Soybean wires.

[Detective D]

I didn't really see anything about this on the boards, so I thought I would post this here as sort of a FYI and a warning to double check your new aftermarket stuff to make sure you aren't signing up for this!

Article: (one of many out there)

Rodents Are Feasting On Newer Cars' Soy-Based Wiring Insulation

It seems that making insulation out of an edible substance makes it more appealing to pests.

www.thedrive.com

Apparently for the last decade+, automakers have been using bio-based, edible components. Seat foam, wire insulation, and several other things and it is creating issues.
For classic car owners, OEM stuff should not be an issue, but if you decide to buy a new harness or wire set it would be a good idea to double check what it is actually made out of. Seat foam too. Classic cars get stored during bad weather months and storage is already inviting to the unwanted pests, offering them built in food sources is extra bad news.

 

[493 Mike]

And, now it looks like tires will be plant based too!
Mike

 

[Kern Dog]

I read from some guy that wrote as if the appeal to rodents was intentional.
It is not. It is an unfortunate drawback.

 

[F4R/T]

The dam squirrels love the soybean wiring! I’ve had it happen several times.... bastards!

 

[Michael_]

Mercedes W140 anyone? History Repeats!

 

[Detective D]

I read from some guy that wrote as if the appeal to rodents was intentional.
It is not. It is an unfortunate drawback.

Oh I don't think they wanted rodents eating their new cars. I am sure this has something to do with reducing fleet carbon rating, like they do when they buy rainforest acres.
It just blows me away that engineers at a car company could be so out of tune with their product they would think this is a good idea. Then again, probably pushed through by accountants and not the engineers.

 

[F4R/T]

Another way to put a time limit on vehicles.. Wiring is the most expensive part of a vehicle I’ve been told.

 

[toolmanmike]

Combines are very susceptible.

 

[F4R/T]

We have a lot Freightliner aka Diamler, trucks that are line trucks that sit in fields for high line work and they get chewed on pretty regularly. It’s a environmentally friendly move I was told.. My sons Benz has them too, what a piss poor idea.

 

[Sahara]

And, now it looks like tires will be plant based too!
Mike

Tires have always been plant based.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Tires have always been plant based.

Initially all tires yes, but just a partial production of tires after WWI which has been reduced decade after decade.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

One of my relatives in ww II tested the new synthetic tires for the military. They sent him into Northern Canada to test. He said they dropped tires from high up with a crane and they shattered when they hit the ground.Lol
Guessing that was a exaggeration..but was still a good story.
We have a few machines that mice love eating the insulation off the wiring. Seems like it was worse when the veggy wiring was first introduced in the early 2000's then it is now. Around 2003 was especially tasty!

 

[BeepBeepRR]

I was doing a side job yesterday. A lady was complaining about her flood lights not working. Well, either squirrels or mice got to the wiring.. Notice the wire being bare all 3 strands up into the soffit. This house was built in the 90's so not so sure soy wiring is the culprit. I think they just like eating whatever is around them.

 

[mmissile]

Been going on for years. A friend of mine, is a parts manager at a Chrysler dealer. After the EFI harness got eaten out of my dually, he told me that he orders dozens of harnesses for various new cars that sit in inventory for any length of time. People buy a new car, and it won't run when they go to prep it.
My tail-light harness in my 1986 GSXR-1100, got eaten one winter. Mice built a nest in the tail section, out of dryer sheets.

 

[Tony Tee]

I just watched a video about using Irish spring bar soap to keep squirrels rats and mice away. I bought some yesterday to keep the rats out of the attic. I hope it works because we can't find out where they're getting in. Got my fingers crossed. LOL!

 

[Sahara]

I just watched a video about using Irish spring bar soap to keep squirrels rats and mice away. I bought some yesterday to keep the rats out of the attic. I hope it works because we can't find out where they're getting in. Got my fingers crossed. LOL!

Where we stay in Mexico everyone uses Irish Spring bars to keep mice out of their places when they are away for any length of time.

 

[RemCharger]

I always thought Irish spring was the answer until I left an open bar of it on my desk at the shop and they ate half of it.

 

[Car #4]

I don’t buy the idea that soybean product in the wiring attracts mice. Mice have been chewing wires for decades before soybean resins came into play. Mice will take up residence in any environment that is stationary for any length of time. And they need to chew to control the growth of their front teeth. So they chew whatever is handy.

 

[mmissile]

I've used/tried everything, except poison. Nothing seems to work better than snap-traps. I won't use poison, because I don't want to kill my dogs or the feral cats that help with rodent control. I'll spread a couple large boxes of moth-balls on the floor on my car-storage garage. It seems to have really reduced the number of mice.

When I've used glue traps, I have to really hide them, as my dog will find the dead mice, and cause another issue.... sigh. They do work, though.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

My first experience was the O2 sensors on my 2014 Challenger. The wiring for the sensors was eaten away and I had to have them replaced. A couple months later, it happened again. Then, a few months later, I went to start the car after it had been parked in the driveway for about twenty minutes on a warm spring day. Heard the squealing sound of a slipping belt. Shut off the engine and opened the hood. Found two large groundhogs looking at me. One was up by the fire wall. The other was in front and had been caught by the serpentine belt. The belt had been knocked off the pulleys and had taken a significant amount of fur with it. No amount of yelling, arm waving or slapping the fender seemed to faze the critters. Finally, I walked away, and they left on their own. At that point I made some room to cram the Challenger into the garage with the old cars. That was just over a year ago.

But, it didn't end there. I noticed that when ever I stepped outside, any groundhogs that happened to be in the yard, would immediately run for cover to the nearest car or truck parked in the driveway. Over the last year, I have had to replace plug wires on a 67 Belvedere wagon three times before I finally sold the car this month. On some of those plug wires, there were only a few inches of wire and the boot left behind. No other wiring on that car was ever touched.

A few months ago I called an exterminator after I found an assortment of under hood wires chewed through on my 96 Ram pickup. The exterminators caught and removed four groundhogs in two weeks. I have since tried baiting traps myself using apples, lettuce, cantaloupe and left over plug wire remnants from the wagon. But the remaining groundhog was too smart to go into the trap. All I've caught were a squirrel and two opossums.

Meanwhile while trying to track down why the Brake and ABS light was on, for my daily driver 99 Durango, we found first that the ABS wiring to the right front had been chewed along with some other under hood wiring. And the main chassis harness going to the rear of the vehicle. I'm currently in search of a replacement chassis harness for the Durango.

Based on the size of the bite marks on the plug wires and the chassis harness (and the large segments of completely missing parts of the wires) , I have ruled out mice and squirrels as the culprits. Since the groundhogs have been spotted on several occasions climbing up into the vehicles, I am certain of their guilt. Once they come out of hibernation in the spring, I will be resetting the traps.


The groundhogs like to relax on my deck. In the first photo, a groundhog hangs out on the deck as the opossum waits in the trap to be released. In the second photo, the groundhog relaxes on the deck just a couple feet from the baited trap that he never went in. Before all the destruction, when I still thought they were cute, I named this one Norm. He always likes sitting on the step and leaning on the deck like Norm bellies up to the bar on "Cheers".