The wiring on my fuel pump and pressure sensor has been chewed up and mangled by rodents, not sure if it is mice or chipmunks. Car stopped running 2 weeks ago, found the problem and spliced wires back together. New fault showed pressure sensor fault. Mechanic suggested looking for more wiring problems. Found the same wires being chewed up, broken and mangled. I had put cotton with peppermint oil in the cavity, but they liked it for nesting materials. I don’t think there is enough length in the wires to fix again. How can I stop this from happening? I don’t want to put moth balls (naptha) in the car, seems like it would be bad for me as well. Any ideas?
Lawn and garden centers sell animal repellants that keep critters away. This is the one that I and my friends use. http://www.messinawildlife.com/
Tester
Rodents can be a particular problem, as far as repair, splicing in another piece of wire, or a salvage yard replacement is an option, as far as deterrent there are some places that sell big cat dung, it may help.
Go to your local hardware store/home products store and read the labels. Some of the chemical repellents have eggs in them. I wouldn’t spray that under the hood. The heat could produce a foul odor. I would use the hot pepper stuff. It will say “capsaicin” as one of the ingredients. I don’t think that will stink if it gets hot. Just be aware that any of these products spray on wet. Make sure your wiring is well repaired.
If you park the car in the same place (I’m assuming this is happening where you park at home), maybe you can spray some kind of anti-mouse-spray on the ground where you park it rather than on the car. Just an idea. Maybe go out there before going to bed w/a flashlight and if you see a mouse running around spray some water on it from the garden hose. Might encourage them to eat somebody else’s car’s wiring.