motacyclist
Colin
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
Some time ago I started our van up and the engine management light came on. This turned out to be caused by an animal (fox or squirrel) chewing the wiring underneath the van.
More recently, another forum member (Mags21) has had a similar experience, except this time the problem recurred a week later.
I thought I'd have a look under the van and see if anything could be done to deter animals causing this expensive and inconvenient damage. This was my solution; if you decide to do the same you will need about half a metre of rubber gas pipe and a quantity of stout cable ties.
The wiring in question can be accessed by sliding underneath the van just aft of the nearside front wheel. To make access easier you can run the nearside front wheel up a ramp, taking adequate safety precautions while you are under the van. There are 4 wires as shown below.
Take the rubber gas pipe and slit it from one end to the other so it can be slipped over the wiring.
Next, cut it in to appropriate lengths to cover each of the wires and press it over, being careful not to disturb the plugs at the ends.
Finally, attach as many cables ties as you like over the pipe covered cables. Do not trim the ends of the ties right back, but cut then at an angle as shown below, so the ends are sharp. You can also attach ties to other vulnerable areas on the underside, rubber hoses, suction pipes etc. These sharply cut ties effectively mimic barbed wire and will make extremely unpleasant chewing for anything that fancies a bit of Cali wiring for dinner
Hope this is clear, it was a bit difficult taking photos under the van ....
More recently, another forum member (Mags21) has had a similar experience, except this time the problem recurred a week later.
I thought I'd have a look under the van and see if anything could be done to deter animals causing this expensive and inconvenient damage. This was my solution; if you decide to do the same you will need about half a metre of rubber gas pipe and a quantity of stout cable ties.
The wiring in question can be accessed by sliding underneath the van just aft of the nearside front wheel. To make access easier you can run the nearside front wheel up a ramp, taking adequate safety precautions while you are under the van. There are 4 wires as shown below.
Take the rubber gas pipe and slit it from one end to the other so it can be slipped over the wiring.
Next, cut it in to appropriate lengths to cover each of the wires and press it over, being careful not to disturb the plugs at the ends.
Finally, attach as many cables ties as you like over the pipe covered cables. Do not trim the ends of the ties right back, but cut then at an angle as shown below, so the ends are sharp. You can also attach ties to other vulnerable areas on the underside, rubber hoses, suction pipes etc. These sharply cut ties effectively mimic barbed wire and will make extremely unpleasant chewing for anything that fancies a bit of Cali wiring for dinner
Hope this is clear, it was a bit difficult taking photos under the van ....
!! So we couldn't sort it then and there and took our chances on the 650 mile countdown. VW Breeze were excellent and really helpful. A couple of weeks later and £470 lighter SMG have replaced the part and wrapped the cable in a kind of heavy duty tin foil. Having heard all the stories on here though I took a look and figured that it's still a bit exposed - as are some of the other cables. I'd like to do the gas pipe and cable ties trick that @motorcyclist did but in the first place I've wrapped over the top of the tin foil with some anti-rodent insulating tape I got hold of that's supposed to have a nasty taste and smell. 
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