Hello all,

First timer here with a old 1982 camaro z28. I am having issues with the choke light remaining on from the moment I turn the key. I've read many forums on here already, but can't seem to find a straight answer on my exact situation.

My battery appears to be staying charged as I have no problem starting or running. I am awaiting my meter in the mail so I can begin testing to make sure that my battery is charged and alternator are good.

Having said that, the carb is running very rich. You can smell it from the moment you start the car. The choke appears to be stuck on. The more that car warms up the higher it continues to idle (I presume because the choke is stuck on). I tested the choke pull off by plugging the vacuum tube after pushing it in and it pops right back out, therefore, I assume I have a bad choke pull off. Could this be the entire problem or is it absolutely an alternator problem and nothing else?

Thanks for your help from the "not well educated in mechanics" new guy!

 

More than likely, it's the alternator.

That light only says "Choke" because some regulator agency somewhere decided emissions compliance status was more important than telling the use what's ACTUALLY wrong with the car. The label over the bulb may SAY "Choke", but in REALITY, that light is the alt light.

The reason for all this is, the choke does not get fed power to turn itself off, unless the alt is working. (to avoid the situation where you turn the key to On with the engine not running and leave it there for a few minutes, and the choke pulls off) Which is the rich-running problem.

Replace the alternator.

 

I tested the alternator today. The battery when not running is at 13.4. When running the reading jumps to 14.7. I then turned on the head lights, fog lights, cranked the stereo, and turned on the ac. The reading dropped to 14.5. It appears that the alternator is in working order. Is it worth the cost to just replace it anyway? I am trying to keep it as cheap as I can because I pretty much spent my budget on what (at the time) was a car in perfect working order! Damn Murphy's Law.

 

The alt can have other problems besides not charging.

Nothing is listening to a bunch of poor-mouth. Parts don't care about sob stories: they either work or they don't. Not saying "go buy a new one"; only, don't waste my time on that crap.

Good place to start would be to measure the voltage on the brown wire with the car not running, and then with it running. Should go from around 1V or thereabouts not running, to slightly higher than whatever appears at the batt while running.