1981 Carburetor Question
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,218
Likes: 2
From: Plainfield IL
1981 Carburetor Question
I noticed the solenoid switch on my '81 never seems to operate. I'm referring to the solenoid that has plunger. The plunger is positioned behind the carb's throttle linkage. What is the purpose of this device? Can I test it by applying 12 volts directly to its wiring connections? If it's inoperable, should I worry? The car runs warms up, idles and runs just fine. As stated, my only concern is I've never seen the solenoid/plunger operate, not even when the engine is cold. Thanks.
Abby Normal
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 53,389
Likes: 92
From: Press "2" for English
Re: 1981 Carburetor Question (Biker)
from what you describe, it sounds like your talking about the 'fast idle' solenoid. it should kick the throttle up when you first start the car when cold. does the car go into fast idle first thing? it also is supposed to idle the engine up with the A/C on. you should notice the solenoid extend and apply more throttle when the A/C is turned on. is that the solenoid your talking about?
if so, you don't need it. i haven't had mine on my car in years. but i do have to manually (or should i say "footually") keep the throttle up when starting cold.
"footually". geez, that's bad! :rolleyes:
if so, you don't need it. i haven't had mine on my car in years. but i do have to manually (or should i say "footually") keep the throttle up when starting cold.
"footually". geez, that's bad! :rolleyes:
Racer
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 271
Likes: 0
From: St Louis MO
Re: 1981 Carburetor Question (clutchdust)
Yep, Qjets have a solenoid that bumps up the throttle stop when the AC is on. Prevents the engine from dropping too many rpms. Start the engine, turn the AC on and see if it pushes out. If it doesn't and there's voltage to the solenoid, you can replace it.
But it is not absolutely necessary. You can turn up the idle or footually operate it.
Gary
[Modified by Garys '68, 7:37 PM 5/25/2004]
But it is not absolutely necessary. You can turn up the idle or footually operate it.
Gary
[Modified by Garys '68, 7:37 PM 5/25/2004]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,456
Likes: 2
From: Coming home from Luckenbach Texas
Re: 1981 Carburetor Question (clutchdust)
That solenoid only works when the A/C is on. The choke mechanism causes the fast idle when the engine is cold. Test it by having someone switch the A/C on and off while you watch the solenoid.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,921
Likes: 2
From: York PA
Re: 1981 Carburetor Question (page62)
That solenoid only works when the A/C is on. The choke mechanism causes the fast idle when the engine is cold. Test it by having someone switch the A/C on and off while you watch the solenoid.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Re: 1981 Carburetor Question (RC81)
As Page said, fast idle is controlled by the carb from cold.
It's hard to spot as it only moves very slightly. I took mine off & everything worked fine afterwards (then I liked the cleaner look so much that I went overboard & pulled the entire aircon system off the car :) ). It's just extra clutter under the hood so pull it off! If you disconnect its wire & the engine doesn't stall at idle when you turn the aircon on then you don't really need it, it's just extra weight slowing you down. Go faster, go footually.
:cheers:
As they said, turn on your ac while watching it. It should pop out a bit to up the idle while the ac is on.
:cheers:
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