Technical How long do you leave the choke out?

[net_hippy]

Hi,

I was just wondering how long you all leave the choke out on your pandas?

I find in my 1989 1000CL that I always have to have it out to start no matter what the temperature, and that in colder weather I have to keep it out and do a few pumps of the accelerator until a whining sound in the engine bay stops and I can just leave it to idle with the choke out.

Is this normal?

Also I seem to have to keep the choke out at least a bit until the car is almost at normal operating temperature before it will run smoothly. Is this normal or do other people put the choke in fully way before that?

 

[xsparky]

Mine is - fully out to start, within seconds push it in to about three quarters, within a couple of hundred yards, half, after about a mile I'm down to only just out, it won't idle on no choke for about 5 miles.
Mike

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

750L - Choke NEVER needed

Sisley only when cold (5C or below), out fully to start, move off and then in fully normally. If the car is well serviced and tuned (which the 750L is!) you should never need the choke. On a minor note the one in the 750L hasn't been used for so long that its seized in the fully in position!

 

[Bougainvillea Rosso]

Your description seems perfectly normal to me. MEP, I beg to differ! You should need to use the choke from a cold start!

 

[lewey]

750L - Choke NEVER needed

Sisley only when cold (5C or below), out fully to start, move off and then in fully normally. If the car is well serviced and tuned (which the 750L is!) you should never need the choke. On a minor note the one in the 750L hasn't been used for so long that its seized in the fully in position!

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the above.

A car in good tune, with a correctly adjusted warm idle and mixture will always need an enrichened mixture to start and normally a little help in air throughput to idle. This is just the nature of the combustion beast. I would suggest the reason your 750 runs without the choke from cold is that the idle mixture is set too rich, surely? Certainly 3 or more MPG to be had here!

xsparky's description of choke movements is my experience on every carb car I have owned apart from my Westfield that gets away with it by having twin Weber 48 sidedraughts and being tuned to run heavily over-rich for torque.

 

[Chas Uno]

A car in good tune, with a correctly adjusted warm idle and mixture will always need an enrichened mixture to start and normally a little help in air throughput to idle. This is just the nature of the combustion beast. I would suggest the reason your 750 runs without the choke from cold is that the idle mixture is set too rich, surely? Certainly 3 or more MPG to be had here!

:yeahthat:

Both my 999cc FIRE engined Unos could be started without choke as long as the accelerator pump was activated a couple of times via the throttle before starting. However, in winter they would stall almost instantly and even if using the throttle would struggle to hold tickover and to run smoothly. It was therefore mandatory to use the choke. In warmer summer weather I could just about get away without using choke though the revs had to be kept up when moving off and when idling else it would stall.

The cold engine starting procedure I would use would normally be as follows:

• Pull choke all the way out.
• Pump accelerator pedal once or twice.
• Start engine.
• If warm weather, push choke halfway in once started.
• If very cold weather, move off with choke fully out and once car is moving push the choke to half way.
• Once moving on the road push the choke fully in as soon as the engine will run with it off.
• May need to pull the choke out slightly (half way only) if having to stop at traffic lights etc. before engine warmed up.

 

[purple haze]

:yeahthat: sounds spot on to me...although each car is a bit different.

kev

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

I'm not saying the 750L runs spot on from go, but after 30sec of fast idle without choke she's capab;e of running without stalling. If she's moving though, it may be a different story.

Sisley, I just get in and drive, obviously gently when cold, and she seems to run ok.

 

[pandamaniac]

Its because it is warmer in East Anglia!!!

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Its because it is warmer in East Anglia!!!

Lol. I suppose engines can't feel wind chill luckily

 

[JuicyLucy]

Mine is - fully out to start, within seconds push it in to about three quarters, within a couple of hundred yards, half, after about a mile I'm down to only just out, it won't idle on no choke for about 5 miles.
Mike

My F reg Bianca I used to have was like this, Uni was only about 3 miles away and I had the choke out pretty much all the way, but pushing it in bit by bit as I went along, by the time I got there it was pushed fully in. I remember when it was cold it was a bugger to start and I had to pump the gas peddle a couple of times her to kick into life. It was a real knack to do it and I don't think I would be able to do it now, probably flood it I guess you learn to know all your cars quirks!

 

[firstcar-Y10]

don't have a choke any more, cable is still connected but only gives fast idle, no enrichment. So my routine goes: turn over, cough, die. turn over, cough, cough, die. Turn over, cough, coughcough, brabrabrumm, die. swear. turn over, cough, brabrabUUUMM, brabrabrUUMMM, brum, brum, yank out 'choke' all the way and try to keep it running for a minute or so, try to pull away, stall. turn over brrUUUMMM BRUUUUMMMMM (ooh me clutch) and we're away. By the time I'm at the end of the street it's setttling down. Getting better now it's not so cold
This may not help, but at least you'll feel better.
Andrew.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

don't have a choke any more, cable is still connected but only gives fast idle, no enrichment. So my routine goes: turn over, cough, die. turn over, cough, cough, die. Turn over, cough, coughcough, brabrabrumm, die. swear. turn over, cough, brabrabUUUMM, brabrabrUUMMM, brum, brum, yank out 'choke' all the way and try to keep it running for a minute or so, try to pull away, stall. turn over brrUUUMMM BRUUUUMMMMM (ooh me clutch) and we're away. By the time I'm at the end of the street it's setttling down. Getting better now it's not so cold
This may not help, but at least you'll feel better.
Andrew.

 

[BenW]

In the winter i always used to pull the choke out to the first 'notch' which i believe it just fast idle, no enrichment? I'd put my foot on the throttle a tiny bit and start, taking my foot off the throttle as soon as it started. That seemed to work fine everytime, just pushing the choke in slightly until it would run fine on it's own which was usually a few miles.

In the summer i still used it a bit but put in back in quite quickly

Most Easterly Pandas, you should definitely need to use the choke in winter. Modern cars with automatic choke will always apply a small amount of choke in summer or winter