Hello.

I have a problem with cold starting. Z28 with LG4 engine.
Low idle, and engine stalling.
When hot; OK.

IF i, before starting, depresses accellerator fully, haynes says that the choke plate should close completely. Mine is fully open. Nothing happens. The electric choke connector has voltage. It isn`t dead. Choke plate is not moving after the engine starts.
It`s summer here, but choke should move with cold engine?

Do any of you experienced this problem? How does the electric choke funktion, and what sensors does control it?

What about the "idle" solenoid? Whats that, and how does it work? What controlls it?

(Sorry about my english; Lives in Norway, europe.)

 

Welcome aboard.

No problem with your English. It's better than many who don't know any other language.

The electricity simply warms up the choke thermostat so that it opens in a controlled manner. If your choke butterfly stays completely open when you open the throttle when the engine is cold, then either the mechanism is gummed up, the choke thermostat isn't engaging the the mechanism properly (this would most likely happen when the choke has been apart, not likely to just "happen" by itself), or the choke thermostat is broken or worn out.

If your choke thermostat has never been apart, it is probably held on with three pop rivets. These need to be drilled out and replaced with self-tapping screws. If it already has screws, try loosening them and rotating the choke thermostat housing in the "rich" direction to see if the butterfly tries to close.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Oh, the idle solenoid is tied to the air conditioner. It opens the throttle a little more to give the power necessary while the air conditioner is running.

 

I had the same problem a few months ago. I also had voltage to the choke but it didn't work either. You need to drill out the rivets in the choke housing like five7kid said. You need a 5/32" (.159") drill bit to remove the head of each rivet. If you have ever worked on a carburetor before, you will know that you need to turn the plastic cover adding or relieving pressure on the spring. Mine needed a little more than the housing would allow because of the notch in it. I had to grind that notch down so that I could add more pressure on the spring. This is a trial and error process, it make take a few adustments on the cover to get the amount of choke you want.

I think I put the screws in plastic cover and slightly tightened them before I adjusted the cover so that it could still move but when I got it where I wanted it all I had to do was finish tightening it. I'm not sure, but I think that's what I did.

 

Thanks for the tips!
I will try to adjust the choke housing.

Not many people drive camaros in northern norway, so i feel alone here! It`s nice too be a member, and learn about american engines. Auto shops does not know about the camaro, so i have too learn my self. It`s a great car and engine, and i love to work on it and drive it. As you se on the picture, i live up in the polar zones. Cold winters, very cold, and a lot of snow!
Last couple of years, i was driving a trans am 1980, with a 400 cid engine. It worked nice in the cold and snow, but camaro has always been my dreamcar..... So now i`m driving a camaro.
I have owned some cars; None could compare to the camaro. The camaro driving expierience is great, and the car has a soul...

I have used this internet site for a period of time, and i have found a lot of useful tips and help. Looking forward to talk to you guys!

 

No problem. Just a 16 year old learning more and more about the cars myself. I was glad I could help you.

 

Hello.

Choke problem fixed! Thanks for the help!

My choke was far too "lean". Did not engange when engine cold. I adjusted the black choke housing, and suddenly the choke blade closed. I `ve adjusted it by feel....
When engine start, it idles high, and the choke blade opens slowly. Everything looks good, and most important; Engine starts easy when cold. Now i`m going too adjust warm idle, and change spark plugs. I also changed the PCV thing. It was dirty, and looked old. My feel is that the idle became better. Not so rough.

Whats the symptoms of glogged/not working PCV system, and what could happen to the engine if the PCV system is not operating? Is it a serious failure? I don`t know how long mine has not been in function...

 

The choke idle is great at around 1500-2000 rpm. if yours is higher than that you can slowly adjust it back down if you want. It is no problem to do.

 

The PCV is not important for engine operation. It just keeps unburned oil "vapors" (a minor type of air pollution) out of the air that we breath.
The worst problem caused by a plugged PCV system is oil leaking out of the engine, onto the ground.

 

PCV puts a small amount of air into the intake charge. The carb calibration assumes that air is going in as planned. If the PCV is plugged, the mixture will be rich, at least until going into closed loop operation.