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When I put my voltmeter on my elec. choke I am reading 0 volts. if I unplug the positive from the choke , sure enough 12 volts. plug back on choke 0 volts again . what should be my voltage with choke wire connected?? and and what are some recomended places to connect??
Hi,
I've just been through all of this :(
Disconnect the wire from the choke & connect it to the +ve term of the meter. Ground the -ve terminal. With engine running I was reading about 13.5V. If you have choke problems & are reading 12V (ish), then the crucial thing is the current passing (as this is what causes the heating). My choke was permanently staying on & the current passing was only 0.25A with a cold engine. To check the current, leave the choke heater wire connected to the +ve term of the meter & connect the -ve terminal of the meter to the choke heater terminal (set the meter to the 10A scale). Start the engine & read the current passing. Once I had fixed my electrical fault the meter read 3.5A which rapidly dropped to just under 1A. This was done with a hot engine. The current probably dropped due to the heater coil warming up, which increases it's resistance (well, that's what I put it down to, it's been a long time since I did physics!).
:cheers:
Paul
voltage at the choke should be 12 v. Any switched source will work but in the past we have added a wire to the wiper motor or the heater motor. Since your choke is grounded to the engine, all you should need is the hot wire. I guess I don't understand the second part of your question, though.
Gary
I read in an older thread where somebody connected their choke to the HEI Distributor. I'm getting ready to setup a new carb with a choke as well, so I'm interested how most other folks went about it. Is there a terminal at the wiper you can wire it directly to? I'd like to avoid a quick splice gadget or butt connector if possible.
From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Re: electric choke voltage. (74jack)
DO NOT HOOK THE CHOKE TO THE HEI !!
It will take away voltage from the HEI.
My stock QJet worked fine, but when I changed to a Holley the choke would not work. I was only seeing 1.7 volts.
Holleys manual says to use a 12 volt source and to NOT use the stock choke wire as they may not deliver 12 volts.
From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Re: electric choke voltage. (74jack)
I am doing a wiring project under the hood. I am going to use a terminal strip that will provide 12 V+ when the ignition is on for what every I may need.
I am using a relay, 30 AMP fuse and I am going to come straight off the back of the alternator.
The relay will be to supply 12 V+ only when the ignition is on. I am going to use the wiper 12V+ feed as the trigger for the relay.
From the terminal strip I can connect my O2 gage, choke, and electric fans.
E-mail me a request for more info. if you need it.
Copy and paste from page 6 or so ..........had the same problem.
12 volts is correct on ignition on or hot. Amps is the key.....low amps does not activate the choke. I had the same problem on my 81. One of the winter projects is to trace the cause. For the remainder of the season I ran a jumper from the evaporator oulet case black connector that sits on top (IGN. hot) to the choke. It was nice and neat and tucked it in the conduit running along the right side valve cover. My choke light is now OFF and working 100%. Like I said its on the list for the winter projects....it can NOT stay like it is.
Gary,
Thats the problem I just fixed on my '81. A quick (10 min) check would be to check that the choke heater relay is working (under drivers side of the centre console in area of park brake). My fault turned out to be a broken track in the P. circuit behind the gauge cluster. The connector to the circuit may have been a problem as well (hard to tell once it's fixed). Does your Gen warning light come on with ign on & engine stopped?
Paul