two questions about underhood, maybe three
 

I was looking underhood today, prior to ordering parts to convert my clutch fan to electric. I opened the hood to find two feral kittens there, playing. I waved them away (we feed some feral cats to keep mice/snakes away; + my wife feeds countless birds, squirrels, & the neighbors free-range chickens, too, though we keep our chickens in a fancy hen palace in the backyard). Then, I was measuring shroud diameter, and where to run the electric connections.

I spied a semi-soft plug on the firewall beside the spot where the hood release cable enters the cabin; what lies behind that spot? If nothing, then I can punch a small hole thru, for a manual override switch for the future electric puller fan. Since I got way over-heated yesterday, mowing (and weedeating) 1/4 acre in the heat of the day (93 degrees, but real-feel over 100), I chose not to linger outside trying to peer under the dash.

On the other side of the engine bay, there's a large open space, with no systems crammed in (unusual in modern vehicles). There's an unused bracket on the right fenderwell brace, labelled "diagnosis plug bracket" in RealOem. What diagnosis plug? I it where the 20-pin round connector went on earlier E53's? I have that plug adapter, though I haven't the piece to plug it into...I bought it along with my Foxwell scan tool.

Ok, there's a third question...how can I discourage the kittens from playing under hood (I have five cars/trucks in my parking paddock)? I use mothballs in bags to keep mice/squirrels out; will it discourage kittens? I also stuff bars of Irish Spring soap in all my vehicles' cabins (and in my home-built camping trailer in the garage); it must work, it ket mice/rats/snakes out of my Chevelle drag car in the garage, mice-free for 13 years!

Fourth question: I forgot to look for an easily accessible wire that comes alive when the engine is on; I'll want the new fan to get power even if the manual switch isn't used (my wife forgot to switch on the fan on her old Chrysler LeBaron, and it overheated...she might forget again), and to power the thermo switch.

On my 3.0d (M57TU) this bracket holds the vacuum reservoir - used by the turbo boost control system.

https://xoutpost.com/attachments/x5-...sport-hose.jpg
(image by omodos)

I had a bunch of kittens living in the engine of my Ford Excursion for months.

from my experience generally mothballs will keep the cats away or at least make it very undesirable for them to hang out there.

Internet says orange peels or citrus smells but my cats aren't bothered by that at all.

Mothballs are my go-to for underhood, but the wife can't stand the smell...I told her to use "recirc" so the smell isn't so bad. Personally, I love the smell of mothballs...in the 50's my grandma(s) had them in every closet. Ah, nostalgia!

Same here the wife hates the smell...I don't smell anything :dunno: