My 73 Twin Cam Special needs to be warmed up pretty well before it will idle with no assist, either me working the throttle or application of the Cold Start Valve. The problem is that the Cold Start Valve Cable is quite difficult to engage and then hold while waiting for the engine to idle on its own. If I disconnect the cable from the fast idle cam the cable offers no resistance at all, so the resistance must be coming from somewhere else. The cable is new and the carbs have just been cleaned and rebuilt. I also put some lubricant into the cable housing, allowing gravity to take it the full length.
I checked for a kink in the cable but found none. When you activate the valve, you are working against four springs shown in the photo. The top three arrows point to the three springs attached to the throttle. The bottom arrow points to the spring attached to the Cold Start Valve. I thought I could negate the resistance of the three throttle springs by slightly depressing the gas peddle before trying to move the cable. This provided some help but only a minimal amount. I'm out of ideas at this point and hope one of you have solved this issue in the past.
I'm old and not the strongest person in the world but it seems this should be easier to activate than mine is.
Thanks guys!
Bob
