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Stuck Throttle

jcatnite

Jedi Knight
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Driving to work yesterday morning in the Midget and all was good. This was the first time I had it out in about a month so I was really enjoying the ride. I arive at one of the few stop signs I have in my journey through the country and when I push in the clutch the engine races to about 4k. Back in my older days when I raced stock cars if that happend you could pull up on the accelerator pedal and calm the engine back down. In fact I have raced a full race with a broken return spring before...didn't finsh that well thought. At any rate, I was able to get the engine back down to about 2.5k. I pulled over in the dark and fiddled with the linkage and brought it back to idle. Thinking I had a lube problem I limped it on into work. To make a long story short, it turns out that it wasn't in the linkage at all. The throttle cable had frayed at the pedal linkage and probably made a bird's nest in the sheath for the cable. I only had a couple of strands holding it on! Luckily Vicky Brit had one that I could obtain for a minor fee so in a couple of days we will be back in business...
Just thougth I would share...I can't readily see that end of the cable on my spridget as the pedal box is painted black and you have to stand on your head to inspect it. I've added it to the weekend checklist of things to go over at least once a month...lol
JC
 
Man, talk about luck. Getting stuck out in the country with an easy problem to fix, but no spare is really frustrating. Look at the bright side, here your cable might have popped in our 65 mph bumper-to-bumper traffic.
 
I don't know how heavy the cables are for Spridgets. Mini parts are a little harder to come by on the East coast. A common temporary/permanent cable substitution for us involves a trip to the bicycle store and the purchase of brake or deraileur cables. That might be an option for you as well if you aren't interested in waiting on the mail.
 
The cable looks like a bicycle cable and I considered going that route but in the end I opted for one that I knew would be the right length and have the right ends on it. I should have it by the middle of next week... This gives me a good chance to pull the radiator and get it recored anyway.
JC
 
Go to a good bike store and buy one of the new super duty Teflon brake cables. You can cut down the cable to the length you need/want and put a new end on it (also available at the bike store). It will work better than any cable you will get from the usual sources. I just replaced mine yesterday and bought 4 cables plus end fittings. Based on my past usage I'm good for the next 12 years.
 
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