Choke cable

[smoker62]

Ok, heres a stupid question that I didnt find in the manual. On both my 1250 and 1200 when running , the choke cable wants to slowly creep back out , or to the choked position. No matter how I adjust the cable it will vibrate out until it starts sputtering and then I remember whats up and push it back in. You actually have to pull it quite hard to close the choke so I dont know how it keeps coming out when running.I have moved the spring coil cover in the clamp to every possible spot and it still happens.

[Yosemite Sam]

It sounds like the inner wire is cruddy/rusty.

Try unhooking it from the carb., see if the inner wire will turn inside the outer case, work it back and forth (a lot) and spray it down with PB Blaster and work it and turn it some more.

[eastonct124]

If you have a motorcycle shop locally, they sell a small gadget for oiling cables.
You slide it on the cable, then down to the housing end. It will squeeze onto the housing tight. There's a little hole for a spay can extension....ya know, the red thing that comes with PB Blaster. Spray it.....and wham! pushes everything out the other end.
Use white lithium spray to fill it.
Works great....and it's cheap.

[Mike1450]

Smoker62

I had a very similar issue on my 1450, where the choke sometimes appeared stiff and would walk itself back out while running. Playing with adjustments just did not do much. After a while I finally found the the problem and it was not the choke cable. It was the rear motor mounts that rear going out. Once I replaced them I never had the issue again.

[smoker62]

I have new motor mounts on my 1250 and it does it as well as my 1200. I would think lubing the cable would just make it slide out easier. But I will try lubing them up and see if that helps. Thanks guys.

[klejeune]

Disconnect the wire from the choke and push the knob all the way in, then put a bend in the wire right where the end sheath is. This will help keep resistance so the wire won't push back out and engage the choke.

Or, you might check your engine grounds and make sure it's not trying to ground through the choke cable. Since the QL have ISO mounts you have to make sure the engine has a good ground from the starter mount to the frame and it's a good idea to run a ground strap from the starter mount directly to the battery too.

[klejeune]

Originally Posted by smoker62

No matter how I adjust the cable it will vibrate out ..... I have moved the spring coil cover in the clamp to every possible spot and it still happens.

Wild Bill,
Seems he has adjusted the cable, probably when he replaced the mounts.

I would think there would be enough slack with the cable assembly that when the ISO mounts fail it wouldn't pull the cable enough to change the way it works.

Some years back I had this same problem with my 1450. My dealer suggested that the engine was probably grounding through the choke or throttle and it arcs and makes the wire brittle and stiff with in turn causes it to push back out while running. From the suggestion of Myron Bounds I added the extra ground wire from the starter mount to frame and direct to the battery and replaced the choke with one from Cub Cadet (not a generic) and this fixed the problem. A couple of years later I replaced the ISO mounts and did the cradle mod.