Rodent damage to my 2017 460. Help identifying small chewed wire, please. :( (1 Viewer)

[SoundFX]

Hello Good People,
It's been a long time since I've poked around on the forum. It's only because I haven't changed anything on my GX since the collective wisdom here steered me in the right direction (still very appreciative!).
Living super rural these days and this year in northern NV has been pretty wet. So it seems the rodent population has exploded and along with it... ugh. Damage. After cleaning out a large nest and inspecting for trouble, I found this very small diameter chewed wire hanging free near the windshield washer pump. Emailed the folks at Lexus in Reno and they asked if my headlight squirter and windshield wiper pumps still worked, and they do. So not sure what this wire does at this point. Would anybody happen to know? Many thanks in advance!
Kind Regards,
Sfx

 

[r2m]

Hello Good People,
It's been a long time since I've poked around on the forum. It's only because I haven't changed anything on my GX since the collective wisdom here steered me in the right direction (still very appreciative!).
Living super rural these days and this year in northern NV has been pretty wet. So it seems the rodent population has exploded and along with it... ugh. Damage. After cleaning out a large nest and inspecting for trouble, I found this very small diameter chewed wire hanging free near the windshield washer pump. Emailed the folks at Lexus in Reno and they asked if my headlight squirter and windshield wiper pumps still worked, and they do. So not sure what this wire does at this point. Would anybody happen to know? Many thanks in advance!
Kind Regards,
Sfx
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View attachment 3435738

Can you do another photo or two with a wider angle shot so we can see where the wire is?
Can't tell where it is under the hood. Maybe an entire engine bay shot and an arrow pointing to the area of interest?

 

[SoundFX]

Can you do another photo or two with a wider angle shot so we can see where the wire is?
Can't tell where it is under the hood. Maybe an entire engine bay shot and an arrow pointing to the area of interest?

Thank you for the reply. I'm grateful. As for where it is, it's next to the air intake that goes to the air box. I removed the cover to get my paws in there. (pic stolen from the web for time's sake).

 

[r2m]

Presently I need to keep off my feet. I pulled (tore?) my calf muscle really bad and I live atop three flights of stairs, otherwise I'd go down and take a look for you.
Perhaps another MUDer could take a look at their rig and see where it came from.
Quick question, you don't see the other end of the wire dangling anywhere in proximity?

 

[SoundFX]

Presently I need to keep off my feet. I pulled (tore?) my calf muscle really bad and I live atop three flights of stairs, otherwise I'd go down and take a look for you.
Perhaps another MUDer could take a look at their rig and see where it came from.
Quick question, you don't see the other end of the wire dangling anywhere in proximity?

Geez, I'm sorry that you're hurting. Please don't make yourself uncomfortable. If anybody does know off the top of their heads what it is that would be amazing. But please, nobody go to any trouble over it. The GX still runs and everything seems to work, so we're not in trouble as far as I can tell. But I'd love to get it fixed just out of OCD. I could not tell where the wire is attached on the other end, unfortunately. There was just a little bit of slack to get the pic I took. It might be an offshoot of a larger harness but I cannot tell for sure.

Thank very much Richard for thinking about this and trying to help. Please take it easy and get that leg all healed up.

Kind Regards,
SFX

 

[r2m]

Geez, I'm sorry that you're hurting. Please don't make yourself uncomfortable. If anybody does know off the top of their heads what it is that would be amazing. But please, nobody go to any trouble over it. The GX still runs and everything seems to work, so we're not in trouble as far as I can tell. But I'd love to get it fixed just out of OCD. I could not tell where the wire is attached on the other end, unfortunately. There was just a little bit of slack to get the pic I took. It might be an offshoot of a larger harness but I cannot tell for sure.

Thank very much Richard for thinking about this and trying to help. Please take it easy and get that leg all healed up.

Kind Regards,
SFX

Just occurred to me with your last post stating that everything runs fine, and considering that the wire is in the right front corner, have your tried your windshield washer and/or your headlight washer (if you have one)? Because everything would run fine and probably would notice until you were in the rain.

 

[SoundFX]

Just occurred to me with your last post stating that everything runs fine, and considering that the wire is in the right front corner, have your tried your windshield washer and/or your headlight washer (if you have one)? Because everything would run fine and probably would notice until you were in the rain.

Yes, the headlight washers and windshield washers both appear to work correctly. That's exactly what the Lexus tech in Reno said to check as well, but he hasn't replied to me since his last email (sent him a reply). So you and he had exactly the same thought on that.

 

[ericm979]

You might try using techstream or another OBD2 scanner to check for codes. I think techstream also has a mode to scan all the CPUS on the bus. The other thing is to try to trace the wires. Yes I know that's not always easy.

I'm also in a rural area and have had rodent problems in vehicles. One truck had $400 worth of wiring damage and had to go to the dealer. A mouse died in my current Tundra and even though I removed most of the interior I could not find it. The solutions I have found are 1) drive the vehicle a lot 2) use traps. I will not use poison (cruel and kills the predators that eat rodents) or glue traps (really cruel). 3) block entry ways into the passenger compartment. That won't eliminate the eating the wires problem but keeps them out of the prime nesting areas so they spend less time in the vehicle.

 

[r2m]

You might try using techstream or another OBD2 scanner to check for codes. I think techstream also has a mode to scan all the CPUS on the bus. The other thing is to try to trace the wires. Yes I know that's not always easy.

I'm also in a rural area and have had rodent problems in vehicles. One truck had $400 worth of wiring damage and had to go to the dealer. A mouse died in my current Tundra and even though I removed most of the interior I could not find it. The solutions I have found are 1) drive the vehicle a lot 2) use traps. I will not use poison (cruel and kills the predators that eat rodents) or glue traps (really cruel). 3) block entry ways into the passenger compartment. That won't eliminate the eating the wires problem but keeps them out of the prime nesting areas so they spend less time in the vehicle.

Not sure if you really need to drive often, but maybe at least start it up once a day. That should rattle any critters hoping to nest in there.

 

[HVLA]

We did get crazy wet weather here in Northern Nevada this year. It was just raining here a couple minutes ago in Spanish Springs. I will go out and take a look to see if I can tell what wire that is. Will report back.

 

[HVLA]

Ok apparently it is still raining. Will have to wait a bit. One of the downfalls of letting the wife park her rig in the garage.

 

[SoundFX]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

 

[HVLA]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

Is it part of that wire to the secondary air injection pump? That is what it looks like to me. Here is a pic of mine right now. Different angle. The wire comes out of the upper section and wraps down slightly with a ziptie/strap and then joins the harness with the loom below the filter on the air injection unit. Hope this makes sense.

 

[HVLA]

I am positive that is the wire. There are no other wires near there. It is same size and everything.

 

[SoundFX]

Just got some more pics. I apologize for taking so long to give more info.

It’s a small rubberized outer sleeve white wire coming out of this component.

 

[SoundFX]

My ignorance is showing here, guys. I am not the most handy fellow when it comes to vehicles.

 

[SoundFX]

HVLA, you nailed it. Probably a dumb question, but do I risk even bigger problems driving the GX with this wire detached? The dealership is over sixty miles away. Perhaps a low skill person such as myself could replace this part? Or bad idea?

 

[ericm979]

I think on the Lexus the air pump only runs during a cold start. It helps the catalytic converter get up to temp faster. If it doesn't throw a code it's probably ok to run it some. Over a long time it might cause clogged catalytic converters or other problems.

If you can find both ends of the wire and there's some slack you can splice it with a butt connector. It might be a little tricky with a wire that small.

 

[HVLA]

Where in northern nevada do you live?

 

[SoundFX]

About a half hour south of Gardnerville.

I think it might be possible to splice but I can’t see the underside of the pump without removing it. If it’s just a couple bolts I could take it out and give splicing it a go. I do have some coupling connectors handy and the right electrical pliers. Is the pump tricky to remove?

Thanks again, Gents.