mice in the fuse box! - how to safely clean it out

sarl_cagan

2006 118" SHC in Portland, OR
Hello everyone!

My question for you all: How delicate do I need to be when moving wires and modules around beneath the driver's seat? Are there any known trouble areas? Any "no touch" areas?

The back story: I'm in deep clean mode on the new van. Low and behold, there's an old mouse nest beneath the drivers seat. (images below!) I'm paranoid of what mice can sometimes bring with them... so I want to clean it ALL out. The land of wires and fuses and ECUs and computery modules is typically where I draw the line. Its out of my comfort zone. Luckily, I don't see any gnarly chewed wires yet. I thought I'd pack up for the evening and get a few words of wisdom from you all.

Thank you!

PS: why do you suppose my fuses are all taped down like this?
 

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ECU

2006 T1n 118 Sprinter
Not a lot to worry about. If you add water, there are wire races between the seats and out to the steps that will ooze the crud. I'd do as much as you can with a vacuum.
As for the fuses...some idiot thought they would fall out?
 
B

billintomahawk

Guest
The PO was chasing a short that expressed itself on bumpy roads.

b
 

3Play

Well-known member
My vans former life involved granite counter tops, so it was filled with granite dust.
I took most of those components out, unplugged and cleaned every contact, vacuumed and cleaned the box out with solvent, then did some rust controll with a phosphoric acid product to covert the oxide to phosphate, then sealed it with paint.
If the fuse blocks are loose, you can taake them out and recrimp all the contacts gently, so they will grip the fuses again.
When in doubt, get tape and label (number) every wire and the block if you are removing things...
Also did the recrimping on the big fuse block on the steering column.
 

Fletch9871

Active member
sarl...Interesting, my fuses are taped in the same manner. I thought it was something the PO did. After seeing your pic I'm guessing it was something done either at the factory in Germany or the re-assembly facility in SC. Perhaps it was a step that was skipped as part of a reassembly or dealer pre-sale procedure. The tape on my fuses looks identical, seems unlikely to be a coincidence.

Keep Rolling...Chris
 

220629

Well-known member
FWIW.

I agree with detailed vacuuming being a major first step. Time spent dong that can save time later.

If mouse coronavirus is your real concern I would spray around Lysol. let it dry, vacuum, spray it around again, let dry, and do a final vacuum. Lysol shouldn't damage electrical components/wiring. There can be pitfalls to disassembly and reassembly of a, up to then, perfectly fine Sprinter electrical system.

Based upon historic comments on this forum, the tape is not Mercedes SOP. I wonder why some have it?

vic
 

sassmatt72

2006 high top long, Fully converted by me
I've found tape on every Sprinter I've owned or worked on (14+) on fuzes under seat (I believe from factory), 2 had it partially removed.
2 vans had fuzes that would fall out of steering column fuze box on mostly flat road, I added tape to those boxes...and tightened the fuze gripper part with a tiny needle nosed pliers. one turn signal issue from relay at bottom of steering column fuze box. (just cleaned contacts to fix).

The wiring under the seat is pretty robust. tho I did had a module under there not plug in right and cause some grief fora minute till I checked codes and realized the module throwing the code was under the seat (where I'd just cleaned).
long story short, I pulled 80% of the wiring and modules and brackets out of the way to clean (with main battery disconnected and no secondary battery at that time, if I had one in van I'd disconnect it as well). I even moved one to make space easier to reach into....

p.s. 4 vans with the same bad cold solder joint in HVAC panel, needling a quick desolder and re-do. (3 modded by previous owner to run ac anyway)
 

220629

Well-known member
I've found tape on every Sprinter I've owned or worked on (14+) on fuzes under seat (I believe from factory), 2 had it partially removed.
...
:idunno:

Maybe it is SOP then, but supposed to be removed as part of the dealership new car get ready. I can't imagine Mercedes engineers allowing masking tape to be necessary for fuses to stay in place.. maybe for shipping across the ocean. I've worked dealership new car get ready. By watching others doing the same jobs, I can attest that not all new cars get the full procedure listed on the manufacturer's checklist.

:cheers: vic
 

bigb

2011 Winnebago Via 25Q on 2010 3500 Tucson, AZ
:idunno:

I can attest that not all new cars get the full procedure listed on the manufacturer's checklist.

:cheers: vic

The VW MK7 cars were all shipped with plastic shipping blocks in the struts which are not visible. Many were sold with the blocks never removed. Some were not discovered for thousands of miles even after they had been in for alignments etc.


 

tbuyan

'04 3500 140" low roof cargo w/dually delete
I can't imagine Mercedes engineers allowing masking tape to be necessary for fuses to stay in place.
Maybe not, but they allow incorrectly inserted tail lamp bulbs to create a no-start; they allow viscous clutches to fail if they are laid flat; they allow turbo resonators to blow apart (after 3 redesigns); they allow torque converters to groan and shudder on decel; they allow roof seams to rust through; they allow engine wiring harnesses to fail inside protective sheaths… Don't get me started.
 

220629

Well-known member
Maybe not, but they allow incorrectly inserted tail lamp bulbs to create a no-start; they allow viscous clutches to fail if they are laid flat; they allow turbo resonators to blow apart (after 3 redesigns); they allow torque converters to groan and shudder on decel; they allow roof seams to rust through; they allow engine wiring harnesses to fail inside protective sheaths… Don't get me started.
My point was that they are all about appearance. They would not design in something like crappy looking masking tape over a fuse block.

vic
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
Back to the original question: DISCONNECT THE BATTERY (at least the negative post).
(it may seem obvious, but it never hurts to state that first step... it avoids SO many issues)

When i'm dealing with a mouse problem like this ... first i go buy more ShoVac bags... but don't put them in until i've finished the job. I let the existing bag be defined as "trash" at the end of the job. I move the ShopVac as far from the van as possible .. or put a second hose on the OUT port so that i can dump the exhaust outdoors, not into any space i'll be using (basement, garage). Mask and gloves. Perhaps a pair of $3/pair leather gloves from HomeDepot. (also disposed of after the job). A narrow-slot "radiator tool" for the ShopVac (or a house vacuum cleaner) gets into tighter spaces than the round tools.
Isopropyl or ethyl alcohol for surface cleaning after the vacuuming.
Now put on the thin latex or nitrile gloves and *feel* the wiring ... your fingertips can detect "nibbles" that your eyes might miss (such as on the undersides).
Yah, it's tedious.

While you're in there, take photos (and/or write down a copy) of the "fuse map" that's on the inside of the fuse panel cover.
That's the *only copy* you have of that information.

--dick (whose 2005 didn't have tape, but the dealer prep was probably fairly meticulous)
 

sarl_cagan

2006 118" SHC in Portland, OR
A big thank you to everyone. Respirator and Lysol purchased. If I'm not here in a month... all that previous vacuuming and stirring particles up did me in. There's more :turd: than I anticipated!
 

sarl_cagan

2006 118" SHC in Portland, OR
Lysol/bleached, then dried with heater and fan, then vacuumed. That's likely going to be pass 1 of 3. Yuck.

Mind helping me ID a couple under-seat modules and a connector? Photos attached.

Module #1: I see some mouse nibbles on this guy
Module #2: just curious
Mystery connector: What's this guy?

Thanks all.
 

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autostaretx

Erratic Member
@Cheyenne thanks Keith! Ok dumb question: what is the typical factory use of such a thing?
The factory doesn't use it ... it's specifically for after-market addition of unknown things by the owner or conversion folks.
The "D+" is to trigger isolation relay coils ... it comes "live" when the alternator is producing power.
The other two are handy for anything you want.
Have fun with it!

--dick
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
How to determine what "module #1" does ... make a list of the wire colors and which pin they're connected to.
From the photo, i'm seeing Blue/Red (that's base color blue, with red stripe)
Black/Red, Green/Yellow and Yellow/Red (that last one is on the far side of the connector).
Now we go to the service manual ( http://diysprinter.co.uk/reference/2006-VA-SM.pdf ) and the "connector pin-out" section (8W-80)
We choose the least-common combination (YL/RD i suspect) and do an Acrobat search on that.
For each "hit", we see if the other colors are used on the same connector (and if the picture matches the drawing)
The photo appears to be (roughly) a 20-pin connector with only a few in the middle in use.

I'm suspecting it's going to be C219 ... other connectors with YL/RD and GR/YL use them for the right-side (US passenger) sliding door sense.
C219 is on page 8w-61-7 (if you had dual sliders, it would also be using 8w-61-6)

If i'm correct, it's not a "module", it's just a bunch of wires passing through to the door lock system.

--dick
 

220629

Well-known member
Lysol/bleached, then dried with heater and fan, then vacuumed. That's likely going to be pass 1 of 3. Yuck.

...
I hope that you didn't use bleach around your copper and brass electrics. Bleach hangs on and is extremely corrosive. One of the only ways to get rid of sodium hypochlorite aka bleach is flushing with water. If not flushed out it will appear to dry, but remain to be activated by moisture in the air. That is why I specifically mentioned Lysol. Lysol shouldn't be corrosive to electrical parts.

This article is about steel rusting, but applies equally to copper and brass.


:2cents: vic
 

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