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pardon me if this has been covered.I recently purchased my second max 4 .Its a used 2001 model. Among a few other minor issues the throttle cable was freezing up. It has a heated throttle cable but the leads had been cut so I figured there was problem and did not want to risk hooking it back up and blowing fuses or some other issue. I searched this site for ways to deal with this aside from the obvious heated throttle cable. Some had cut the casing off the out side except where there was contact, some poured antifreeze into them ,most use heated throttle cable it seems. My max lives under roof so water intrusion during non use is not a problem. First I had to warm the shed up enough to thaw the cable.Then I stuck my air nozzle with a rubber tip in the end of the cable at drivers end and blew thru it .I was surprised at the amount of water and crap that came out at the engine end. then t I took the cable loose from engine end and dripped wd40 into it then used an airline and blew the dirty water and yuk out of it thru the cable. I continued to drip wd 40 into it and blow thru it with the airline until I got a mist out of the other end. repeated this several times. I'm happy to report that at 8 degrees out in the shed it is no longer frozen stuck. Cheap and effective using stuff I already had. seems a good solution so far .I figure it cleans and lubes the cable while keeping it from freezing and it draws no amperage from the limited electrical power available from the 18hp vanguard. just thought i'd share for what its worth.
The heated throttle cable is just a piece of coiled resistive wire around the throttle cable sleeve. It is wired using a red positive and black negative plug back near the engine. You can or could rewire with any plug pigtail assembly, if yours is either broken or missing. I think that there is an inline fuse but cannot attest to that. Also, another place that the connection can become disconnected is at the 'on off' rocker switch assembly on the dash. I would check these out, as normally, the "assembly" is pretty bullet proof and seldom fails. On my 1996 machine, rewiring is a long term goal, as over the years, 'critters' have invaded the body and chewed on much of the wiring, either creating shorts, or severing entirely.
2xmax - That's a good solution but its not fool proof. I'll share my experience. I'm in Mississippi and have never been worried about a frozen throttle cable. But, just a few weeks ago while doing routine maintenance I noticed my throttle was a little stiff. I blew through the cable and was surprised at the water that came out. Just as you did, I added oil and blew it through the cable to stop corrosion (again, not worried about freezing). Although I don't care to ride when its cold outside, yesterday morning it was 27 degrees and I had to go rescue my son from a duck hunting mishap. By the time I trailered the machine and made the 45 minute drive, my throttle cable was frozen. I guess there is still a little moisture mixed in with the oil in the cable. I hope you did a better job than I did!
Ya wouldn't think Mississippi would be froze cable country! I was up late last nitght reading old posts and found where someone recommended gas line antifreeze\alcohol
for this . Seems logical. soaking in a Rubbermaid tub I'm sure would work too. So far mines been ok its about 20 degrees out today but I"ve not been out. Getting soft in my old age. Would like to go run across the creek and rehang some cameras but the waters up a bit and ive not had chance to check this new to me max for leaks or climbing ability yet and I sure don't want to find it leaks like siv when its 20 degrees out or for some reason won't climb the bank. Find myself wanting spring weather or cold and dry long enough for the creek to freeze enough to go out on the ice with it.Hope the hunt mishap was minor.
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