix) was wedged between the fan and shroud! M@$&#% F^(%'er! I was "displeased" to say the least, and that triggered yet another war on Rats. Now, despite all this time and many declarations of war, a good deal of effort and $ spent, I am clearly losing. So now I fantasize about things like an automated gun turret to patrol the area. Or a reprogrammed Terminator, because Hollywood says they pop in from the future quite often. A microwave gun made from an old oven, flame thrower, shotgun etc to the general area I know they live. I would in a second, but I have neighbors... They'll tolerate a gunshot now and then, or a small short lived fire, but I need more than that. Or sacrifice my cat, which I decided against.
Here's the super $200 skull crusher trap I bought. Skip to 1:55 to see it killing Rats: Based on that I figured problem solved, this thing looks awesome right? After the one and only confirmed kill they won't go near it. I think it's been three years now, sitting out there collecting dust.

Crito

Owls

ygmn

MAybe put car on lift in garage and shut door and leave cat inside the garage at night.
leave lights on too..
spray your stuff
set out rat poison thingy
get on first name basis with your pest control guy for his help..
Drive car once a day - try to park it in different spots
Put out food far away from your house so they go there instead...
put out life like looking rubber snakes.
Leave lights on (I put led rope light down the baseboards in car barn where I keep the truck and lawn gear.
I did read about something someone designed to go under hood that "keeps them away" few on internet I just never tried too skepitcal

figure you have something they want which is easier at your house then your neighbors so they hanging out with you .

I have similar problem but they have left vehicles alone as many other places in car barn to be a pia.

I have 2 acres of empty lots behind my house with tall grass which is bush hogged once a month which sends the rats and rabbits scurrying....

I do like to sit out back and watch the eagles and hawks swoop in for their lunch

WRC-LVR

@Chevota,
rats have a tremendous sense of smell. They are probably smelling the scent of a dead comrade on your super trap. Try sanitizing it and then spray with something they would be attracted to. Dunno what that might be,
I had a similar issue with chipmunks digging holes all over my yard and under the huge front brick entrance steps. Steps had to be replaced as they pulled away from the structure by 6 inches :-% $10 K repair and thats when i declared war on the bloody things.
Tried poison baits, live traps, ultrasonic devices. I did catch 3 of the buggers and released them 2 miles away from the house, One was an albino chipmunk. Guess what..it showed up again 1 month later ^#&$^*&$*
Dont know if you store the A207 in garage but if you doe, make sure there are no holes for them to get in. Any place where they might have access to chew to get in, place ghost pepper sauce there and renew frequently.
I feel your pain buddy :-(

Chevota

Mostly I was just venting, like when a woman complains about someone, the correct response is not how to fix it, but to say "F that that fat ugly b!tch!" :o

I have a saying for anyone within 50+ miles of me: "There are two kinds of people; those that know they have rats, and those that don't know they have rats."
There is no drawing them away to a neighbors house because they have them too. If I were to kill all in the yard then the neighboring ones would simply move in. I learned that one with Gophers, which I'm pretty sure I got all mine once, which included multiple felonies, but a week later I had all new holes again. I look at my neighbors, who just let it happen, and their yards looks like a war zone.
Cats and shooting them are the only things that really work, but as mentioned it's not ideal, and even if it was, how long would it last anyway? When I had more free time I would often go out at dusk and shoot them maybe once a week. So even if I get a few here and there, or if the cats do, how much damage am I really doing? When I was ~13 I'd regularly shoot them at a friends house, when his mom wasn't home that is. I killed tons of them but I'm pretty sure they bred faster than I killed because there was no shortage.
I don't have a garage. I mean technically, because it's full of crap and I don't think my car can get to it anyways. You pretty much need a truck to get there, and if it rains I most certainly won't get to it, or leave from it. So hard pass.
So I will wait for a Terminator, preferably the T-X Kristanna Loken version, or T900 Summer Glau model, obviously, to patrol for me. I will also accept a Terminator Cat. A T-Cat that also kills Coyotes. Nice...

WRC; Never release vermin. Kill with prejudice! It may not be PC but they don't come back. If it's guilt, well, I can't help you there. My friend called me a couple weeks ago to kill a half paralyzed Rabbit that I guess had a broken back? He won't kill anything so he sat there and let it suffer all day until finally asking me to kill it. I was kinda mad at him because I'm not cool with suffering. Why did he wait so long to call me? Why is he such a wuss that he can't do what's right? I'm annoyed all over again now...
Other than wire insulation, I don't know what they want. I've tried Peanut Butter, which worked once in the catchem live trap. Nutella, that worked once in the skull crusher. Bacon, Almond butter, Cashew butter, misc food I eat, cat fud, even the seeds from the pods they clearly eat.
The catchem live trap is good at catching Frogs, Toads, Lizards, Mice and especially birds. Maybe I will wash it, but my guess is they're simply too smart. I really need that T-Cat...

So far the car is a lot happier. Fewer OBD codes than I've had in about two years, so this wire may have been chewed back then. Perhaps it's not the only one. Those little F'ers can get to quite a bit of wire that I can't see, so who knows...

ygmn

Great posts!

I am now trying rubber snakes in all the corners of garage and patio of different variety and sizes...
Reason is grand-daughter left some laying around and I stumbled into one one dark morning and about S4!t myself...

I figure if it can freak me out to spill coffee in AM... MAybe it would scare them away to neighbors or next city over.
PS that and also laid some rope light down along building edge outside where the little BA$trds like to travel well that and bait boxes....

THing I see is COLD weather is around corner and that is when these buggers really try to break into the car barn....

well good luck fighting the rat wars and let me know if you find a good plan of attack that works - besides moving

Chevota

Let me know if the snake thing works. I'd imagine it would not but I'm not a rat so who knows.
There are plenty of real snakes in my area, 95% of those being Rattlers, but there are also a 100+ mice for every Rat which are also much easier to catch, so maybe they don't bother with rats?

WRC-LVR

Agreed with both last posts. Only thing that worked for me was Ghost pepper sauce and plugging all the holes with concrete.

Yeah its gets worse when the cold weather hits......

YMMV

yaknart33

Bounce dryer sheets pot on safe area under hood in trunk where ever there are signs of rodents put a Bounce dryer sheet there and that should keep the rodents away. I worked near beverly hills ,they have huge rodent problem.For some reason the rodents dont like Bounce. It works and is a safe alternative to poisons just be aware you put them,away from excessive heat .

ygmn

Yeah my son says use moth ***** as that is what they used at some dealership he worked for years ago as they would just put it all over the area ont actually in the car just around the cars.
He said the granules seem to be better as you could spread it out more and look like De-ice salt (he was living where it snowed)

Chevota

ygmn; thanks, i think ill try that

Chevota

and yaknart too, ill try both

WRC-LVR

i did some digging into rodent repellants like moth ***** etc.
https://www.jamisonpest.com/blogs/7-...tomer-reviews/
Seems moth ***** (napthalene or paradichlorobenzene) to be ineffective.... as does the ultrasonic devices just like my experience i posted about.
Terminix also echoes the point too, BUT lists the EPA regs as to why they are ineffective and dangerous to health. Concetrationn is not high enuff and mice just get around it ne-ways
Course those companies want to sell their services..so YMMV..

Most repellants are using either pepperment oil in 1-4% concentration or cinnamon oil or a combination. my research in to this is that you will have to renew the oils frequently as they do dissipate. 4% seems to be the limit of concentration...

DO NOT use ammonia/water mix as that can be extremely irritating to people esp in the confines of a garage (or worse yet in the car itself or under the bonnet).

ygmn

MAybe time to get some FEREL cats!

Mr. Toad

This eliminated them in our attic, but it will also kill cats and other pets: https://www.justonebitebrand.com/all...ne-bite-ii-bar

Chevota

Over the weekend my friend asked me for a tool. He's pulling the intake off some Jap car to replace the harness for the knock sensors. Care to guess why?

WRC: I love it when people say don't/do not. Ever since I was a kid that would immediately get my attention as the most interesting and/or best thing to do. So Ammonia it is
I think I will also put some in a spray bottle and go nuke all their favorite hangouts. And I guess put some in a little bottle under the hood. Thanks

I have tried Peppermint and Cinnamon. I forget the % but it was the strongest I could get. I sprayed a good dose under the hood and even more in one spot they hang out. It seems to have no effect. For a while, instead of my car smelling like burnt oil, it was peppermint burnt oil. Apparently I have a classic cam plug leak behind the left head, and the more gas I give it the more it leaks (not sure how that works) and drips on the exhaust.
No crankcase pressure under boost, and it's not oil psi because rpms don't trigger it. Another MB mystery. Like how my dipstick reads nothing when I first pull it out, then reinsert/remove and it reads normal. My E350 was the same way. I had a friend witness it to assure myself I was not crazy. So apparently there's a trap door holding a few Qts of oil back, and pulling the dipstick opens it. Or Gremlins. I have no other theories. It's just not possible, yet there it is.

They don't sell the Naptha mothballs anymore Which is a bummer because they boost power. When I was a kid I heard a rumor they did. Or maybe it was "Don't add these to gas" that did it for me. Whatever the case, obviously I had to test it out, and it was a win! Not a lot of power, but I could easily tell the difference. I believe it was 4 ***** per fill and my typical fill was ~10-12 gallons. Adding more didn't do anything. I used them every fill until they were banned. I'm sure the local drug store wondered wth I was doing. They actually did ask me what I was doing with all the Saltpeter I'd buy, since I was the only one buying it. I'm sure a few of you know exactly what I was doing :o
I suppose I could get some Para *****. Doesn't hurt to try.

That one bite stuff is a possibility. I tried something similar, green stuff, which it looks like one rat ate a little, and I found one body, and they never touched it again. Odds are, if this new stuff works, I'll again just get one again. But my vengeance meter is at about a 9, so it's worth it.

There is one new neighbor cat that's out n about, but cats outside at night are VERY short lived. Coyotes cruise around in packs at least a couple times a week, and loners pretty much daily. I remember a few years ago some chicken got loose and decided to spend the night on the right front tire of my truck, which is in the back yard, and fenced. The next day it looked like it exploded. Feathers everywhere. Nothing else, just feathers.
This is why I need a T-Cat.

WRC-LVR

WRC: I love it when people say don't/do not. Ever since I was a kid that would immediately get my attention as the most interesting and/or best thing to do. So Ammonia it is ........LOL my dad used to do this to me too....then laugh when things went wrong

here ya go 2nd one is for=napthalene from Home Depot YMMV ..search my friend LOL ( easy just kidding !!!)

https://www.amazon.com/Enoz-Clothes-Carpet-Beetles-Clinging/dp/B07RRTLSXT/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.1f0fc878-fc7f-4b03-b155-1adf15a0867f%3Aamzn1.sym.1f0fc878-fc7f-4b03-b155-1adf15a0867f&crid=2RIBMEWJ0JDI8&cv_ct_cx=moth%2Bba lls&keywords=moth%2Bballs&pd_rd_i=B07RRTLSXT&pd_rd _r=f3c6d871-eaac-4f46-b0fc-4b16b26c4a35&pd_rd_w=eEKBE&pd_rd_wg=beGx6&pf_rd_p= 1f0fc878-fc7f-4b03-b155-1adf15a0867f&pf_rd_r=DJWB3XQKE87HNESY2QQW&qid=1697 545553&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&spre fix=moth%2Caps%2C77&sr=1-3-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0a WM&th=1

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ENOZ-32-oz-Naphthalene-Moth-Control-*****-1-Box-E62-12/206689064?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_001_CHEMICALS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PMAXONECLICK&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_001_CHEMICALS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PMAXONECLICK-71700000112977995--&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4bipBhCyARIsAFsieCzEpk1jDnrW8aS3qSK NomCwZE3JqIwzwKEZ8veppXQ1Qo4fVbehWcgaAvlmEALw_wcB& gclsrc=aw.ds

Chevota

Oic, you thought I lived in a free zone. I live in the dictatorship of California. Anything fun has been banned.

WRC-LVR

Home Depot ships to your door...maybe try that unless the CA EPa polices all shipments too

Chevota

Ha! You free people have no idea.
I envision ***** at all points on access inspecting all shipments and asking, with a german accent "Are you papers in order!"
So no, access denied.

WRC-LVR

Ghost pepper sauce will ight them up....Dont get it anywhere near you. That is food stuff so should be available in CA.