z28onTweenkies

my stupid choke doesnt seem to be operating correctly. after changing my choke thermostat the "choke" light still appears on the dash. for some reason, i cant manually get my choke plate to close, no matter how cold or how hot the engine gets. is there something i need to check or do to get it back to operating again, because right now i just disconnected the wire from the choke thermo.

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1987 LG4 Camaro z28

Performance
KN airfilter, flowmaster 80 series and catco high flow cat, 180* thermostat

System
Panasonic CQ-DF200U deck, fosgate speakers (hpc1369, frc2246)

82camaro

Choke light may be another problem, such as the alternator. Hook that wire back up and get the alternator checked out. Without the wire hooked up, the choke won't fully heat up and will run rich. Resulting in poor mileage and other problems. To shut the choke manually, you need to open the throttle and then push it shut. This will fully shut the choke and set the fast idle. It needs to be pretty cold for the choke to fully shut--I see you are in california.

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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

z28onTweenkies

yeah im in california, and i cant seem to manually close my choke plate, even in the morning when the temps are around 60 degrees. my stupid choke light comes on and will stay on for a while, then will go off for a while, only to come back when im sitting at a light. usually ill drop it into neutral and rev it to about 3500 then the choke light will disappear, only to put it into gear and have it come back. since it could be the alternator, how do i go about checking for that? any other possibilites (linkage)? thanks

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1987 LG4 Camaro z28

Performance
KN airfilter, flowmaster 80 series and catco high flow cat, 180* thermostat

System
Panasonic CQ-DF200U deck, fosgate speakers (hpc1369, frc2246)

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

The choke light does sound like the alternator.

To check, get a volt meter and check the battery voltage without the engine running. Then, start the engine and check it again - it should be above the battery voltage. Turn on lights, other loads, and check. Rev the engine up and check again with and without those extra loads.

You should have at least 13.5 volts under any condition with the engine running.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, ZZ3 intake, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam, ported World 305 heads, Hooker headers & y-pipe, 3" Catco cat & 3" cat-back, Spohn SFCs).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. '66 396, 9.7 CR forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet (Holley 3310 on the way), GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlocks, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Idles smooth @ 600 RPM in D. Best 15.02/95.06 @ 5800' Bandimere (corrected 13.93/102.4 @ sea level).

82camaro

On at idle and off if you rev it usually indicates the alternator. At idle it isn't charging enough. 60 degrees isn't cold enough to fully shut the choke. How does it run? You didn't mention any driveability problems. If the choke isn't working correctly it will perform terrible until it warms up. The choke light doubles and the alternator light--gotta love GM and their devine wisdom.


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

z28onTweenkies

yeah my car runs like crap when its cold. it will usually die after a few seconds after it starts, then i have to pump the gas as i turn the key to get it to start. then i have to manually keep it at 2000 rpm, or it will die again, sometimes even then it will bog down and shut off. i had the alternator checked at autozone today, and supposedly it is working just fine. should i pull off my choke thermostat and adjust from there? i have no clue how to do that. thanks-

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1987 LG4 Camaro z28

Performance
KN airfilter, flowmaster 80 series and catco high flow cat, 180* thermostat

System
Panasonic CQ-DF200U deck, fosgate speakers (hpc1369, frc2246)

Damon

r/e choke element: Remove the 3 screws (or rivets) that hold it to the body of the carb. It falls right out. Inside there is a little "arm" that the choke element normally attaches to in order to operate the choke linkage.

Now test for proper choke linkage movement. Open the throttle about half way by hand and hold it there. Now try to move that little arm inside the choke housing. You should see the choke plate open and close. It should require very little force to do so. If it's stuck, or if it moves but nothing else does then you have choke linkage problems and that's a story for another post. Probably you don't, however.

Now reinstall the choke element. Make sure that the "loop" in the end of the choke element spring fits directly over the "arm" inside the housing (the choke element needs to be able to both push and pull on that arm at various times). Reinstall the screws. Note that the choke element is often keyed to only fit into it's housing only one way and is not adjustable. However, if yours IS adjustable there will be a scale of little bumps on the edge of the choke housing that line up with a line scribed on the outside of the choke element. THe big bump in the middle of the scale is the "base" setting and should be used in most applications as a good starting point. Line the scribed line up with that bump and tighten the screws down.

Please note: some aftermarket choke elments are designed to fit both keyed and non-keyed choke housings. In order to get them to fit the keyed-type housings you need to file a little slot in them at the appropriate place so they will mate with the keyway when you install them. Drop me an email if you think you have this situation and I'll walk you through it.

Now check for voltage to the choke element. Check for a full 12V to the choke wire with the ignition ON. Now turn the ignition OFF and there should be no voltage to that wire.


[This message has been edited by Damon (edited August 24, 2001).]

z28onTweenkies

thanks everyone for your help, i am going to work on this thursday with my mechanic and ill let you know what we come up with. ill keep everyone posted-