Car Choke tips...

jonnyg

jonnyg

jonnyg

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Joined
7 Apr 2004
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Banbury/Coventry Uni
Hi there,

I recently bought a VW Polo mk2 1.0 - you may have seen the thread ^_^.

It drives fine, and ive had no real problems, but it has a choke, and i have had hardly any experience with a choke-d car. As its incredibly cold at the moment, im having to use it every time i start it after its been left for more than about an hour!

I keep stalling it just after starting, and its quite embarassing... Can anyone lay down some guidelines or advice on using a choke, as many people have told me, but i keep getting different stories. i.e: 'Pull it out slightly when starting in the morning', but then someone says 'pull it out all the way' i've tried different ways, but still, this morning, after starting first time, i stalled when i left the dirve and pulled up to chat to my neighbor. We laughed, but i dont want to be stalling everytime.

Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
John
 
Personally on our old metro;

Pull out 3/4 when starting
After 30 secs or so down to 1/3
After enging temp "warm" / 5 mins of driving then off
 
In mine, from cold in cold weather it's full choke, pump the pedal to prime the carbs a few times (it's uneccessary, but I find it helps), and crank. When it's been driven for abit, or only parked up for an hour or two you shouldn't need to use it.

When it fires I maintain idle with right foot, and drive off, whilst i'm driving i drop the choke slowly and see how the car responds, after about 5 mins it's usually fully off and I just keep the idle in check with me foot.

Just play with it, experiment, and see how it goes. Different for each car :)
 
See, i think that having it all the way out when starting is better, especially in the cold months, but then i dont know what to do when i come to a stop after a couple of mins of driving.

Like you said LashOut, it might jus mean i need to go out and experiment.

Thanks for the help guys
John
 
With the renualt 5 before turning over the i'd pull the choke out all the way then crank the engine once started i would turn it down to about half, about about 15 minutes of driving the engine was warm enough so it could be pushed in fully again, it takes some getting used to.

thedazman
 
Every car is a little different, you just need to experiment and find out whats suitable for yours. Generaly you will need more choke to start, the colder it is, certainly full choke may be likely in this weather. Once the engine starts to warm slightly you will hear it running roughly as it's getting too much fuel, so gradualy push the choke in as the engine warms. Push it in too quickly and you find it will stall easily or simply just stop when you come to junctions, leave it out too long and it crucifies your fuel economy and does the engine no good.
 
Tesla said:
What does a choke do? Change the o2/fuel mix?
Click to expand...

yup, for easier starting.

although us lot with MPI engines, just turn the key and it starts instantly every time, never stalls when driving away either :p :p
 
chopchop said:
yup, for easier starting.

although us lot with MPI engines, just turn the key and it starts instantly every time, never stalls when driving away either :p :p
Click to expand...


although a properly setup carb engine should start quicker than an injected engine. infact i am sometimes caught out when starting an injected engine, by flicking the key over for a fraction of a second, and failing to start the engine this way.
 
chopchop said:
yup, for easier starting.

although us lot with MPI engines, just turn the key and it starts instantly every time, never stalls when driving away either :p :p
Click to expand...

my SPI starts instantly ;) elec-choke 4tw :D
 
If its anything like a motorbike:
Choke out
Thumb starter
controll soaring revs with choke lever
slacken off to idle
Ride away.
 
Manual chokes... that takes me back a bit! I'm surprised the Polo has a manual choke - most VW's of that period had automatic chokes. My 85 Jetta 1.3 did as did my mate's 85 1.0 Polo breadvan.

My Nova 1.0 had a manual choke. Process was :
Pull choke all the way out
Press accelerator once
Start the engine
Engine goes nuts and idles at 2500rpm. Back the choke off to a fast idle then drive off. If it was stuttering then apply more choke until it pulls smoothly.
When the temp guage starts to move back the choke off to between 1/3 to 1/2 (usually 1/2 mile or so)
Push choke in after it reaches the first mark on the temp guage and pray it doesn't stall!

The auto-choke Jetta was much easier. Press the accelerator once to set the choke, then start and drive away. It was dead easy and just worked...
 
Right, at the moment ive had to use intuition to realise i need to press the accelerator.

I've checked various ways, and had a terrible time this morning. Got off a steep drive, turned the corner, thought it would be fine, then the engine just spluttered and gave up as i tried to move away in 1st... Ill try again next time by having it all the way out to start, high-idle it, move away and push the choke in a little. If what happens this morning happens again, is this a case of applying more choke??
 
Well if it is anything like a morris minor or a morris8.... :/

Yoink it out all the way.

Start

Engine goes beserk and things happen, a new rattling is often discovered. :D

Drive off.

Put it back in after a bit.
 
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