On final approach after my last flight of the weekend, I pulled the carb heat on and the cable freely came right out of its socket! I didn't experience any carb icing and landed without incident.
After pulling the airplane back in the hangar, i took the cowls off to inspect. The carb-heat bowden cable had broken near the end where it attaches to the arm that actuates the carb-heat door. I had the cable attached near the top of the actuator arm, which meant that as I opened and closed the carb heat door the end of the cable moved in an arc, causing it to bend slightly. My theory is that this repeated bending led to fatigue and failure of the cable. I have ordered a new cable from Spruce, and will attach it to a lower point on the actuator arm so that it moves in a smaller arc (moves straighter).
Anybody have similar stories, or alternative fixes?
After pulling the airplane back in the hangar, i took the cowls off to inspect. The carb-heat bowden cable had broken near the end where it attaches to the arm that actuates the carb-heat door. I had the cable attached near the top of the actuator arm, which meant that as I opened and closed the carb heat door the end of the cable moved in an arc, causing it to bend slightly. My theory is that this repeated bending led to fatigue and failure of the cable. I have ordered a new cable from Spruce, and will attach it to a lower point on the actuator arm so that it moves in a smaller arc (moves straighter).
Anybody have similar stories, or alternative fixes?
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