Help Wiring Repair (Squirrel Damage) Fixed!

[seasprite]

Tree rats got me bad!
They did this in about 4 hours. Went to church this morning just fine and when I went to go back for evening service the truck started like crap and had a Christmas tree on the dash.

I'm about half way through the repair but now I need help because the wires that are left seem to be the same color.
What I would like to know is if these wires tie together somewhere else like a ground or a 5v ref.
Plus I have a hard plastic black tube over a couple of the wires but don't see what its related to with the rest of the broken wires. ( possibly a splice)
I have 7 wires left to repair plus the coil plug.

Let me know what info you guys need in order to help me.
And here is the pics of the damage and squirrel nest.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

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[IdahoRanger]

Tree rats got me bad!
They did this in about 4 hours. Went to church this morning just fine and when I went to go back for evening service the truck started like crap and had a Christmas tree on the dash.

I'm about half way through the repair but now I need help because the wires that are left seem to be the same color.
What I would like to know is if these wires tie together somewhere else like a ground or a 5v ref.
Plus I have a hard plastic black tube over a couple of the wires but don't see what its related to with the rest of the broken wires. ( possibly a splice)
I have 7 wires left to repair plus the coil plug.

Let me know what info you guys need in order to help me.
And here is the pics of the damage and squirrel nest.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Maybe @Duke can help as he fixed damage to his truck.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Maybe @Duke can help as he fixed damage to his truck.

That Duke guy hasn’t been around for a while but I’ve been through this. Some critter got to the harness beside the brake fluid reservoir and was trying to make a home in the hood insulation pad.

The damage was limited to that specific area and I was lucky enough that I could trace the damaged wires and splice things back together. Blue to blue, red to red, that kind of thing. No two were alike.

However, yours looks really bad and there seem to be so many wires the same colour. It might be helpful if you had a picture of how it looks without the damage. Maybe someone is able to do that for you tonight. I can’t do it right now but I’ll get a pic posted in the morning and that might help you know how things are supposed to go back together.

I‘ve used Doktor Doom spray after the incident with my Ranger - it’s a solution of Denatonium Benzoate. I spray the whole engine bay and the insulation pad two or three times a year. Nasty, bitter stuff.

 

[IdahoRanger]

Good catch Duke. I obviously had a senior moment or a corned beef hangover (not the Guinness of course) with picking the wrong Duke. Hopefully, your advice will help this poor soul with his rodent repair.

 

[Racket]

I'm curious about the Doctor Doom spray?

It looks like some of those wiring harnesses need to be straight up replaced and I wouldn't be able to figure out what connections are essential to just getting started and driving.

My experience with rodents under the hood was limited to tearing up my battery cover and litter in the interior fan. Since then I'll buy peppermint oil, mix it up with a drop of soap in a spray bottle and mist the entire engine bay once a month. Other commercial products include cinnamon oil and capsicum so I guess I could amp that up too.

Lots of members of this forum have proactively installed fine screen over exterior air openings and bought metallic wiring loom tape to discourage the beasts.

 

[seasprite]

I went ahead and ran a scan to see what was effected. Then cleared the codes to see what came back and only 3 so far. Don't want to start it until I get the coil plug fixed.

Codes before being cleared

Codes after clear

Looks like some of these will be reference voltages

 

[airline tech]

I would say it's not worth repairing - too many wires damaged across multiple circuits and leaves multiple paths for circuit failures down the road.

That is the main engine harness (Harness # 12C508)
It should have a (Service Tag on it - KU5T-12C508-(??) (possibly -ALA)

This converts to Ford Part Number - KU5Z-12A581-P - Price 311.00
I would check with (T-Bred Ford) to confirm part number - just remember order through the parts direct to get the best price and pick it up vs shipping - cheaper

Note any wires you see that are (twisted pairs) must remain twisted and yes, the covered wires you are seeing are splices.
If you can get it (temp) repaired that's great, but this is a considerable amount of damage, and a harness replacement is the best option, and the price is not bad

 

[Grandaccess]

save a lot of time and Trouble and order a harness
Thanks to ford and their use of Soy based insulation this happens a lot, I have had a few wires here and there, this however is way bad

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I'm curious about the Doctor Doom spray?

It looks like some of those wiring harnesses need to be straight up replaced and I wouldn't be able to figure out what connections are essential to just getting started and driving.

My experience with rodents under the hood was limited to tearing up my battery cover and litter in the interior fan. Since then I'll buy peppermint oil, mix it up with a drop of soap in a spray bottle and mist the entire engine bay once a month. Other commercial products include cinnamon oil and capsicum so I guess I could amp that up too.

Lots of members of this forum have proactively installed fine screen over exterior air openings and bought metallic wiring loom tape to discourage the beasts.

It turns out the brand, Doktor Doom, is not sold in the U.S. but I’m sure it’s no different than other snake oil products rodent repellents out there. This one is based on Denatonium Benzoate, an extremely bitter ingredient. I’m sure Google will find something similar.

I haven’t had a repeat event but that doesn’t necessarily mean it repelled them. They simply might have found other places to hang out and dine. It happened at our cottage and I also put out traps and some Warfarin in places where only vermin could get to it. So, who knows?

OP - here’s the pic as promised - it really doesn’t show much and like others have said, replacing the harness seems best.

I really should take my engine cover off and clean under there more often.

 

[rang19ca]

I also believe that a new harness is the best way to fix this.

 

[Racket]

It turns out the brand, Doktor Doom, is not sold in the U.S. but I’m sure it’s no different than other snake oil products rodent repellents out there. This one is based on Denatonium Benzoate, an extremely bitter ingredient. I’m sure Google will find something similar.

I haven’t had a repeat event but that doesn’t necessarily mean it repelled them. They simply might have found other places to hang out and dine. It happened at our cottage and I also put out traps and some Warfarin in places where only vermin could get to it. So, who knows?

I found this on Amazon, and apparently you do not want this to come in contact with eyes or mucous tissue. But you could really make a lot of the stuff..

 

[seasprite]

My wife and I had a discussion about this, this morning, and we decided to file a claim with the insurance company. We check our coverage and they do cover rodent damage. Some adjuster suppose to get in contact with us.
The insurance has a rental car all set go and we'll be picking it up tomorrow. Probably the best way to go with all the damage.
My poor baby going on a tow truck to the dealer

 

[TxOTRRanger]

My wife and I had a discussion about this, this morning, and we decided to file a claim with the insurance company. We check our coverage and they do cover rodent damage. Some adjuster suppose to get in contact with us.
The insurance has a rental car all set go and we'll be picking it up tomorrow. Probably the best way to go with all the damage.
My poor baby going on a tow truck to the dealer

Hope that they can put you a new wiring harness in and you can get your truck back.

 

[IdahoRanger]

My wife and I had a discussion about this, this morning, and we decided to file a claim with the insurance company. We check our coverage and they do cover rodent damage. Some adjuster suppose to get in contact with us.
The insurance has a rental car all set go and we'll be picking it up tomorrow. Probably the best way to go with all the damage.
My poor baby going on a tow truck to the dealer

The fact you attempted the fix is way more than I would have done. Hope they get you all taken care of in a hurry.

 

[CBM]

My wife and I had a discussion about this, this morning, and we decided to file a claim with the insurance company. We check our coverage and they do cover rodent damage. Some adjuster suppose to get in contact with us.
The insurance has a rental car all set go and we'll be picking it up tomorrow. Probably the best way to go with all the damage.
My poor baby going on a tow truck to the dealer

This is what happened to me. The truck was still running and I drove it up to the shop. This is the passenger side fender at the firewall. Under the antifreeze reservoir. Couldn't see it. We scanned it and had a list as long as your arm. So they started trouble shooting and saw a squirrel run out from under my truck! It was still in there. It rode up to the shop about 3 miles away. I did the same, turned in a claim on my Comprehensive car insurance. Not to scare you, my harness cost $1500. It runs from the taillights to the headlights. They had to remove the dash, tore down the front end to the radiator. Took the seats out and the console, steering wheel and more. Almost one month and $5400 later it was fixed. I had a $500 deductible. This was done by my local mechanic whom I have used for many years. Don't know how much the dealership would be?
For deterrent I have placed 4 bars of Irish spring and sprayed peppermint oil under the hood. Hope everything works out for you.

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