jvandyke

I looks like there (was) a plastic sheathing inside the coiled spring outer (which is itself surrounded by rubber normally). This appears to have melted and clogged up the works.
I sourced a good used one. autoatlanta showed one for $35 but they don't actually have any.
I messed with it a little for fun, thinking I could unsolder the barrel, take the whole thing apart and rebuild it but the barrel end laughed at my attempts to de-solder it. At that point it wasn't worth the effort. I'm sure a guy could build something that works if they wanted to badly enough.

konakat

The barrel end looks really similar to a mountain bike brake cable if you need an alternative to try. Just snip off the other end.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1500_.jpg

odonnell

I have a good used one if you want it, but it'll be a few weeks before I can ship.