AndyS2

I was adjusting the throttle cable ( I dont know why, just trying to look like I am mechanically inclined in front of women or somethin), and I think I made it too stiff so the car was very jerky on the first gear. Now I relased it a little bit and I have this dead point on the pedal where there is no pressure on the first 2 inces of the pedal. I am thiniking maybe I should make a friend press the pedal all thw way in while I am cheking if the cable is fully extending the cord, if not make it tighter until WOT makes the cable full extedn. Now is this a good idea?

xviper

NOT a good idea.
The exposed part of the throttle cable at the throttle body should have a deflection of 4 - 6 mm. If you have 2 inches of play at the pedal, something is terribly wrong and you have done something excessive. Make sure that the end of the cable at the pedal is not being bound up and the pedal is able to go to its highest position without hindrance. Now go out and do the adjustment at the T.B.
Remember that the adjustment nut must be fully seated up against the cable bracket when the lock nut is tightened. Then, the end of the cable sheath should be solid.

AndyS2

The cable at the throttle body has that 4-6 mm deflection.
Pedal can go its highest position by itself. Hmm so what you are saying is there should be 4-6mm of deflection on the throttle body part but there should be no play at the pedal?

xviper

The play at the pedal will be a translation of what is at the T.B. I say "translation" because the play at the T.B. is a "defection" of the cable while the play at the pedal is a "pull" along the cable. In any case, 2 inches of pedal travel without any movement of the throttle plate is NOT right. You are either measuring it incorrectly or you have something wrong with the throttle cable/pedal/throttle plate connection.
To tell just how much play there really is, with engine running after warm up, gradually push on the pedal till the rpm changes. How much travel was there? There should NOT be 2 inches. It should be more like less than 1/4-1/2".
Note: There are two cables at the pedal - a throttle cable and an actuator cable (for the cruise). One of these cables might have bound up at the time you did the adjustment at the T.B.

1Fast99Si

Doesn't the car stock come with a certain amount of slack in the throttle cable to help slow the car down? If you removed the slack, I would expect a higher idle. Can the throttle cable be tightened to a point where the idle will remain the same and throttle response will be more responsive?

xviper

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1Fast99Si
Doesn't the car stock come with a certain amount of slack in the throttle cable to help slow the car down?

1Fast99Si

Would you remove the slack on the throttle cable from your car xviper?

Destiny2002

xviper

I already have but this is just me and I cannot suggest that everyone else do the same. I have perhaps reduced the slack to less than 2 mm. This is something that I have gotten accustomed to and it works well for me. I can't say that it will work for all.

Chiung

Here's some interesting information that I learned firsthand.

I adjusted my throttle cable several months ago after reading a thread here about excessive slack. I adjusted it to where I thought that the slack was minimized but still allowing the throttle to fully close at "zero" throttle. In other words, the slightest movement of the throttle cable would cause the butterfly to open, but at "zero" throttle, the buttlerfly was against the stops as far as closing the throttle body.

In the subsequent months, I went through several intakes, and began to notice that, at stoplights, my idle would be uneven. The idle would vary between 1k and 500 rpms, with the car on the verge of stalling sometimes, and with some shuddering. I lived with this for several months, all the while suspecting the MAP sensor (which I wacked a few times for good measure) or TPS, or intakes.

I put my car back to stock (airbox) and drove it around for a few hours, but the idle surge problem remained. I took it into the dealer since it is still under warranty and I wanted them to do a few checks. I told them about the idle issue. When I picked the car up, they said that the throttle cable was adjusted too tight, and that they adjusted it correctly.

In the few hours I've driven the car since, the idle surge problem is gone. It's too soon to tell for sure, but there does seems to be a connection between having too little slack and idle surging problems.

One man's experience.