Wiring harness replacement

[Gavin ellis]

First time on here but struggling to know where else to go.
To cut to the chase I have had mice get into my van and they have eaten through the cabling in multiple places. VW replaced the speedo and fixed some of the wiring but this hasn’t solved the problem. They now say I need to replace the whole harness at a cost in excess of £10000. On top of the 1000 already spent. All plus VAT.
Not covered by my insurance so not the best news I have had in a while.
Anyone have any experience of this or offer some advice re options I have.
Thanks.

 

[calikev]

jesus i am very sorry to hear that.

 

[Rich20]

Find a good auto electrician and get a second opinion. The mice haven't destroyed every cable so it must be fixable.

 

[andyinluton]

I'm sorry to hear of your problem.

1. I would be seeking a second opinion re whether its covered by insurance or not.
2. As Rich20 said, get an opinion from an electrician
3. Speak to someone like Kernow Campers who break Californias for parts & see how much a second hand loom would be., If you are any good with a spanner its simple to fit a new loom whilst you've still got the remains of the old one as a guide, just time consuming & an awful lot of trim to take off.
4. Buy a mousetrap.

 

[WelshGas]

First time on here but struggling to know where else to go.
To cut to the chase I have had mice get into my van and they have eaten through the cabling in multiple places. VW replaced the speedo and fixed some of the wiring but this hasn’t solved the problem. They now say I need to replace the whole harness at a cost in excess of £10000. On top of the 1000 already spent. All plus VAT.
Not covered by my insurance so not the best news I have had in a while.
Anyone have any experience of this or offer some advice re options I have.
Thanks.

Sorry to hear that.
Firstly, which vehicle do you have?
Next, where is the damage? . Engine bay, Dashboard, under cab seats?

A good Autoelectrician should be able to repair the individual wires by splicing in replacement cable. Time consuming and not cheap but probably significantly less than VW who are basically trained to replace, not repair.

 

[Kevthegas]

Sorry to hear, the same happened to a friend years ago with his 911. I believe his insurance company paid out.

 

[westfalia]

I had a mouse or mice in mine once, I think they get in around the water drain outlet
from the sink.
It´s the only way of entry.
Has anyone made theirs mouse proof ?
Is it a big job to seal it ?

 

[sidepod]

Tricky one this. V difficult to see every area of damage. Lots of Labour if access required to hard to reach areas.

VW playing it safe and replacing entire harness? Price sounds reasonable to me if this is what’s involved. Harness is probably the first thing to go in on production line.

Chances are it’s localised. If so then as WG says, local splice will suffice.

If splicing is all that’s required then get yourself a crimp tool and some similar size cable and crack on.

 

[MattBW]

Not something I would get VW to fix personally they will never be competitive and will generally resort to replacing whole parts rather than fixing faulty bits.

What is the fault in question, whats actually not working?

A good autoelectrician would probably be far cheaper and far better at tracking faults.

 

[Gavin ellis]

Thanks for the replies. I am meeting with Vw tomorrow who still have my van. Pretty peed off with them as they have no desire to try to fix the problem just replace as has been suggested.
Going to find an auto electrician to do the work. This isn’t proving easy though as they don’t want the hassle of stripping out the van.
The van works fine other than random warning lights coming on so I am guessing it’s not terminal.