Rhino35
Bronze Member
Hoping someone might be familiar with my problem with the choke on my GT5000 Riding Mower. This has the 25 HP Kohler engine. It is a pull out to choke, push in for normal operation knob to the left of the steering wheel. There is flexible metal cable inside a plastic sleeve - and there is something inside the metal cable - I think it might be a wire, or maybe another cable. This leads to a sideways moving lever, which in turn goes up and mechanically closes and opens a butterfly type valve to the carburetor.
It sometimes sticks. Won't pull out with all the force I can muster. And sometimes when it is out (it has "freed" itself from time to time - and, this random, intermittent functionality is why I think there is a mechanical block (catch) down there by the lever arm) it won't push down to the run position. I have "messed around" touching this lever arm - there is the throttle cable coming from the other side to its lever arm - and there is something behind that too. It looks like all these lever arms are on the same pivot axle, which faces forward.
I have lubricated the cable from the top by dropping little drops of oil - and when it is able to move I push it in and out to try and get the oil to run down inside the cable. I just don't think it is a jammed cable (or wire) inside the flexible metal sleeve because when freed it slides pretty easily.
Any thoughts about where to focus my troubleshooting effort will be much appreciated. Here is a picture. The cable from the right is the choke cable, and it is attached to the vertical metal going up on the right.
Thanks,
Rhino35
It sometimes sticks. Won't pull out with all the force I can muster. And sometimes when it is out (it has "freed" itself from time to time - and, this random, intermittent functionality is why I think there is a mechanical block (catch) down there by the lever arm) it won't push down to the run position. I have "messed around" touching this lever arm - there is the throttle cable coming from the other side to its lever arm - and there is something behind that too. It looks like all these lever arms are on the same pivot axle, which faces forward.
I have lubricated the cable from the top by dropping little drops of oil - and when it is able to move I push it in and out to try and get the oil to run down inside the cable. I just don't think it is a jammed cable (or wire) inside the flexible metal sleeve because when freed it slides pretty easily.
Any thoughts about where to focus my troubleshooting effort will be much appreciated. Here is a picture. The cable from the right is the choke cable, and it is attached to the vertical metal going up on the right.
Thanks,
Rhino35