Manual Choke doesn't function?
 

Hey, I own an '82 Buick LeSabre. I was tired of having it idle so high, so I replaced the electric choke with a manual one. When I had the electric choke, I would only have to pump the gas once for the car to start. Is it normal for me to have to pump it upwards of 30 times with the manual choke engaged?

i would say that sounds abnormal.

did you visually verify fuel is squirting into carb w/ engine off while stroking accelerator rod?

I'm sorry, I have absolutely no clue as to how cars work. Could you put that into layman's terms?

Hi
Remove the air cleaner & look down the big hole in the center of the carburetor, have someone push the accelerator pedal down & see if a short stream of gasoline shoots into the big hole. If not then chances are the carburetor will need to be rebuilt.
rich

The carb works perfectly. There is a clean squirt of fuel. Is it possible that I installed the choke incorrectly? With the choke pushed in, that flap underneath the air cleaner is wide open.

Try pulling the choke knob "cable" out, that will shut the "flap" and choke the engine. You really don't want to close the "flap" all the way because the engine won't get enough air and it will flood the engine. You may have to experiment a little to get the right ccombination. The colder the weather the more choke...the warmer the less........

Hm. I was always taught to pull the choke out all the way. The weather here has been sitting at around 0 Celsius, so you're saying i'll only need to pull the choke about half way?

Like I said you may have to experiment with the choke until you find the sweet spot for it to start. Let the engine idle for a few minutes until it warms up and then push the choke cable in. IF...you installed it correctly it should work.

Shame, with a little adjustment of the fast idle screw, you could have remedied that problem. :(

Try starting it this way.
Pull the choke out, give it one shot of the accelerator & engage the starter, at the same time start pushing the choke back in some, & resist the urge to pump the throttle, as I think you've been flooding it. By doing it this way you've richened the mixture & then your adding enough air to ignite it with.
Rich

This was an adjustment problem, the electric choke has a fast idle cam as part of its assembly. It has an adjustable screw, when the weather is cold and choke closes the cam which is on the same shaft as what closes the choke also open the throttle plates to speed up the idle speed. The speed is controlled with a screw adjustment between the throttle shaft and the choke's fast idle cam.

I'd recommend putting the electric choke back and trashing the manual. Most people eventually forget the choke is on and leave it there running a lot of fuel through the engine which washes the upper cylinder lube away resulting in friction damage to the rings and upper cylinder wall, bring the next major rebuild closer.

Bogie

X2
Rich___

X3.......!

Here's what I do on my 350.
Pull choke cable out all the way and bump it back in about 1/4 to 1/2 in.
Give it a pump shot and crank it up. On an auto choke, the initial setting is the choke plate on the carb should be open slightly (about 1/4 in) and that is the same with an manual. Even a manual choke has a fast idle screw adj. also
so you need to set that (when engine is cold) the same as the automatic.
One thing that makes it easier is to always mount the choke cable to the carb. with the least amount of kinks and bends so it will operate smoothly with little Resistance. Having a sticky or hard to push choke knob is a pain so lubricating the linkage and cable every so often will keep it operating smoothly. If you can learn to operate the manual choke and set the fast idle speed, you can do the same with your automatic electric choke.
The only reason I have a manual choke is I bought the carb used (600 cfm Holley) and that's what it came with and didn't want to spend the money to get an auto elec. choke control. If I were you, I would put the auto back on.
Another advantage to an auto choke is the women in your life may have to drive it and then what? :( My wife can start my truck ok but the next time I get in it she always forgets to push it all the way in after it warms up sucking gas so I keep her in the GP and out of my truck! :D

i love manual choke.
once started, i position choke control to maintain fast idle till warm.
i like to use fast idle function during stop and go; especially going up hill.
can release clutch w/o pressing accelerator.
i set fast idle screw to max practical position.

What is a tell-tale sign that my engine is flooded? Usually I assume that if i'm hearing popping sounds in the engine while its turning over it is flooded. If I floor the accelerator during this time, the popping will increase in frequency and volume, until the engine will finally start.

For everybody else, It's too late. When I installed the manual choke, I threw out the electric choke. And the car is so close to dying I really don't feel like salvaging another one.