Any tips on changing a throttle cable ?

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alec

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I have a Volvo 2001 diesel with a single lever engine control.

Went to start the engine today and the engine control was all floppy. Both ends are attached but there is no movement on the engine arm of the throttle. I can move the arm on the engine manually provided that the lever in the cockpit is opened but not otherwise so I assume the cable has parted somewhere mid stream.

Any tips on changing the cable ? Cannot remember how I did it which was about eight year's ago.

There is a small piece in the handbook about it and mentions 'minimum bending radious is 300mm' , not sure what this means which may explain why it has parted.

Thanks in advance.
 
The existing cable will be normaly be marked, probably Morse or similar, look for markings and size on cable.
the bigger the bend the better, 300mm is the centre to centre of the bent cables, I would make it bigger say 600mm this would give 300mm radii.
I normaly replace the end fittings at the same time as they do also wear.
 
Before you rush out and spend lots of dosh on a new cable, check that the outer sheath is held in place by the small clamp which should be situated at the back of the engine somewhere..

It could be that the clamp is loose or has fallen off, and the sheath is sliding along the cable. which is opposite to what should happen, sheath unmovable and cable sliding along inside sheath pulling or pushing the throttle...
 
Some of the top of the range cables can operate down to 100mm minimum bend radius but there should be no need for you to buy these.

Before you remove your existing cable, inspect the route from your control to the engine to make sure any bends are greater than the minimum 300mm radius recommended. If you find the bends are too tight and you can't improve the route, buying a slightly longer cable may help to reduce the bend radius.

Also check that nothing is lying heavily on the cable forcing it to bend too tightly especially at the ends.

As far as adjusting the cable at the engine end after fitting, I posted this advice a few weeks ago and nobody criticised me so it must be nearly right:

“..... set the lever to neutral, loosen the inner cable clamp (at the engine end) to allow the inner cable to slide if it wants to, then tighten it up again making sure the outer cable is fitted onto its ‘stops’ both ends.”
 
Disconnect one end (on my boat the single lever end is easier) and see if the inner pulls out, i.e. is broken. Attach a piece of cord or something to the cable before you pull it out. It can help you get it back into the same holes.
 
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