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Kabelfraß

English translation: rodent damage / rodent attack

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Kabelfraß
English translation:rodent damage / rodent attack
Entered by: Thijs van Dorssen

12:43 Nov 20, 2001
German to English translations [Non-PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Automotive / Cars & Trucks / automotive
German term or phrase: Kabelfraß
Can anyone guess at what this might be? It has been reported as a problem with a vehicle - obviously a problem with one of the vehicle's cables. It is from a handwritten text and it is likely that it has been misspelt. So if 'Kabelfraß' doesn't mean anything to you, what about 'Kabelfras' or anything else similar? No other context, I'm afraid. I appreciate that you might only be able to guess at this one!
Julie Neill, BA (Hons), MCIL, MITI
Spain
Local time: 04:42
bad bad animal
Explanation:
Damage caused to wires and brake/fuel line hoses caused by martens a.k.a weasel a.k.a mustelidae.
These rodents have an immense appetite for plastic.
Especially in fall and winter in the higher Schwarzwald region.

How do I know?

Ever lost your brakes on icy roads because an ugly little rodent munched on your vehicle?

Guess you have to play around a little cause I haven't found any direct translations, or established terms for it in English.
Selected response from:

Tao Weber (X)
Grading comment
Thanks to everyone for the input!
I think this answer is exactly right - the word 'marten' is also mentioned in my text somewhere.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +4bad bad animal
Tao Weber (X)
5 +2cable corrosion
Robert Creutz (X)
4 +3ooops, they are rodentlike carnivores, not rodents
Tao Weber (X)
5 +1Frass: something is being consumed
Ursula Peter-Czichi
5 +1rodent attack / rodent damage
Tao Weber (X)
1cable damage
Ilse Flick (X)


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Frass: something is being consumed


Explanation:
fressen (noun: Frass) = consuming s.th.,
related to 'essen'

Leute essen, Tiere fressen, wenn sie Nahrung zu sich nehmen.

In a technical context it usually means that something is eaten away by use or by stress.

HTH

native German speaker

Ursula Peter-Czichi
United States
Local time: 22:42
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robert Creutz (X): Langenscheidt's supports "corrosion".
12 mins
  -> If it is the tooth of time gnawing on the cables: decay, slippage
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
cable corrosion


Explanation:
Quite straightforward. If it were teeth it would be dental caries.

Robert Creutz (X)
Local time: 22:42
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tao Weber (X): if it's not the weasels, then it's exactly this
6 mins
  -> Probably rust. Chipmunks stuffed my heater with leaves and started a fire!
agree  Geri Linda Metterle: Yes - it's corrosion
43 mins
  -> Maybe not. See:http://www.josef-gilles.de/body_handel.html
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14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +4
bad bad animal


Explanation:
Damage caused to wires and brake/fuel line hoses caused by martens a.k.a weasel a.k.a mustelidae.
These rodents have an immense appetite for plastic.
Especially in fall and winter in the higher Schwarzwald region.

How do I know?

Ever lost your brakes on icy roads because an ugly little rodent munched on your vehicle?

Guess you have to play around a little cause I haven't found any direct translations, or established terms for it in English.

Tao Weber (X)
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks to everyone for the input!
I think this answer is exactly right - the word 'marten' is also mentioned in my text somewhere.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ursula Peter-Czichi: Who can tell, in the Black Forest?
5 mins
agree  Johanna Timm, PhD: Yes. see:ww.gundeldingen.ch/GZ/news200109/auch.htm
20 mins
agree  Dietrich Herrmann, MD, PhD, MBA: Oh, I wholeheartedly agree - those little buggers clobbered my car, lived in the attic for a year and drove us up the wall!!
47 mins
agree  Robert Creutz (X): Could be. See:http://www.josef-gilles.de/body_handel.html
1 hr
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
cable damage


Explanation:
guessing

Ilse Flick (X)
Local time: 21:42
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Robert Creutz (X): I think we're getting outnumbered. The weasels probably have it.
1 hr
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
ooops, they are rodentlike carnivores, not rodents


Explanation:
sorry bout that

Tao Weber (X)
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robert Creutz (X): Yep, Mustela nivalis.
11 mins
agree  Dietrich Herrmann, MD, PhD, MBA: I don't care how you classify them, but they love to walk around in army boots in the middle of the night RIGHT OVER YOUR BED. And you're not allowed to trap them either!
48 mins
agree  Ursula Peter-Czichi: They are very slender cat-like omnivores.
2 hrs
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54 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
rodent attack / rodent damage


Explanation:
Rodent attack gets the most vehicle related hits at google, lycos, and altavista.

Now that was a good one


    Reference: http://www.fire.org.uk/IFPO/Issue-22/para5.htm
    Reference: http://www.pipechat.org/archives/1999/november/digest1162.ht...
Tao Weber (X)
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robert Creutz (X): Rodents eating insulation off wires once put Rommel's tanks out of commission during WWII.
34 mins
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