Cable Travel
It is the linear distance the cable has to cover for the throttle lever to go from the idle position to the fully open position. The travel the actuator can produce must be greater than the travel the engine's throttle lever demands; otherwise full speed cannot be reached. The value varies from engine to engine and is determined by measurement during installation.
Travel matching is the most critical dimension of the installation. An error is possible in both directions. If the actuator's travel is insufficient the throttle lever does not open all the way and the engine cannot reach its declared speed. Conversely, if the actuator keeps pulling after the cable has brought the throttle lever against its mechanical stop, the system is strained; on the GS740-3P this situation is caught by stall protection and the current limit.
The correct approach is this: move the throttle lever by hand from idle to fully open and measure the distance covered by the connection point. If you move the connection to a hole closer to the centre of the lever's pivot the required travel gets smaller but the required force gets bigger; if you move it to a farther hole the opposite happens. A middle point is chosen between these two extremes, one that stays within the actuator's travel.
When the installation is finished the actuator should have a small margin at both ends; a system working right at the limit of its travel loses its setting as soon as the cable stretches by a few millimetres.
Context in which this term is used: Electronic speed and throttle control on a diesel engine