When a jumpstart goes wrong? Safety Question

Neighbor tried jumping my wife’s ‘06 Nissan Altima, we left it for 10 minutes and came back and the cables had melted through the headlight of both cars and some of the bumper. I wasn’t there but thankfully they stopped their car and were able to disconnect the cables without incident. We noticed after there had been mice living in around her engine from the mouse poop, minimum the last two weeks. What causes jumper cables to do this? Something a rodent may have chewed? Definitely an issue with my wife’s car. Our poor neighbors have a newish midsized suv. My wife has also had constant issues starting her car, even with a new battery I got a year or two ago. Anyone seen this before?

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u/chase32 Dec 31 '23

My neighbor crossed the cables jumping his older RAV4 and totaled the car.

Same as you, got his ECU and melted all kinds of wiring to the point they just called it a loss.

That's why in an emergency, you never let some rando attach the cables if you are giving or need a jump.

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u/daddydonuts1 Dec 31 '23

My insurance company (LV), said because it was a mechanical problem they couldn’t help. When I asked the agent (on the phone) to check with her supervisor she said “sure” and just cut me off after a couple of mins…. Maybe I should have followed up…? Damn it.

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u/chase32 Dec 31 '23

A mechanical issue just happens due to wear or whatever but something like this has a specific cause of the damage.

I had a situation where my X drove my 3 month old car and hit a rock, puncturing the oil pan. Kept driving and toasted the engine but insurance covered it because there was a direct cause of the engine damage.

Had to argue it a bit of course but was covered with my comprehensive.

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u/daddydonuts1 Dec 31 '23

In hindsight have been thinking I should have followed it up (on the basis the agent didn’t really understand what I was saying). But on the upside, if the latest round of replacements work (there is literally nothing left to do after this), at least I managed to source all the parts from eBay and will still have my no claims bonus intact. I’m still really pissed about it though!!

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u/chase32 Dec 31 '23

You being handy with troubleshooting and sourcing probably saved you thousands. Most shops wont even do that kind of work.

My neighbor was a nice dude but zero mechanical ability so had no chance to try and fix it.

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u/daddydonuts1 Dec 31 '23

Thanks, HNY to you and please wish me luck with this car in 2024!!

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u/chase32 Dec 31 '23

Good luck! Sounds like you are almost at the finish line.