RATS and plug wires

[WuzzaCBXRider]

I live in a 70+ year old house with a detached garage that's just as old. Upon a close exam of my Taylor braided SS plug wires on the 79, I noticed that the heavy rubber plug caps had gnaw marks on them! Some are in pretty bad shape. Could this account for the popping I sometimes get thru the right side exhaust? On decel it almost always pops like its just a 29 year old muffler but now I'm thinking it may be the loss of fire to the plugs? Doesn't seem to have lost any power though. I fired it up in the dark and couldn't see any arcing.

I set traps for the vermin and for eight straight days I caught a large rat each day. Since number eight, no more have tried to get the peanut butter I put in the trap. Suppose I've eliminated all the hunter gatherers from their clan or do they not like peanut butter anymore? I have a spare set of wires but they're those bright yellow ones. Man, those Taylors were expensive and looked so nice when I got them years ago!!! Freakin rats!!!!!
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[RILEYDSKING]

rats LOVE plug wires!! same thing hapened to my truck but it would hardly run!some were down to the wire.it is a v8 and every wire had some kind tooth mark!!sorry to hear they got yours too!!

 

[roadthing]

Man, those Taylors were expensive and looked so nice when I got them years ago!!! Freakin rats!!!!!

Taylor silicone wires? You know there's nothing wrong with a little silicone

I guess they just have good taste

I had deer mice eat LOTS of wire insulation, when I lived on Long Island. They stored acorns in my wife's bike, they destroyed the wiring harness on an '84 Sportster, and they ate through the wiring for the AC compressor in my wife's Saturn, and in my '01 Impala. It took a LOT of snap-traps, and a ton of sticky traps to get the population down to a manageable size. Our house was built in 1933, and the garage not long after. It was pretty much "porous" to the mice, and other pests. We kept Terminix pretty busy!

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

In re: "Taylor silicone wires? You know there's nothing wrong with a little silicone"

Taylor (braided stainless steel) plug wires. Thankfully they only chewed on the caps not the actual wires. Maybe one of them tried and broke a tooth! Wonder why they ignored the other two bikes in the garage? Another CBX and the Busa...oh crap, I guess I should check the Busa...

 

[99'busa]

get a cat

 

[BIKE DUDE]

I dought that the popping on decel is due to the wires. Make a super saturated solution of salt and water in a spray bottle and spray that on the plug wires in question and then see in the dark if it will arc. Salt water conducts electriciy much better than regular water and is the best way I've found to spot arcing plugs,wires,dist caps etc. An old timer showed me this and it really works well!

 

[Mr Bogus]

no arcing or loss of power? probably not leaking yet.. spray some window cleaner on them

backfires on decel are commonly related to air getting into the exhaust..

the exhaust gases normally do not have enough 02 left to burn remaining hydrocarbons, when a source of 02 is found, pop, bang and boom....