Access to Instrument panel, rear bonnet-Mice Damage

[hcody]

Have a Kubota 2007 MX-5000. Sat for two months outside in Central Texas(Feb 15-April 15). Would crank but not like it used to, so replaced the seven year old battery. Will turn over fine now but won't start.

I suspect mice have done some damage between the engine and the instrument panel-key area as I cleared out a nest. How can I get access to this area to check and replace wires, etc? Do I remove the hood, "rear bonnet"? Or is there an easier way?

It ran just fine two months ago. Do you think it could be something else, fuel, etc.

Thanks a lot.

Hcody

 

[hoytp]

I had a similar problem with an L3650. Mice were building nests in the area under the steering column and the tractor wouldn't start. It turned out the mice were disabling the safety interlock that keeps the tractor from starting when the PTO is engaged. I finally had to disconnect the interlock to get ahead of the mice.

 

[CurtisC]

I had them nest under the dash / steering column and had to electrical tape wires they had chewed insulation from (they seem to love to do that). They'll even crawl in and nest in the air cleaner box. A previous owner had let it sit a while in a field, fortunately it was due for maintenance and I found the remains stuck to the filter element. The cavity in my B/H boom is open at the frame end and was a prime nest site (not sure they won't chew on hydraulic hoses). On top of the damage they do you're also left with a smell that won't go away.
In a previous post on mice I read they don't like the smell of "Bounce" dryer sheets. I subsequently stuffed those things under the dash, in the B/H boom, and under the hood and change them out every 6 months or so and haven't had a problem since. In fairness, I also moved the tractor into a barn and put out traps & bate stations. There's still an active mouse population in the barn as I'm constantly finding them in traps and dead off the poison - just not on board the tractor. So I'm not positive the bounce sheets really work but fact is the tractor doesn't have mouse problem any more and it smells a lot better.