Livewell control cable sticking

[Ranger Rod]

I'm sure this is common. New to me boat. 1997 692VS.
The 2 switches are very hard to move. I had to go to the valves to free them up as I thought I was going to break the switches.
Has anyone freed theirs up? Can really only oil the ends.
These are strictly mechanical right?

[snookonfly]

Looks like you have the same cable as mine...a flo rite. I took the entire cable out and stood off the top of my deck and dripped oil into the plastic sheath until it came out the bottom. Gravity will oil it all the way through. I worked the wire in and out as I oiled it. Did this in the summer and has worked nice so far.

[Ranger Rod]

That sounds like a lot of work but might be the only way.
I was thinking about disconnecting them just so you can work the cable back and forth.
I wonder what new ones cost?

[Rip Bass]

Mine were tight like that too. I disconnected the cable from the valve and put a drop of oil in it then forced the oil in with an air nozzle. Still a PIA but it’s quicker. You could also get new cables. Sometimes the valve gets so gunked up that it is hard to turn too,you might clean,rebuild or replace those.

[snookonfly]

Taking the cable out and running it back isn’t that hard. Use some fish tape to put it back in. Also, Disconnecting and Connecting each end to its respective mechanism is as simple as it gets. If you get a new one, you’ll have to go through the same process and You would want to oil the new one too. So I f it were me, I’d try oiling the old one first and put it back in and see how it does. Good luck!

And I think the new one is around $40 from Ranger.

[Ranger Rod]

Update.
I disconnected the cable at the valve.
Cable runs smooth and so does the valve when disconnected.
It’s all about cable management. The cable is too long so it has to take a longer route to get to the valve.
I managed to push it deep into the bilge to give it the least resistance, but it still sucks.
Luckily I very rarely use my live wells, but I’m trying to restore everything to it's original glory.

[mikesxpress]

Routing the cable with the least amount of hard bends 1st. Use graphite suspended in light oil to lube the cable until it runs out the opposite end.

[Commanche20]

Go on Amazon and order a bottle of control cable lubricant for motorcycles, graphite based lube and is self migrating, should fix problem

[wmitch2]

Oiling the cables helps, but, a lot of times it's the valves bening gummed up. You should clean and lube then at least every couple years to keep them moving easily. I rebuild mine every other year and lube my cables by disconnecting them at the front and back and then hold the front up as high as possible and pull the cable out until it bumps the bottom cable against the sheath, then putting a little Motorcycle cable lube in the end, then working the cable back and forth. I do this about a dozen times and it lubes the whole cable. Then put it all back together.