Rat nest and engine fires

[winnietrey]

Kind Of a follow-up to my cayenne pepper post, of the last few days.
Rats and rodents, seem to love the engine valley of my V-10. Two seasons ago I saw rat signs when I popped the hood. So I pulled the doghouse cover, and found quite the rat condo. Engine valley was chock full of tinder dry maple leaves, and 1 dead rat. Whom I believe may have died as a result, of the neighbors putting out rat poison.

But after a bit of a search, it appears rodent nests can indeed catch the engine on fire. I tend to think it is true, but really don't know.

So my thought, class c owners, at the start of the season, probably a good idea to pull the doghouse cover, and check

[seaeagle2]

Rumor has it, new cars use soy based wire insulation, the vermin are rumored to be attracted to the taste / smell of it..

[CavemanCharlie]

Never had rats but, I once had mice build a nest in the engine compartment.

The problem is not just the stuff they leave behind but, the can chew on the wires under the hood. That can also cause a fire

It's not just a problem of fire it can also be a problem because on these modern computerized vehicles a break in even the casing of some wires can cause the computer to get all out of whack.

[Lwiddis]

You bet that twigs, leaves and foliage can catch fire from engine heat. These darn covers that manufacturers are installing prevent easy inspection.

[Artum_Snowbird]

I bought a used V-10 class C that had sat for a couple of years. I drove it home almost 400 miles pedal to the medal on a cool and rainy day in November. A few days later I took a light to the engine department and saw what you found, maple leaves. I started gathering them from the front with a vacuum cleaner and got a decent bucket out. Next day I took the doghouse off and got another bucket. Literally packed but no bodies.

It took an hour, and a bit more to clean up the mess. Having said that, I remembered when they asked me when I bought insurance for the year they said "Do you want new replacement value?" It was a lot more but they assured me that I could cancel that when I wanted and revert back to the insurance based on what I paid for it.

Next time when I am offered new replacement value, I will take it for a couple of months until I am sure the new to me rig is not going to blow up or burn down. Scared the Holey Bejesus right out of me when I realized how close it was to a total write off.

[midnightsadie]

2005 f150 parked in my pole bldg ,don,t drive it much ,critter built a nest in my fresh air intake, short story my insurer paid $1300. to have it cleaned out and running.