Possible Throttle Cable Linkage Issues

[harridig]

Hey guys -

Went to start the car the other day after new plugs/wires/ cap/rotor/air and fuel filters and now the gas pedal is stuck.

Here is the situation - I step on the pedal and the only response I get is the pedal is very stiff. It is squishy and gives a little some but feels like you are stepping on a red bouncy ball or some ball.

No revving or response from the engine though, just a regular idle like usual so no problems there I would presume.

I am wondering if it may be the throttle cable or something to do with that but not sure?

Does anyone have any specifics or places to check or any parts that could have broke?

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Derek

1987 Accord LX
183K miles

[A20A1]

sounds like your throttle cable is pinched

It needs to have a smooth bend, if the bend is too tight it will pinch the cable inside... also keep the cable away from hot engine parts so it doesn't melt the outer coating.

Check where the cable feeds through the firewall, check where it connects to the carb. Make sure the adjustment nuts are tight.

Also If your an auto be sure the TV Cable isn't crimped.

Look inside the carb to make sure nothing is stuck in the throttle plate.

Check the accel pump linkage, the diaphragm linkages.

[harridig]

Thank you very much for your directive comments, very much appreciated!

I am planning on tackling this in the morning so am glad I have some more direction than just the manual.

Thanks-

Derek

[harridig]

After my initial assesment, the throttle control cable is stuck. The cable going into the carb is fine.

There are some melted sections on the cable where I can see the shiney sections of the cable. Can this be the part that has siezed?

I unhooked the cable at the throttle control lever and pressed the gas pedal and the cable was still stuck. So I assume that the cause of the problem is the melted sections of cable?

Are there any tricks or procedures to "unstick" the cable at these sections or am at the point where a new cable should be on order?

Thanks again for your help.

Derek

[A20A1]

Are you automatic?

hmm, well you could try removing the cable from the carb and straighten the cable so there are no more bends... then see if you can get it to move when you press the gas...

You confused me though as to which cable is bad... are you saying your throttle cable is fine... but only on the carb side?
Or do you have two cables... as in one to the trans and one to the carb but both come from the firewall?



The one to the carb is the Throttle cable.
The one to the Trans is the Thorttle value cable.

Thing is if you have the dual cable out from the firewall then you need to replace both the throttle and the throttle value cable as one sice they are modled together.


Also there is the Cruise Control Cable from the firewall.


If you have a cable connecting behind the carburetor then that is a throttle value cable but it's the other method used by honda to connect the throttle to the trans.
If you have it that way then only the accelerator cable will come out of the firewall instead of both the accel and Throttle value cable together.

[harridig]

Thanks again for your help A20A1!!

Yes I have an auto and the throttle and the throttle value cable are molded together coming out of the firewall.

I guess I will have to buy the set and replace?

I will check for part numbers in the shop maual (would they be there?), do you have one off hand for the dual cables?

Would you have to get this part from the Honda dealership directly or would local auto parts stores have this one?

Is there any way to "fix" a bad cable?

Thanks again for all your help.

Derek

[A20A1]

yes there is a way to fix a bad cable... but it involved buing new cable, cable ends, and a new cable shaft and then carefully cutting the old cable saft about 3" from the firewall, and leaving about 5 or 6" on the transmission... then you replace the cut portion of the cable shaft with new cable shaft. You need some aluminum spacers to go over the new and old cable shaft joints... this will make the cable shaft ridgid in that area and keep the cable shaft from coming apart. I use electrical tape to hold the aluminum spacer over the joint between the new and old shaft.

You basicly leaving the stock cable at the trans and firewall and cutting out a long section of cable and replacing it with a new one.

Depending on how bad it is you could just cut out the bad portion of the cable shaft and hope it still reaches when you tie the two ends together again.

It's better though to have a long cable, that way you can avoid the exhaust manifold and avoid ceating too tight a turn/bend in the cable shaft on it's way to the trans.

[harridig]

well, I took the bad TV cable off the throttle control lever and tried to find the stuck portion. No luck there. I tried to take cable off the gas pedal but no luck there either! My hands are quite large and my arms are long - so it is difficult to get up under the pedal.

In order to remove the dual cables, do I need to remove the gas pedal? I read that in order to do this, you need to drop the steering column?? Is this only if you are swapping the pedal assemblies completely for a manual swap?

Also - my mechanic said he called Honda and they said the cables are seperate parts and there is not a molded dual cable.

Any reccommendations for removing the cables?

Thanks-

Derek

[A20A1]

Oh, well I guess they could come apart... just make sure you get the right cable cause there were two types.

The calbes slide out from a hook somwhere above the pedal... there are 2 hooks and a hook for the cruise contorl cable. Just slide/maneuver the cable end out of the hook and then twist the plastic bit on the firewall to try and pop it out.

[harridig]

Got them out. A real PITA for sure!!! The bad cable was melted, after that section was removed, the cable worked just fine!

Word of advice for all, check all your cables to make sure they are shielded and away from any hot surfaces!!

I had to cut the bad cable before any slack would allow me to slip the cable up and over the two hooks attached to the gas pedal you were talking about.

Not sure what the mechanic was talking about as both of the cables go into one connector that is attached to the pedal, plus the molded piece makes it impossible for just one cable to be used.

Now I am off to find the correct cable. Maybe a junk yard would have one. Now that I am an expert on taking cables off, maybe I can find one that isn't melted!

Thanks A20A1 for all your help. I am sure I will have more questions when I am trying to install the new cables and when I have to adjust everything again!

Glad there are threads that already talk about it, so hopefully they will help.

Later-

Derek