Warning: possibility of gas pedal stuck

I had a scary moment yesterday. I just happened to be driving the car hard going through the Seafoam cleaning process when the gas pedal got stuck at full.

It was a short straight away so intermediately tried to pull it back with the foot and nothing. I realized it was floored and not coming back. Hit the breaks and that held the speed but I was not slowing down much when the break pedal started to get hard, realizing that I could loose breaking due to heating or lack of vacuum I turned off the ignition and pull to the side. Off course, the breaks were extremely hard but had enough power to slow the car down with no issues. This whole process reads long but it happened in a matter of seconds.

It was dark out in a secondary road, but luckily I had a flashlight with me. The problem was easy to spot. The carb cam connected to the gas pedal wire became stuck due to the spark plug wire going under it. I will have to recreate and take a picture to help future readers; off course... with the engine off this time.

Bottom line, keep an eye where the spark plug wires are and definitely make sure they are above the gas linkage. I have been working in this area of the carb so much with tuning that I did not realize the potential hazard.

Just a beware!

Edit: Pictures added. First picture shows the carb linkage and plug wire in default position. Second picture shows the plug wire wedged between the linkage and manifold, which leaves the linkage stuck.

Thanks for the heads up Tony, good information.

Driving a 40 year old car does provide it's challenges. I was recently driving mine, went to hit the brakes and the wiring harness under the steering column had dropped down and was keeping the brake pedal from going all the way down, scary moment. Even in perfect condition, if held to present standards for new cars, they would be recalled for numerous potential safety issues.

A secondary return spring is a must in these cars. It doesn't need to be unnecessarily heavy, but it should be present.

are you using spark plug wire loom holders, to keep them out of the way?

many people have stuck kick down levers on automatics because of similar issues with wiring, vacuum hoses, or ignition wires.

be careful out there.

I have had a few stuck open throttles in my time. It does scare the crap out of you.

Turn off the key while braking should give you enough vacuum to get some pedal.

I don't currently drive a car with a push button ignition. I am not sure what the procedure would be. I'll keep my key switch thankyouverymuch.

are you using spark plug wire loom holders, to keep them out of the way?

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There is wire loom holder, but still it lets it sag onto the manifold. I had no paid too much attention to it because this winter I will redo all the ignition and make it neat.

Thanks for the warning. It´s those little things you never think about that can get you in big trouble.

I have had a few stuck open throttles in my time. It does scare the crap out of you.

Turn off the key while braking should give you enough vacuum to get some pedal.

I don't currently drive a car with a push button ignition. I am not sure what the procedure would be. I'll keep my key switch thankyouverymuch.

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I had an 08 Challenger SRT8 with a push button start. If you simply push the button while it is running it will turn it off like turning off the key manually.

I don't currently drive a car with a push button ignition. I am not sure what the procedure would be. I'll keep my key switch thankyouverymuch.

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I had an 08 Challenger SRT8 with a push button start. If you simply push the button while it is running it will turn it off like turning off the key manually.

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we have a 2010 Prius with the push button start, if you hold the button down, it will shut the engine off, and put the car in neutral, once the car comes to a complete stop, it automatically places it in Park.

its amazing what some people do or don't do and calling it "restored". The previous owner should have mechanical things like that cleaned up. At that price there is VERY LITTLE you should have to "work on" or fix up, that's a dangerous miss.

Hi thank you four your info!

Regards DK73

its amazing what some people do or don't do and calling it "restored". The previous owner should have mechanical things like that cleaned up. At that price there is VERY LITTLE you should have to "work on" or fix up, that's a dangerous miss.

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This has nothing to do with the previous owner, restoration or the price of the car. I have been tinkering with the fast idle solenoid and it was probably me. This can happen to anyone.


Pictures added to first post to clarify how it happened.

its amazing what some people do or don't do and calling it "restored". The previous owner should have mechanical things like that cleaned up. At that price there is VERY LITTLE you should have to "work on" or fix up, that's a dangerous miss.

Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with the previous owner, restoration or the price of the car. I have been tinkering with the fast idle solenoid and it was probably me. This can happen to anyone.


Pictures added to first post to clarify how it happened.

Click to expand...

Well there is some good news out of the story. You didn't wreck it, and you know what caused it. Makes it easier to correct it.

when I first started to play in my 73 the previous owner apparently had some kinda issue with the throttle cable (were it ties into the pedal) because while running up and down a side road in the middle of the nowhere my pedal just hits the floor, the cable had came off the pedal so no real harm done other than that little heart attack when the pedal just hits the floor without your permission -_-

and just an fyi you cant silicone a throttle cable to the pedal :/

I had a stuck wide open throttle a long time ago when I was very young. Had rounded a corner at full throttle to spin the non posi rear tires in a 67 RS Camaro. Motor mount broke causing the engine to torque over binding the linkage. Turned the key off to kill engine and it fell back into place.

Was not a fun experience! I did manage to leave a black mark on the pavement though.

Was not a fun experience! I did manage to leave a black mark on the pavement though.

There may have been another mark elsewhere. hehe!