By Pat Norman (Pat_norman) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

What type of heating cable is used to heat throttle cables? I have not thought of this before. I just try to keep my cable lubricated, but I would like to have a heat cable just in case it freezes up. I also have same problem on my Go-Devil outboard motor for my duck-boat. Do automotive supply houses have any 12 volt heat cable ?

By Howard on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Anyone ever had this problem with their MaxII?
I bought my first max probably about a 90 or 91 model with a 16HP Briggs & Stratton in the summer of 1992 I tried it out before I bought it and it ran fine. When I got it home I drove it off the trailer and it started sputtering and bogged down like it had no power so I took the air cleaner off sprayed WD-40 down in the carb to try and clean it out I thought maybe something had worked it's way loose from the trip home. So I put the air cleaner back on and presto what do you know it's fixed! for about five minutes and then the same thing happened over and over again I finally took the plastic tank off the 2 year old max to clean it out along with the fuel lines all the way up to the carb. I looked inside the tank and I couldn't believe the amount of plastic shavings that were inside the tank some had even been sucked way up into the fuel line I called RI to let them know about this and if my memory is correct they said it was the fault of the fuel tank manufacturer and not there's and they acted like they couldn't care less. I just wanted to make them aware of the problem. However this was not the main problem but I imagine all those plastic shavings didn't help matters. I replaced the needle in the carb also and it still did the same thing I never did figure out the problem I was totally disgusted with the machine at the time and sold it I wish I had all this information available to me to help me fix the thing then. Does anyone think they know what the problem was? I think it was definitely something with the carb.

By mike tufano (Maximus) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I had a similar problem lately with my max 4 i blew out the line and realized even though its not 2 years old stuff from the manufacture process was interfering with the fuel flow.

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max Dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Yes, Howard, I'll bet a quarter that your problem was a pinched fuel line. On the max II, it is real easy to have the fuel line between the body and the seat. I always check and encourage my customers to check that the fuel line is free (slides easily) after they close up the machine. It is so frustrating to have everything work when you are checking and as soon as you close it up and go for a ride it doesn't work.

By Mike on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Any time there is debris floating around inside the fuel tank there is the potential for a fuel delivery problem. Did you ever get some grass clippings inside the fuel tank of your mower? Same type of issue. Eventually something is going to get into the small passages inside the body of the carb and plug things up. Then it's time to breakdown the carb and unplug it. The smaller the carb the more difficult it is. Same goes for old gas in the tank that eventually breaks down and turns into flakey crap shellac as I call it. Keep your gas clean and fresh. Maybe that bumpy ride home on the trailer shook up the gas tank. How fresh was the gas in the tank when you bought it. If the machine sat for more than a couple of months, it could have had the flakey crap shellac syndrome. Seems to me that RI did not inspect it's vendor parts very well before they assembled your Max

By MaxRules (Brandon_price) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

It was more than likely a fouled spark plug. Easy to check. With engine idling, pull off one spark plug boot. No change, put it back on and pull the other. If it dies you know the first one you pulled is not firing (it was only running on the one you pulled second). If it doesn't die with either one disconnected, the plugs are fine.

By BrettBonner on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Get a gas cap with a screw in vent and your problems will mostly vanish.

Freezing is an issue. So is gritty sludge. I had an issue with gritty sludge and freezing in the carb bowl in a Vanguard 18.

The symptoms were the engine would run great, but after some bouncing around, then the stuff would cover the jet and the motor would quit. After a while, the sludge would settle. The machine would be fine and run great. Most frustrating was that the machine would start running after I struggled out of the swamp, creek, and I was back with a recovery vehicle of some sort . . .

I first believed it was the fuel pump. I replaced the pump and it happened again. Eventually, I pulled the carb apart and found the gritty sludge. I had some additional issues with the sludge - but from where?

The long and the short of the situation is that the gas had to form these particles OR it came from Briggs like this. There is no way they could have passed the fuel system filter and I had replaced the filter several time.

So the gas had to be forming the sludge.

And moisture is moisture. I pulled the pump apart on a lawnmower and found there was ice in the diaphram. Where is the water coming from?

I finally decided the problem was the GAS CAP! Mosture gets sucked in the factory cap vent every night. And the moisture, besides freezing, also makes the gas sludge.

I replaced the gas cap with a screw-in-vent. When I'm finished with the machine, I close the vent. No more problems.

Life would be complete if I could find a screw in vent with a gas gauge built in.

By Howard on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for all the posts they are all very helpful
Howard

By Pat Norman on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Any body got any ideas on how to build a throttle cable heater ?

By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I'm not sure what they use for battery powered heaters, but you could buy a 110 volt pipe heater that you wrap around pipes to keep them from freezing. If you store your machine outside, put something over the throttle so water doesn't run inside the cable.