Rats chewing wires

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I had my C4's wiring slightly damaged by rats here in southern Spain. It was repairable and they didn't touch the motorroam's. Both vehicles 2015 so likely same type of wiring. Since the first occurrence I've had 8 rat bait-boxes around both car and camper, replenished monthly, no further damage (that I'm aware of :oops:)
C4 now replaced by EV .....
 
A quick search reveals a lot of differing articles, rats and mice chew regardless to keep their teeth in good nick.

There are some sources that say it’s nothing but clickbait and was a hoax regarding soy based wiring and it’s actually all polymer based PVC, which evidently isn’t soy.

www.torquenews.com

Car Talk Helps Bust the Myth That Soy Is Why Rodents Are Eating Your Car’s Wires

A rodent has eaten your car’s wiring. Now you find with a 30-second internet search that the cause is soy. Look harder for the real facts.
www.torquenews.com www.torquenews.com
 
Barriesimpson said:
Electric cable insulation is NOT plant based and never has been. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Googlebot said:
A quick search reveals a lot of differing articles, rats and mice chew regardless to keep their teeth in good nick.

There are some sources that say it’s nothing but clickbait and was a hoax regarding soy based wiring and it’s actually all polymer based PVC, which evidently isn’t soy.

www.torquenews.com

Car Talk Helps Bust the Myth That Soy Is Why Rodents Are Eating Your Car’s Wires

A rodent has eaten your car’s wiring. Now you find with a 30-second internet search that the cause is soy. Look harder for the real facts.
www.torquenews.com www.torquenews.com
Click to expand...
Research’bioplastics’ soy based insulation used by most car manufacturers since 2000🤔🤔

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AlunandFelicie said:
Research’bioplastics’ soy based insulation used by most car manufacturers since 2000🤔🤔
Click to expand...
Wow!

This will be very difficult to bottom out then. Can be made from anything, edible and non-edible.

en.m.wikipedia.org

Bioplastic - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Interesting.

I do wonder if it’s more attractive to rodents then? Would seem a pretty stupid thing to wrap cables in if so. 🫠
 

Materials Commonly Used for Wire Insulation​

Depending on the application, wire insulation can be composed of many different materials, including plastic, rubber, and fluoropolymers.

Plastic​

Plastics exhibit a number of useful characteristics ideal for wire insulation, including ductility, electrical resistance, UV resistance, and fire resistance. Below are popular plastics used in electrical wire insulation:

  • Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): PVC is one of the most commonly used insulation materials due to its cost effectiveness and high durability. It exhibits high resistance to fire and chemicals, and can maintain its shape and durability in temperatures from -55° C up to 105° C.
  • Semi-Rigid PVC (SR-PVC): SR-PVC can withstand abrasion and has a high level of resistance to acids, alkalis, water, and heat.
  • Plenum Polyvinyl Chloride (Plenum PVC): Plenum PVC is engineered with greater fire resistance for fire-rated use in plenum spaces.
  • Polyethylene (PE): PE is denser and harder than PVC. It is highly electrically insulative and especially resistant to cracking at temperatures between -65° C and 80° C.
  • Polypropylene (PP): Polypropylene has higher temperature resistance than PE, with operating temperatures between 30° C to 80° C.
  • Polyurethane (PUR): PUR is flexible, with high water, chemical, and abrasion resistance. It provides excellent performance in marine applications and low temperatures from -62° C to 93° C.
  • Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE): CPE is a cost-effective insulation with excellent resistance to oil, heat, and outdoor conditions.
  • Nylon: Typically used as a secondary insulator over softer insulation materials. Nylon provides a flexible protective layer with poor water resistance.

Rubber​

Rubber materials are more flexible than plastic, especially at lower temperatures. Rubber materials used for wire insulation include:

  • Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR): TPR is resistant to a broad range of temperatures, UV radiation, and wear.
  • Neoprene (Polychloroprene): Neoprene exhibits superior abrasion and cut resistance, as well as resistance to oils and solvents.
  • Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR): SBR has greater temperature resistance than neoprene, and is typically used for MIL cables at temperatures from -55° C to 85° C.
  • Silicone: Valued for its high flexibility, silicone has exceptional flame retardance and heat resistance up to 180° C.
  • Fiberglass: Fiberglass is used for extremely high temperature applications up to 482° C. It is also resistant to chemicals and water.
  • Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPR): EPR is very resistant to heat, oxidation, water acids, alkalis, alcohol, and electrical currents.
  • Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE): Perfect for low-voltage applications, CSPE has good chemical and UV resistance, and operates at a broad range of temperatures.
  • Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM): EPDM has low conductivity, is extremely flexible, and performs at temperatures between -45° C and 177° C.

Fluoropolymer​

Fluoropolymers are polymers that are especially resistant to bases, acids, and solvents. Popular fluoropolymers used in electrical insulation include:

  • Perfluoroalkoxy (PFA): PFA is an excellent option for enhanced electrical efficiency due to its low dissipation factor. It can withstand temperatures from -65° C to 250° C, but is pricier than other insulation options.
  • Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE): PTFE offers exceptional resistance to oil, chemicals, heat, and moisture. It is highly flexible in a broad range of temperatures, from -73° C to 204° C.
  • Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP): FEP has excellent electrical insulation properties, as well as UV and chemical resistance. It is extremely tough and flexible.
  • Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE): ETFE exhibits excellent corrosion resistance, a high melting temperature, and superior resistance to chemicals, electrical current, and high-energy radiation.
  • Halar® ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE): A melt-processable polymer that exhibits superior strength, chemical resistance, and flexibility, ECTFE can also be extruded and braided for extra abrasion protection.
  • Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF): PVDF is an economical insulation that is lightweight, flexible, and flame resistant to UL 910 standards for plenum cables.
 
Barriesimpson said:
Electric cable insulation is NOT plant based and never has been. Sorry.
Click to expand...
The Peugeot dealer told us that (relatively) recent vehicles DO have soya based insulation when replacing the loom on our 2018 van following rodent damage. I can't see any commercial advantage to them lying. Is your information perhaps date-specific?
 
Rapido925M said:
Ripoff Britain is featuring an article about a VW Camper which has had wires chewed by rats. Apparently the insulation is plant-based and therefore attractive to rodents
Click to expand...
As far as I can recall, rats and mice (and pine martens etc) have always chewed wires, plant based or not. It seems that with the world being a wetter, hotter, drier or colder place depending on where you live, more pesky rodents are seeking shelter in unlikely places and chewing whatever they can get their endlessly growing teeth into. From the Ripoff report it seems you can get an electric mat to surround your vehicle with to discourage them (expensive) or an aerosol to coat your electrics with to put them off chewing (cheaper). Soya based plastics (sustainable - none of you got grandchildren?) may or may not be the cause . . . .

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Hi.
Working away a month at a time, came to check the oil/water in the car etc. to get home on site and the bulk head insulation was all ragged one side. Thought something flailing about on the way from home up to scotland...checked...nothing.
Rats/mice had climbed up and were trying to get to some SWEETS ! i had in the glove box that side.
No food left in M/ho unless in tins.
Tea Bag
 
In petrol stations I was regularly replacing wires chewed by rats. They liked the taste of diesel which is very sweet to rats (apparently)
So if diesel was spilt on anything chewable they would go for it. Found quiet a few that the power cooked them before the pump tripped out. Mainly in the very old pumps in country stations.
 
Rats will chew any wire, seemingly preferring harder wire presumably to sharpen their teeth.

We had a finca in rural Spain in a national park for 20 years and I was often replacing/repairing cabling, with the external CAT6 cable to the casita evidently their favourite. We also had one fatality following a 230v cable chew on the pool light transformer input cable. With this said, we also saw chew marks on the feet of plastic chairs stored in an area that was once a pig pen, so it's not exclusive to cables.

None of the above were soya based to the best of my knowledge. Rats just like to chew, particularly in places that offer them cover from predators (or people).
 
My experience is the little buggers chewing plastic pipe (turbo vacuum hose) and not wiring insulation which was completely ignored. I know of several incidents of them chewing diesel pipe which lends some credence to post #23 above.
Meanwhile if you’re worried get yourself down to Lidl…
IMG_2431.webp

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The handbook for my ioniq hybrid specifically states that some of the high voltage cables are soya based insulation. However I have had wires chewed by mice and I don't think they mind what the insulation is made of.
 
Having lived at the same address without issue for over 15 years. Just had the rodents chew through our VW Passat diesel pipes on the top of the engine, before the New Year, leading to a breakdown and recovery. Some surface damage to the wiring looms. The large plastic cover that sits on the top of the engine has about 40mm of foam beneath and that was all chewed up too. In June when it was having a repair a large nest was found under the plastic cover (surprised it did not catch fire) - no trace of the nest until the cover was removed. Currently 14 bait stations in use, very little poison consumed - I may have bought to much bait though 11.5kg!! Currently keep the top plastic cover off the engine. No food or waste ever left outside. Checked the MoHo and thankfully no problems there.
Not a pleasant experience and not so rare either.
 
Rapido925M said:
Ripoff Britain is featuring an article about a VW Camper which has had wires chewed by rats. Apparently the insulation is plant-based and therefore attractive to rodents
Click to expand...
Never had this problem dooring the war!

All the German VW's seam to to fine. Ask Adolf!!!! :giggler:
 
I've no idea what the insulation is made from but I can assure you that rodents do like it. When I was installing fibre optic and copper external cables that were not armoured they were sometimes attacked. What's more the rodents have been known to manage to part the wires of steel wire armouring to get to the inner cores, we always used cables with tape armouring to defeat them.
I've had our EHU cable attacked by some small creature once, no more than tooth marks but they certainly tried.

And yes there have been reports of modern VWs having the wiring looms underneath attacked and seriously damaged by rodents. It's mostly DPF & catalytic converter sensor wiring that suffers.

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