2003 LeSabre: Power door locks, windows won't work

[Brian777]

Greetings,

All four door locks and all four power windows suddenly don't work, either by keyless remote or by manually pressing the doorlock button on the door. Curiously, the side-view mirror control buttons on the driver's side door console DO work. The keyless remote does activate the trunk lid and when I press unlock, the lights do activate at night. However, there's still no response from the doorlocks. These things all went out simultaneously.

This sounds funny, but the exact same time this problem occurred, I noticed what looks like rat droppings began appearing on the floor, both in the driver's section and the passenger side. (My area, Marin County, a mostly country-like suburb just north of San Francisco, is experiencing a rat epidemic of sorts.) I also noticed what looks like wiring insulation under the driver side dashboard that had been knawed off and bits and pieces fallen to the floor. In addition, I found a small piece of wire with purple insulation that looked like it had been chewed loose and that, too, had fallen to the floor on the driver's side under the dash.

I had examined fuses as the Buick dealer recommended; however, they all looked OK.

I believe it might be a probem with rodents getting into the electrical wiring that disabled the power windows and doorlocks. My family and I are very careful to leave the car clean and not leave the door open unattended for any length of time. And I have carefully searched the interior of the car, looked under the seats, and even pulled the rear passenger seat cushion off to examine for any rats nesting inside the car. I even checked the trunk for good measure. They don't appear anywhere at the time I search, yet, when I come back the next day, there's rat droppings on the floor again, although the car is locked tight at night. It is a mystery to me how they get inside.

My questions:

1.) Is there a way a rodent could gain access from outside though an opening, vent, etc., and if so, could a screen or other device be installed to remedy this problem without causing harm to the vehicle's functioning systems?

2.) What would be the best way to access and examine the wiring/electrical contacts for the doorlocks/power windows in a 2003 LeSabre?

I searched the Buick LeSabre forum, however, I did not find a specific answer for the power system related to the 2003 model.

Thank you so much for your time and help. God bless you.

Brian

[imidazol97]

Originally Posted by Brian777

Greetings,
It is a mystery to me how they get inside.

1.) Is there a way a rodent could gain access from outside though an opening, vent, etc., and if so, could a screen or other device be installed to remedy this problem without causing harm to the vehicle's functioning systems?

Brian

I hope you've started putting stick traps on the car floor! No matter how they got it, you want to be sure they're not there anymore.

[HotZ28]

It sounds like the "rats" had a party under your dash!! The purple wire you described could very well be the power wire for the windows & locks. You need to have someone inspect the damage under the dash; it could be worse that you think!

Very seldom you will ever see a rodent; they seem to disappear in the presence of humans. They probably have a nest under the dash where they run & hide, when you open the door.

I would agree with the sticky trap trick and don't forget to leave some munchies in the middle to help attract them! Also, after you have all of them eliminated from the inside, put baited sticky traps on the outside near where you park the car.

[Brian777]

Greetings,

Thanks for the suggestions. The past couple days, I set traps and one rat got caught inside the car, and another one in the garage by the car. I'll keep the traps operating until the rats are no more. I still need to investigate / inquire about how they got into the car in the first place.

Thanks again for your advice.

God bless you,
Brian

[imidazol97]

Makes me cringe to think about driving with those inside the car!!!

I recall some posts int he Accord discussion about rats liking the wiring on the motor of them. I just figured it was some Accord deficiency, grin. But now they like the plastic on a LeSabre, at least they have good taste in cars. That's a pun.

[HotZ28]

Keep the bait out there for them. If they had a chance to breed, there could be 20 or more around. Since we are on the subject of “rodent infestation”, I will share a couple of memories of my own, regarding that little pest.

Several years ago, I had a rodent problem in a new house. The rodents evidently occupied the house before we did, and they thought they were the owners. They were breeding in the attic and between the walls of the garage & house. I found one small hole about ¼ in wide, where a pipe went through the wall and they would come and go during the night. I surprised them one night by turning the lights on in the garage at 2 a.m. and I saw four running across the floor seeking a hiding spot. Needless to say, the next day, I bought a case of sticky traps with a block of aged cheddar cheese and started to work. On an average night, I had two kills, with one record night, where there were three trapped on the same sticky pad! This went on for over a month and I must have claimed at least thirty trophies. I feel certain that the whole family was wiped out!

I have a friend who had a car with rats under the dash. One day he was headed home from work in rush hour traffic and a car stopped quickly in front of him. He hit his brakes hard to avoid hitting the other car and after he regained his composure, he felt something on his foot. He looked down and saw a rat sitting there looking at him. In utter fright, he hit his brakes again, (nearly causing an accident) and the rat ran up his pants leg, climbing up his leg, until it was between his knee and groin. He jumped out of the car (in rush hour traffic) and proceeded to pull down his pants to get the rat out of his pants! Needless to say, the whole incident was not only scary to my friend, but hilarious to the many spectators!

[LeSabre97mint]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

Keep the bait out there for them. If they had a chance to breed, there could be 20 or more around. Since we are on the subject of “rodent infestation”, I will share a couple of memories of my own, regarding that little pest.

Several years ago, I had a rodent problem in a new house. The rodents evidently occupied the house before we did, and they thought they were the owners. They were breeding in the attic and between the walls of the garage & house. I found one small hole about ¼ in wide, where a pipe went through the wall and they would come and go during the night. I surprised them one night by turning the lights on in the garage at 2 a.m. and I saw four running across the floor seeking a hiding spot. Needless to say, the next day, I bought a case of sticky traps with a block of aged cheddar cheese and started to work. On an average night, I had two kills, with one record night, where there were three trapped on the same sticky pad! This went on for over a month and I must have claimed at least thirty trophies. I feel certain that the whole family was wiped out!

I have a friend who had a car with rats under the dash. One day he was headed home from work in rush hour traffic and a car stopped quickly in front of him. He hit his brakes hard to avoid hitting the other car and after he regained his composure, he felt something on his foot. He looked down and saw a rat sitting there looking at him. In utter fright, he hit his brakes again, (nearly causing an accident) and the rat ran up his pants leg, climbing up his leg, until it was between his knee and groin. He jumped out of the car (in rush hour traffic) and proceeded to pull down his pants to get the rat out of his pants! Needless to say, the whole incident was not only scary to my friend, but hilarious to the many spectators!

VERY FUNNY! I guess this thread started with rats so this is a good post! My wife wouldn't function the whole day just reading this post! I hate to see what would happen if she saw one in her van!

Dan