PT400 Series Cold Weather Starting Reports - 2019 edition

[MossRoad]

Has anyone had any problems in cold weather below 25 degrees , with their choke lever sticking and also the throttle lever sticking. It seems like the problem is where the wires are touching the bottom of the tub below the fuel pump. If I use a heat gun for several minutes pointed at the wires below the fuel pump it frees up and works all right. I think there is moisture getting inside the covering somehow.

That would make sense. Ice would form in the low spots.

I had to replace both my cables this year, but is was from the casing melting near the exhaust where the cables are tie-wrapped to a metal bracket on the engine. I was experiencing the same sticking issue you are with the choke, so i'd start it without the choke and after running it for a while, the choke lever would then work. Once it cooled off, it stopped working. Then the throttle cable started the same behavior, so I just bought new cables from PT. They were twenty something each, but came completely assembled and ready to go.

I documented it somewhere on here.

They make a cable lube that you can inject into the cable, but I don't know if that would do anything for your apparent ice/freezing issue.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's the write up I did on my cable replacement.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/power-trac/403999-pt425-choke-cable-length.html