Throttle cable question

R

River Runner

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33941
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I had my boat hauled week before last. I ran it from the slip to the ramp with no issues. The boat was hauled and I winterized. I went back to the boat last weekend to retrieve some personal belongings and during my visit I noticed that the starboard throttle cable will not move. The cables are disconnected from the carbs and the carbs have been removed. Neither control position (flybridge or inside) works. Is it common (or possible) that the cables could get water in them and lock up after the first freeze? If this is possible, what is the prevention? If my thinking is way off base, what is the plan for discovery of the true issue.

Thanks!
 
perhaps the cables were locked for some reason by the service people when the carbs were removed. I suggest you ask them.
 
Bruce...

I asked myself and I was clueless as to why they were locked. :)

I did that work myself and verified that the carb end of the cable was not hung up on anything. The port side works flawlessly.
 
Try pulling on the carb ends of each and see the difference. next remove the handle assembly and see whats up, perhaps something got jammed.
 
Thanks. I will.

Since I am asking the question, it is obvious I have never messed with the cabling before. I know that the 2 stations move with each other. I have never had them apart to see how they function. Is one station the slave to the other? Likely the flybridge station has a short cable that runs to the interior station that moves the throttle handle and linkage there. OR... are the two stations tied together somehow at a central point somewhere along the length of the cable? I'm just trying to get an idea in my mind of how these stations work before heading back down with tools.
 
I have only seen then in parallel, never in series.

That said, there is always room for first time... ;)
 
Wow. I never noticed 2 separate cables running to the bracket but I may be wrong... So, if I disconnect one of the cables at the carb one or the other should be free and that is the direction I begin my troubleshooting. I would imagine that replacement would entail hooking the new cable to the end of the old one and pulling it through if it comes to that?
 
I just verified via pictures of the engine room. There are 2 cables coming in per engine. One for throttle and the other for fore and aft.
 
I expect this is for your 53' twin inboard boat and the 4 controls ( 2 single-function, dual-lever controls at each station.) Sounds like they are rigged in series like my 2 station T/I/B and most of the similar boats I am familiar with which have mechanical controls.

Mine (and likely yours) is the setup in the Teleflex-Morse illustration on the right:
https://www.go2marine.com/docs/6/3/3/4/63341F-mi2.gif

I suspect the disconnected stbd throttle cable end at the area of the removed cable there has simply been dropped & placed in a position it is trapped( or cable tied?) on the engine and won't move either direction. A quick look at the top of the stbd engine would reveal that situation. That sure seems like the odds-on favorite since work was just done right there that involved that cable.
Another slight possiblity is a connector cable-end cotter pin is errant( i.e.)not bent properly and sticking out too far) on one of the stbd controls and interfering with the movement of the stbd throttle control linkage inside the control ( been there. ) .

Frozen? Vaguely possible, but unlikely if any preventative maintenance has been done ( just a drop of engine oil or spray Teflon applied 1x a year on the inner cable when in the most exposed extended position.) Was it below 32* F when you couldn't move the stbd throtle control lever?
 
Sandy.
47' Twin inboard with 4 controls (2 single function levers at each station).

Verified that the linkage was not hung up or caught on anything at the carb. Not wedged or otherwise bound up.

I have not checked the cotter pins on the linkage. That is my next plan is to look at all of the linkage around the throttle controls themselves. I will look for the cotter pin you spoke of.

PM has been done on the cables. I spray with a silicone lubricant normally twice a season then work the throttle back and forth pumping the throttle prior to starting. Yes, the temp was below 32 when this occurred. This was the first weekend where the temp dropped below freezing and was about 22 overnight.
 
Once the weather warms up my next trip down will be to verify the type of cabling I have. If indeed it is a series system my plan is to remove the cable from the flybridge to the inside station and then attempt to operate the inside station. This will tell me if the inside station to the engine is at fault or if the problem lies with the cabling from the flybridge to the inside station. I am not sure though which type of system I have. If I have a parallel system, where would I find the "transfer units? I would imagine these will be someplace close to the inside station since this would be the most cost effective way to do it. Running 2 cables per engine the entire length of the boat does not seem to be a cost effective way to do it. Thus my thinking that a transfer unit should be found under or near the helm control station.
 
Good report, Karl. I got the "53' " from your profile.
Sorry to hear that stbd cable engine end wasn't just temporarily trapped.
Maybe your initial freezing thought was correct after all, especially if there is no lever movement at all. Are the flybridge controls covered up when not in use, or exposed to precipitation before the freeze-up? Hope it works well again when temps are more agreeable.

I have no experience with parallel control cabling but might suspect the transer unit might be in the engine room for easier disconnect of 1 bad control or cable, but who knows...?
 
Sandy,

I'm not sure where the 53' came from. Maybe it is anticipating my next step up in size. LOL Anyway I don't recall ever being asked the length of my boat. Ironically though, that is the length of the dock space I must pay for. Three feet fore and aft of my boat. Since there is only 3 feet between my boat and the boat in front of me the dock owner did not get the fact that I am paying for dock space that is already paid for by the person in front and behind me. They didn't see how that worked.... anyway.

The controls are covered "normally" when not in use. Unfortunately this year We had a freak storm as we were coming to the dock. We got docked and I finished hooking up shore power before seeking shelter. It rained for the rest of the weekend and we packed it in and went home. It wasn't until we returned to the boat 2 weekends later that I noticed I had left the cover off in my haste. It had rained most of that week. I would imagine that was the time that the controls were exposed to the rain. This year has been an exceptionally poor boating season with more than average rain. If the water did get into the controls at that time this would have only been about 4 weeks ago. It is doubtful that there has been enough time for the heat of the day to evaporate any of the water that could have gotten inside the cable sheath.

I am supposed to have temps in the upper 40's without dropping below freezing soon. I plan on going down then and check out the controls. I am hopeful that it is just water.

Karl
 
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