Throttle cable problems

[boxer456]

Went for a quick drive down the A2 today, all good until I gave it a bootfull in 3rd gear, nice until I tried to slow down and the car wanted to carry on accelerating at full pelt. Managed to slow down and stopped in a lay-by, had a look under the bonnet, nothing untoward except throttle very sticky. Had a look at accelerator pedal and the throttle cable is about to snap! I managed to set the revs at a suitable rate to get back home ok but any ideas on cable replacement?

I think the cable on the SX is longer than standard, thinking of trying some standard bike brake cable, it looks pretty much the same the same.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi mate...As long as the shackle with the hole in it on the throttle body end is right then it should be okay, Although i can't see the cable being longer than a standard 350i/400SE...TVR parts ltd sell the correct fitment for the Wedge now...But you could find someone quicker than "Not-so speed cables" to just make up the inner...It can be secured with a good quality larger of the two terminal block..You might need to slacken the adjustment off on the throttle body before you fit the new cable...Pull it at the pedal end so its fairly tight...Any slack can be taken up on the throttle body afterwards....Hope this helps...Cheers...Ziga.

[RCK974X]

Yep, humble bike brake cable IS the same, as far as I can tell, and you can also get a variety of 'screw clamp' nipples to (re) attach the original end brackets etc.

It's probably cheaper too ?

[boxer456]

Thanks mateys, I bought one off TVR parts and then thought it might be too short and cancelled the order, the cable runs all the way to the front of the engine compartment and then back to the throttle.

Might give the bike cable a shot!

[Mr Tank]

Hi

The SX cable is much longer than a standard cable, I am certain Adam will be a long soon and give you the complete low down on a replacement idea!

[Jack Valiant]

Drop me a pm on my profile and I may be able to help you

Chris

[mrzigazaga]

Mr Tank said:

Hi

The SX cable is much longer than a standard cable, I am certain Adam will be a long soon and give you the complete low down on a replacement idea!

Whoops....Yep it will be obviously because the throttle body position...Sorry my mistake... Is there any of that washing line left Adam......(only messing)...

[boxer456]

Of course the throttle is the other way round on the sx! Washing line might have worked better, I didn't realise that the cable is in two sections with two separate cables - so I can keep the second part that runs to the throttle. Planning to go ahead and get the TVR parts cable and work with that although the nipples look completely different if the picture is genuine, particularly what would be the throttle end - I think it should fit though. Might take up your offer of some help if I get completely stuck. Getting the frayed cable off the accelerator pedal was a back braking job. I am not quite small enough to fit in the footwell of a wedge http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/10.gif

[boxer456]

How do you get those faces to work?

[adam quantrill]

Hi James if it's just the end that's frayed then the easiest option is to re-plait the braid and solder the nipple back on. I used a blowtorch for the soldering plus plumbers's flux.

Also I recommend de-burring the pedal end where the cable slips through a hole and is retained by a clip - this is the source of the problem and unless you do this it will eat through again.

I'll find the thread where I did this and bump it.

[boxer456]

Thanks Adam, that's a great help. That sounds like a simple solution, there's plenty of slack in the cable already which can be adjusted at the throttle end. Will have a look through the thread.

Cheers
James

[mrzigazaga]

boxer456 said:

How do you get those faces to work?

At the top of the dialogue box next to "Formatting help" you will see the work "Smilies"...Just click that.....And select which one you need...

[RCK974X]

Just an advisory engineering note -

Soldering will tend to make the cable more brittle - this is because the solder alloys with the metal strands. It's even worse for copper, and why most car wiring looms are now crimped. There's a whole story in here, but I'll leave it out ...

So sure, for a fixup, solder is a neat way to get rid of loose strands, but if it's by the pedal or throttle end, it may not last that long.

Given there are a wide range of 'screw on' nipples (and in a pinch you can even use those brass electric wire joiners with 2 screws...) you can make a durable replacement very easily.

My wedge still has a home fixed cable in it, working perfectly after 5 years....reused the outer and threaded a new bike cable inner braid through it.

[adam quantrill]

Fair point, but the original nipple was soldered, and the one I have on there now has lasted 50k since, and eight years, without further strands snapping. I would imagine the heat cycling from the blowlamp had more effect than lead/tin/iron alloying.

[RCK974X]

Yeah, true. I just added it to warn people....

I agree it's more likely that bending,flexing (via poor alignment) or sharp edges will cause problems first, but like everything it all adds up....