Mitigate dead-mouse-under-hood aroma

Dear Mike: I have a 1998 Mustang Convertible GT and store it over the winter months. I put pepper over the motor to keep the mice away and it seems to work. However I have another problem — when I took it out for the summer I discovered a dead mouse smell coming from the duct work. I managed to take out the fan motor and found nothing. Everything else is so cramped I cannot get to it.Any ideas on how to either find the dead mouse or get rid of the smell? I tried air freshener by the fan motor when I had it out but that has worn off.

— J. S.

A: You’re going to have to continue to disassemble the HVAC system until you find the carcass. This is a common problem, actually. Next year, try sprinkling some moth crystals around the interior. They’ll stink for a while, but at least they’ll dissolve and be gone pretty soon after it warms up.

Dear Mike: I have no idea how long my brake pads should have lasted, but I have a 2003 Buick Century. I travel one hour to work and one hour back home. Mostly 40 to 50 mph, in-town traffic. I try not to brake suddenly for stop signs or traffic lights.

My pads were almost completely worn at almost 50,000 miles. Is this good braking, or am I a “heavy-foot”?

— N. B.

A: Modern cars have low-friction engines, good aerodynamics, tall gearing and low-rolling-resistance tires, all of which contribute to increased brake wear. Add in the removal of asbestos and the substitution of organics, and the public’s distaste for any brake noise, and you get more rapid wear.

Actually, 50,000 miles is excellent pad wear in today’s urban driving. I see a lot of cars with less than 25,000 miles needing new pads.

Dear Mike: I have a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. I was told by an auto parts store that I need to change the cabin air filter but I cannot find any information on any Web sites about where the cabin air filter is or even if there is one on my car. Please help. I am getting frustrated.

— L.

A: I bet. Your minivan does not have a cabin air filter.

Dear Mike: I towed my boat around a lot this summer. Each time I hooked up the trailer harness connector when I hitched up the trailer, but half the time one or more of the lights didn’t work. (Several members of the local law enforcement community were kind enough to point this out to me.) So now I’m very careful about checking to see that the brake lights, turn signals and running lights on the trailer are working.

This involves walking back and forth from the cab of my pickup to the back end of the trailer four or five times. There has to be a better way.

A: It’s true — trailer lights and brakes add up to a maintenance nightmare, especially on a boat trailer where the lights are periodically immersed in water. My favorite bugaboo is the bulbs exploding when their hot glass hits ice-cold water. (Trailer-specific lamp housings that keep the water out are a worthwhile investment.)

I always start by checking to make sure the wiring on the truck is functioning. Keep an inexpensive test socket in the glove box. I picked one up in an auto parts store for less than 10 bucks. When you’re ready to hitch up, turn the parking lights on at the headlight switch and plug the tester into the truck’s trailer socket. Now you can avoid walking back and forth to check your lights.

Toggle the emergency flashers. The brake lights and the turn signals both use the same high-wattage filament of the taillight bulb. The taillights use the low-wattage filament in the same bulb. The LEDs on the test socket should show one steady light and two flashers. You also can use a 12-volt test light for this.

If all is good so far, you can attach the trailer plug to the truck’s socket, and walk to the back of the trailer only once to check for running lights and flashers.

Keep the trailer plug and the truck socket liberally soused with white grease, Vaseline or dielectric grease to keep out moisture and to retard corrosion. Make sure the socket is covered when the trailer is not attached to keep mud and water out of the pinholes. Likewise, remember to keep the trailer connector clean and dry instead of letting it just lie in the mud on the ground when it’s not connected.