Rats ate my Pilot!

[Threadhead]

No joke, pack rats have eaten a good portion of my wiring harness. Took it in to the dealer and they want to replace the *entire* wiring harness to the tune of $1000+. I don't think so.

So I'm out in the garage with a soldering iron for the next several nights sniffing flux. I guess the only saving grace is that they (the GD rats) only disabled my emission controls. The engine runs fine. I pray it'll pass the emissions test next year.

I don't know whether I should scream or cry

If Scottsdale, AZ didn't have a shooting ordinance, I'd sit out with night-vision goggles and pick those little buggers off one at a time. All I would need it a bucket of chicken and a pack of bird shot


Now that I have vented... Does any one know how to clear the ECM on a Pilot? It's usually the radio fuse, but it differs on some Hondas.

[PILOTinginCO]

I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to pass along my condolences (for the lack of a better word) for what happened to your PILOT.

I'm with you on sitting out and "taking those little b****rds out"


Good luck!!!!!

PILOTinginCO
Sagebrush Pearl-EX
Parker, CO

[Twinkie]

Sorry to hear, but it is always nice to see a Charter Member of honda-pilot.org back for a visit. Threadhead's 'born on date' is 05-28-2002.

[ramirami]

Sh**....really shoot the insides of those bast#@$S or get this guy...

[Threadhead]

In case anyone else needs to know, you can clear the ECM (ECU) by removing the Radio fuse (20A) for 10 seconds. I don't think it resets any of the error codes, as they are stored until cleared by the OBD II. I have a free oil change coming my way so I'll have the connect up the OBD II and check for any errors.

I'm pretty sure I have most of the wires reconnected and now that the ECM has been reset, none of the errors have come back on (knock on wood). Still have a few more wires to solder and have to rewrap the harness. Man, what a PITA!

I'll try to post some pix when I get a chance (of the wiring, not the rats).

[terrier]

Threadhead, I've had experience with animals eating plastic that might help. Gp to a pet store and ask for a spray to keep puppys from chewing on furniture. The product we used was "No Chew".

In a previous life, I ran a surveying team and we'd use little plastic flags as markers. We'd come in after our geodetic survey and run geophysical surveys with the little white flags as guides. The first time we went through a working ranch, the cows stayed away all the day we put out flags, but apparently came back that night to snack. It ruined 10 guys work in 102 degree heat! Talk about ticked off (after the astonishment wore off) Once we figured out it was the cows and not a bunch of local kids messing with us, one of the team that had worked at a pet store suggested "no chew". It worked. We sprayed each flag, and never had another one eaten.

Maybe the rats will dislike the taste as much as the cows did.

[chiquita]

Wow!! Nice to see you back, Threadhead--it's been too long since you last visited!! As I recall, your wife was pregnant with your second child. Hope all went well and everyone is healthy!!

[Threadhead]

Originally posted by terrier
Threadhead, I've had experience with animals eating plastic that might help. Gp to a pet store and ask for a spray to keep puppys from chewing on furniture. The product we used was "No Chew".

What usually works for pack rats is ammonia or perfume. Also, lights. But since there are probably a couple dozen that live in my yard (just a s.w.a.g.) as long as any car sits outside, it's might as well have a Sweet Tomatoes sign on it.

Normally I park inside the garage, but I have been working on a wood and motorcycle project and parked outside for a few weeks. Last week was a a pretty good storm at night and my guess is that they were playing underneath the Pilot and got scared, jumped up in the engine well and found some tasty 14 gauge to munch.

Since I won't be done with the garage projects for a couple more weeks, I have purchased a live trap to catch 'em. Haven't decided what I'm gonna do with them once I catch them. Maybe I should start a poll on my 'disposal' method and people can vote

Thanks for the tips and support!

Just in case you haven't seen a pack rat before, see below. Pack rats are small, furry and look more like mice, though twice the size. Some people say they look cute. I tend to disagree

[Threadhead]

Take aim...

[Threadhead]

Originally posted by chiquita
Wow!! Nice to see you back, Threadhead--it's been too long since you last visited!! As I recall, your wife was pregnant with your second child. Hope all went well and everyone is healthy!!

Yes, it has been a while. I've been very, very busy and while I try to keep with with reading the posts, just haven't had much time to chime in. Two boys, a busy job, and geocaching have kept me pretty occupied.

Mom and new baby are fine. He is now 4 months old and growing, growing, growing.

Thanks for keeping an eye and ear open for me

[Threadhead]

All is working, that's the good news. The masking tape is where I wrote the wire color down. Most of the wires were chewed to nubs which left only a cm or two to solder on. He/she/devil-mouse ate about a dozen wires total.

After soldering, each joint was covered with shrink-wrap. My biggest concern is if water gets inside the new solder joints, as they may corrode over time and possibly short out. Hopefully living in the AZ heat will dry them out quickly if they become wet.

Haven't had time to finish re-wrapping the harness, so I thought I'd take a couple of shots for you guys...

[florida_guy]

Originally posted by Threadhead
No joke, pack rats have eaten a good portion of my wiring harness. Took it in to the dealer and they want to replace the *entire* wiring harness to the tune of $1000+. I don't think so.

I would think that would be covered by your comprehensive insurance??

[Threadhead]

Originally posted by florida_guy

I would think that would be covered by your comprehensive insurance??

Probably. But:

1) my deductible is $500, so it would still cost me quite a few bucks.

2) how do I put this delicately... I don't trust dealer service shops. Replacing a wiring harness (and this is the *main* harness) puts a service tech's hands it too many places, and I just don't believe it wouldn't come back with more problems that it went in with. JMHO.

3) doing it myself, I can take the time to make sure it is done right.

3) I'm really, really good with a soldering iron. Comes from years of soldering on PCBs in college.

[krygny]

Originally posted by Threadhead


3) I'm really, really good with a soldering iron. Comes from years of soldering on PCBs in college.

What are you soldering? I've worked on hundereds of wiring harnesses on all kinds of equipment (military aircraft, ships, computers, vehicles) and I've never seen anything that's soldered. Wiring connectors and splices are usually crimped.

Remember you've got a new vehicle that's still in warranty. The warranty may not cover rats, but it does cover the electronics. Unless, of course, they see that the computer was fried by a non-standard wiring job. I don't know how many electronic control modules are in the Pilot, but I'll bet the cheapest one is more than a thousand bucks to replace.

$1000 to replace the main wiring harness sounds like a bargain. I can't imagine what a dealer would charge for that here in NY @ $90/hr labor. However, most dealer techs are trained, have more experience on the vehicle than anyone else, and best of all, they're responsible. If they wreck something, they're screwed. If you wreck something, you're screwed.

[zx_600]

krygny , I cannot believe you have worked on all that and never saw any solder. The difference is that a crimped or sliced connection can come loose, but a good solder connection will never come undone.