Potentially HUGE Trouble for Automakers! Edible Wiring...

It is only ONE instance that I am directly aware of...but I'm putting this out there.

Apparently some of the automakers are using wiring which is insulated with a soy byproduct. They seem to be aiming to be more 'green'.

Unfortunately, they forgot about critters who may find this a nice addition to their diets.

A good friend of my girlfriend just had to have a significant portion of her WIRING HARNESS replaced...with splices everywhere, insuring the vehicle will have troubles in the future...due to an OVERNIGHT hungry-rodent infestation.

We are quite sure the mice came in during their parking outside their vacation home up north. They stayed the night, then drove to hang with us at the end of our vacation...and her troubles began that morning.


I suspect that she is not the only one who has suffered this problem, and I wonder how long this type of wiring has been used in vehicles.

She was lucky, it was covered by her insurance...but I'm sure it won't take long before their actuaries notice a distinct uptick in claims for this type of catastrophe!


I put this into the Detroit section on purpose, since her car is an American brand...although it seems to be only Dodge, so far. Other brands plagued by this are Toyota, Subaru, Honda, and Mercedes.

I found this story on-line, from 2009, so it is NOT a new problem. But her car is only SIX months old...so even though the issue was recognized three years ago, nothing has been done to fix it.

I smell a class-action lawsuit, particularly towards a company on the upswing which may not be able to weather it well.

Ugh.

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Originally Posted by Gannon

It is only ONE instance that I am directly aware of...but I'm putting this out there.

Apparently some of the automakers are using wiring which is insulated with a soy byproduct. They seem to be aiming to be more 'green'.

Unfortunately, they forgot about critters who may find this a nice addition to their diets.

A good friend of my girlfriend just had to have a significant portion of her WIRING HARNESS replaced...with splices everywhere, insuring the vehicle will have troubles in the future...due to an OVERNIGHT hungry-rodent infestation.

We are quite sure the mice came in during their parking outside their vacation home up north. They stayed the night, then drove to hang with us at the end of our vacation...and her troubles began that morning.


I suspect that she is not the only one who has suffered this problem, and I wonder how long this type of wiring has been used in vehicles.

She was lucky, it was covered by her insurance...but I'm sure it won't take long before their actuaries notice a distinct uptick in claims for this type of catastrophe!


I put this into the Detroit section on purpose, since her car is an American brand...although it seems to be only Dodge, so far. Other brands plagued by this are Toyota, Subaru, Honda, and Mercedes.

I found this story on-line, from 2009, so it is NOT a new problem. But her car is only SIX months old...so even though the issue was recognized three years ago, nothing has been done to fix it.

I smell a class-action lawsuit, particularly towards a company on the upswing which may not be able to weather it well.

Ugh.

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Can Chrysler ever get it right?

Porkys can and will eat brake lines in northern Michigan.

Marmots will munch hell out of stuff under the hood at the eastern end of Sequoia, Mineral King area to be exact. Park there in early spring, you better have your arse covered.....it's a LONG walk down that mule trail size mountain road.

It's a problem in some existing harnesses as well. Some animals like chewing on rubber, which some car makers use for harnesses leading to lighting modules. I've heard of critters chewing these up.

I work at a GM dealership and we've had issues with critters chowing down on the wiring on some of our new cars. Had 5 or 6 Impalas fail to start after having been parked in our auxiliary [[grass) lot for a while. The service dept. discovered that some of the wiring had been chewed through. So it's definitely not unique to Chrysler nor do I imagine it's unique to domestics.

Nothing more then a broken link and lame innuendos!

Move along nothing to see here!

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...hipmunk_zx.jpg

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Originally Posted by Wheels

Nothing more then a broken link and lame innuendos!

Move along nothing to see here!

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Kiss my ass, Wheels!

Link is fixed.


http://www.ihatethemedia.com/rodents...-car-materials

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Originally Posted by JBMcB

It's a problem in some existing harnesses as well. Some animals like chewing on rubber, which some car makers use for harnesses leading to lighting modules. I've heard of critters chewing these up.

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Yup. Definitely not a new problem. Been happening for many years. House wiring too. And telephone wiring.

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Originally Posted by Gannon

Kiss my ass, Wheels!

Link is fixed.


http://www.ihatethemedia.com/rodents...-car-materials

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Only if you remove the Tin Foil Hat.:rolleyes:

Rodents gnaw. sometimes they are actually attracted by the current in the wires [[this is often the case with computer-heavy sites. rip open the floating floors, see the rat nests)

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Originally Posted by Meddle

Yup. Definitely not a new problem. Been happening for many years. House wiring too. And telephone wiring.

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And cable tv coax.

squirrels made a nest in my friends merc milan. they chewed up the spark plug wire in my ford van. it happens. keep your cars in a garage, keep your garage rodent free. wish they could seal the whole engine compartment.

If you want to worry about cars, I think the Honda recall is far more serious:http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7...n=money_latest

I kept Dum Dum suckers and Starburst candy for my grandkids in the glove compartment of my 2007 Dodge Caliber. Opened the glove compartment the other day to find shredded Dum Dum wrappers and sticks, but no candy on the end...not even a smidgen. Apparently a mouse somehow got in there and chowed down. Didn't touch the Starbursts. We tried driving with the glove compartment open to see if we could feel even a little air flow which would indicate a hole a mouse could enter through, but didn't feel anything.

We've also had mufflers and air cleaners and the spare tire area under the trunk floor filled with corn and acorns....and I do mean FILLED. I'm sure that was chipmunks or mice too, since we live in the country.

I used to have a 1995 Mercedes S 500 coupe, they all had problems with the wiring harnesses deteriorating. I was told that they were made to do this on purpose in order to be biodegradable. Stupid huh?

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Originally Posted by Detroitgayhistoryguy

I used to have a 1995 Mercedes S 500 coupe, they all had problems with the wiring harnesses deteriorating. I was told that they were made to do this on purpose in order to be biodegradable. Stupid huh?

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Unbelievable. I would never have thought Mercedes would be into that planned-obsolescence crap.

More reason to go to Arizona and buy an old vintage Beetle. Sure, they break, but I can fix anything and everything in 'em.

Cheers,
John

Let's not forget some of these issues are due to the USA banning the use of certain toxic chemicals.

Brakes deteriorated in the 70s-80s due to the ban on asbestos.
Electronics have become less reliable due to the drive to remove lead from the manufacturing processes.
Paint on US made cars didn't adhere well during the late 80's due to chemicals being banned.
Plastics become brittle/soft/animal edible with the removal of banned chemicals.
French fries taste like shit since they changed the cooking oil.

Every time you ban a proven chemical, It takes time for the industry to come up with a viable substitute. And sometimes you can never get back to the properties of the banned substance. Sometimes it's the banned properties that are getting the job done. It's the long molecule strings that give asbestos its heat shedding properties, Those long strings are what cause lung cancer.

Toxic chemicals need to be banned, However there is not always a comparable quality, cost effective substitute.

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Originally Posted by ndavies

Let's not forget some of these issues are due to the USA banning the use of certain toxic chemicals.

Brakes deteriorated in the 70s-80s due to the ban on asbestos.
Electronics have become less reliable due to the drive to remove lead from the manufacturing processes.
Paint on US made cars didn't adhere well during the late 80's due to chemicals being banned.
Plastics become brittle/soft/animal edible with the removal of banned chemicals.
French fries taste like shit since they changed the cooking oil.

Every time you ban a proven chemical, It takes time for the industry to come up with a viable substitute. And sometimes you can never get back to the properties of the banned substance. Sometimes it's the banned properties that are getting the job done. It's the long molecule strings that give asbestos its heat shedding properties, Those long strings are what cause lung cancer.

Toxic chemicals need to be banned, However there is not always a comparable quality, cost effective substitute.

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now its copper. calif and washington banned copper in brake pads to save the salmon.

Awesome filling in the blanks, NDavies.

Thanks.

There are always unintended consequences, aren't there?


Murphy is a fuck. But a consistent and persistent one.

We have a 2002 Saturn. Always parked in the driveway next to the house. No weeds or anything else around. Twice last winter I started the car and Service Engine Soon light came on. Both times wires were chewed apart. Barely had enough wire left to splice.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

Can Chrysler ever get it right?

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Well maybe this is their new anti theft device?

Think about it, sure you can pop the lock without even breaking the door, then knock off the ignition with a hammer and turn it with a screwdriver...

But what good is that if there is no current to start the engine?

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Originally Posted by grumpyoldlady

We've also had mufflers and air cleaners and the spare tire area under the trunk floor filled with corn and acorns....and I do mean FILLED. I'm sure that was chipmunks or mice too, since we live in the country.

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Mom [[God rest her soul) had a similar experience about 8 yrs ago - the engine compartment of her '92 Toyota Celica GT was PACKED with acorns, seeds, coconut husk fibers, sawgrass fibers, ad nauseam. And she drove the car every two days or so. A miracle there was no engine fire. Solution: live traps for overactive squirrels, followed by "repatriation" to a dismal swamp.

Epilogue: After having the engine compartment blown out with compressed air, then pressure-washed twice, the car still stinks like roasted chestnuts.

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Originally Posted by Wheels

Only if you remove the Tin Foil Hat.:rolleyes:

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Don't know how I missed this...hey! if the hat fits, gotta wear it!


Cheers