I am currently facing choke problems with my 1982 toyota pickup. Evidently my choke is "wired open". No, I'm not kidding, it has a piece of SS wire holding it open. Could somebody please tell me how it is supposed to work? My Driver-side plate is always closed, my passenger-side plate is wired open. My fast-idle does not work. I am willing to try anything.

PS could somebody tell me how to adjust the idle speed/mix?

 

Oh Come on- I know somebody here must have an idea? At least how to tell if the choke will work once the wire is cut and then how to adjust the fast idle.

 

ok here goes but its been a while since I played with a carb.
One side should only open with vaccuum thats why its automatically closed right now and will probably only open about 1/4 of the way. The choke should be dialed in to just close when cold. There is a bi-metal strip that slowly unwinds when it gets warm so after about 2 minutes its should be open it takes 12 volts (battery voltage). You set the high idle by a spring loaded screw that hits a high spot on the "cam lever" when the choke is cold, set it to about 1500 rpm or what ever you feel comfortable with, when the choke warms up its should move the cam lever back when you tap the throttle.The cam lever may have a little side to side play and thats no big deal. Most chokes get wired open because someone thinks they will get more hp (wrong), the strip broke (unlikely) or the choke sticks(most likely). For the last just clean with carb clean and then clean again. Finally lube the assebly both in and out with something better than wd-40. wd-40 is great but its also a solvent and tends to dry up.

 

okay- I did some tinkering today by removing the wire and starting it. The choke did operate normally, however I still didn't have fast idle. In addition, once the choke plate was open, I waited for it to cool down, then the choke would not close again. Is there supposed to be a link between the fast idle cam and the choke? Could somebody snap a pic or maybe give me a diagram of how this should work? Thanks for your help.

 

the choke may take a very long time to close again. Several hours. Remember lots of heat will stay in the block and the choke is only used for cold (overnight) starts. The fast idle cam is probably there but the screw is probably way out of adjustment. Pics would be nice!

 

Okay, here are the pics as requested. Sorry about the quality, lighting isn't the best under the hood. I was thinking about taking the wire off the choke and testing it later today.

 

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by the looks of it you're missing a spring. did you try unwiring it yet?
I think that lower spring loaded adjuster is your high idle adjustment.

 

Yea I unwired it and the choke appeared to work OK, i just still didn't have fast idle. That spring adjuster is all the way in.

Thank you Much

 

In '82 they had a electric heater and an opener that went to a TVS. The breaker operated as it normally does as soon as the motor fires. The opener is timed to 140 degrees to drop it to the 4th step. The power wire for the cap heater went to the charging system. There may be a relay involved in this circuit. ~15 ohms from the heater terminal to ground. The choke won't close again until you press the gas down. If the fast idle wont work , than there my be a spring missing or the cam is stuck. That rod that was wired back may have gone to the F.I. cam. The vacuum is on to the opener? People find creative ways to re-route vacuum hoses.

Remember that the opener is on a different temp trigger than the cap heater. The cap heater goes off in ~5 min. The motor needs to warm before the opener kicks if I recall correctly. In order to set the adjustment, cap off the opener hose and set the cam by hand and don't touch the throttle again.

 

Well I removed the wire and have drove it for the past couple of days with the choke functioning supposedly. It starts a lil easier in the morning, idles a bit better when cold. When I get to school, i check and the choke is open. When I go to leave and I check it its closed, so I reckon its working OK. I'm not seeing any side-effects so I guess I'll just live without fast idle.