Vlog: What is a choke and what does it do?
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2019
- I'm no engineer, but I try to discuss what a choke is, why you need it and how it operates, using my Citroen 2CV as an example.
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When I passed my drivers test in 1989, my parents had a 1984 Ford Escort with manual choke. My first car was a 1981 Opel Kadett with manual choke, and I've owned a Matra Murena for 14 years which had twin carburetors and manual choke. At some point in history I have owned a Volkswagen with automatic choke, I hated it!
I think a manual choke nowadays is a very good anti-theft device 😂
hubnut, this was a brilliant video, please do more of these short vids on "how stuff works".
dalar2 I remember my ex wife bought an instructional guide on ‘how to find your ass with both hands…’ She had to send it back; apparently she said it was useless and unhelpful for her...
Please could you do one on 'choking my husband' for when he grinds the gears in my Moggy again, please Ian?
I’d like to think that everyone watching this video remembers cars with a manual choke! Lol
I used to own a Morris Ital, and the choke worked well as "cruise control" at speeds of up to 30mph.
So it wasn't just me then 😀
Same with the Opel Kadett I had many,many moons ago!
You were all coking up your spark plugs and washing oil off the piston bores with excess fuel.
Thats my kind of life hacks, no crazy technology, just ingenuity
@@TheMentalblockrock doesn't really matter now does it but I'll go sit on the naughty step for 5 minutes to make you feel better
Thanks for explaining - very helpful to those of us who are too young to know such things. I knew roughly what it did (allowed more fuel in) and how it worked, but never knew why it was needed - which of course is still relevant today as cars do have a higher idle when cold, so your explanation about fuel sticking to the side is much appreciated. I remember my friend had a 92 Mini in high school which had a choke, only memory I really have of them.
Manual choke on my Avenger only on cold days and after 2 miles return it home no issues. My Fiat Panda much the same but part of how they worked. A forgotten skill. The newest car I saw it on was a 1993 Rover Metro. Great video Ian. Thanks again 😊
Perfect explanation of a manual choke. I worked in a classic car garage in my youth, working on MG's, E Types etc and that was a mine field of manual choke fun, every car is different.
I remember using a clothes peg to hold the choke out on one car I had.
I was just about to say that Ian didn't mention the importance of the clothes peg.
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj Yes always a wooden one.
Ahhh yes, BL vehicles
@aircrash tupolov That's right Mini's! I had forgotten about that.
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj True it was, this has made me want to own a car with a choke again Lol.
Nicely explained, Ian.
Many modern lawnmowers still have chokes (not the electric ones!) so it's good that people know what they do.
A very worthwhile video for anyone who is considering driving a classic. I find my Minis need full choke to start then immediately push it in to 'fast idle' then off at about a mile or so.
A lovely, simple manual mechanism, none of this automatic choke business! Many thanks Mr HubNut.
Having owned only two cars with chokes, all automatic, always worked well. The '65 Corvair has a device that is operated by vacuum, that opens the choke slightly just as it starts and has a vacuum. The choke has a bi metal coiled strip that opens and closes the choke. Mounted on the head. By the mid '80 carbs were mostly gone due the strict pollution requirements. The benefit was cars ran so much better.
I was working at a Fiat dealership when the changeover came. We had to register the last cars with manual chokes by the end of Feb 1993 so there are K reg cars both with and without manual chokes. Along with automatic chokes came single point injection and catalysts. I understand it was the introduction of the catalyst that required the changes in order to control the amount of unburnt fuel entering the exhaust system and affecting the cats performance.
I had an old Mini and the choke used to act like a sort of cruise control too. Obviously push it in to drop the revs. Pull it out to increase revs.
My body developed muscle memory performing this act.
First time I flew a light aircraft, a Piper PA-28, the instructor allowed me to land it. He was talking me through it as I did it.
Once the aircraft was over the fence he told me to chop the power.
So, my Mini choke muscle memory kicked in and I pushed the throttle forward to the stop which applied full power.
That wasn't good. 😁
Early injection systems often had an extra injector for cold starts (sometimes controlled by a crude thermo-time switch based on a bimetallic strip) but modern systems just add more fuel by opening the normal injectors a little longer.
My Previa had a 5th injector for cold starts, but all my others just put more fuel in from the normal injectors. Good vid, you forget a whole generation knows nothing about chokes.
Another great hubnut video. Its shocking how many people don't understand how to start a car with a manual choke. On my current car it had a automatic choke that used the coolant temperature to decide how much choke it needed. Worked sort of ok but kept the choke on for far too long & trying to set it up was always a balancing act. It got converted to a manual choke and its so much more user friendly with the choke being used for a much shorter time than the auto choke thought was needed.
HubNut College. Great stuff! My injection system doesn't have a separate injector, it just injects more fuel through the main ones. Idle is not even higher when starting from cold.
Remember using the choke on cold winter mornings on my 120y and very satisfying it was getting the idle/revs just right and adjusting as engine warmed up..
Ahhh the good old days.
Very very well done shared with my son and daughter, even if they never own a car with a choke they will now have better understand of the cars they do have. Thank you for preserving, for teaching, and entertaining!
The first car I looked at buying after I passed my test (2001) was a 1983 Ford Fiesta. I didn't understand why it kept cutting out when I started the engine and walked away thinking something was wrong. The car I eventually bought was a slightly later Fiesta with manual choke and still not understanding what exactly the choke did, proceeded to drive it 8 miles home with the choke out all the way. Doh indeed!
By Jove...I've always thought...its been a hanger for my purses 🤔. Damn handy thing!
I remember that one. The fact that the tale crossed the pond proves it was an urban myth.
I never owned a car with a manual choke, but I had a 1969 Cadillac with 150,000 miles and a clogged choke tube, which normally would have brought some exhaust gas up near the carburetor to activate the automatic choke. I had to stick a comb in it after a mile or so, otherwise the exhaust would stay black and it would get 5 MPG instead of 9 or 10. I was told that it would be expensive to clean out the tube, so the easiest thing to do would be to add a cable with a knob under the dashboard, but the engine threw a piston rod before I had a chance.
I am delighted to see you are well on your way to 50,000 subscriptions, well done that man!
The post has now arrived with my HubNut calendar. Mightlly impressed. Ian please thank Mrs HubNut and the cat for being so prompt and thank you, of course.
Excellent Ian, cheers, I know a few people that will benefit from this video who have recently got into classic motoring.
I finally understand how a choke operates and what it is! Thanks 🙏
Last car we had with a choke was a Mk2 Ford XR2, which I fitted myself, it was originally fitted with a horrible autochoke.
2:20 I did my motorcycle lessons on a Honda CB500f (or something) from 2006. It surprisingly still had a manual choke!
Motorcycles still used carbies way after cars phased them out...I would be surprised if there weren't some new motorcycles for sale now that didn't have them, perhaps not in the EU though!!
As a motorcyclist in the Sixites, some machines did not have a choke, requiring you 'tickle' their carburettors, which mean holding down the float to raise the fuel level to give a richer mixture for cold starting. The no-mans land between just enough petrol to get the machine started, and too much, which dowsed to plugs, was often wafer thin.
I recall an old story from the 1960s about a lady of a certain age who'd just passed her driving test and bought a new Mini ....seemed the car was not running too well....kept taking it to the garage and they couldn't find anything wrong...in the end, the head mechanic went for a drive with her...when they got in, the lady pulled out the choke and hung her shopping bag on it...turns out that was the reason the car did not run too well, so after explaining it wasn't a shopping bag knob after all, and showing her how to use the choke, the problem was fixed.
I seem to recall in the old Mini that the choke knob was in the middle console too, so ideal for hanging things on!
The SU has a variance on this in that the choke control moves the jet away from the needle.
Correct, because on the SU the butterfly throttle plate did both "choking" and throttleing as there was only one barrel, as well as lowering the jet away from the needle. BTW, operating the choke on an A series equipped car also slightly opened the throttle as well as lowering the mixture jet. And this could be seperately adjusted by a screw.
Same with the E series and most likely others.
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj Totally forgot about the HIF series.
And Strombergs had a seperate enrichment device on the side of the cab which allowed more fuel though.
I shall be going over all your 2CV videos for tips as mine turned up today, only done a couple of trips out in her so far, installed HubNut sticker, new wipers and added a tank of high octane petrol, few things to sort tomorrow concerning nearside front light action!
She's orange & lovely.
SAAB two strokes had a triple barreled carb with 3 throttle plates on one shaft, but no choke plates. What was used instead was an enrichment circuit which is just a fancy name for an additional dash knob controlled fuel and air mixture gubbins on a separate 'circuit' you opened a valve to. No other differences between it and a choked carb except the enrichment also sets a precise fast idle because of more air introduced with the richer additional mixture you turned on. Brilliant carbs and they work well on 4 strokes too.
The joy of a manual choke on a cold frosty morning....😉
The latest model vehicle, with a manual choke, that I've owned is my 1993 Vauxhall Rascal van.
It likes full choke to start, when stone cold, but that can be pushed halfway in as soon as it starts. Unless it's below zero, it can come off the choke after about 1/4 of a mile.
I used to own a 1992 Peugeot 106 1.1 XR she had a manual choke on her TU Engine, i remember loaning her to a younger friend and telling him not to keep the choke out for too long as she dose not like it. To which he replied " Whats a choke" ? I felt very old that day!
My car history just about encompasses manual chokes - a few minis and a 2cv.
Different to driving now. Not better necessarily... worse in most ways... but perhaps with more of a connection to the mechanics. Nostalgia!
Great video!
Interesting blog. The choke on the 2cv has a line around the metal shaft that you can feel with a fingernail. My Pony starts best when this line is exactly flush with the barrel of the choke control, which is about 3/4 out.
On a related note, my dad gave me a tip on starting a car that has a flooded carburettor; push the accelerator to the floor (no choke) and keep it there then crank the starter, after about 5 seconds or so it will start. Works too. Disclaimer: I don't know if this only works on certain types or makes of carburettor.
I once let a freind have a go in the mk3 marina I had. having never driven any thing older than a yaris "whats a choke?"
Was followed by "I cant reach first!" And "this clutch is impossible" as we lurched down the track. She gave up after getting stuck trying to turnround on a heavy camber proclaiming " you did that on purpose this thing is stupid!" She declined a go in the beetle.
It's so odd how some people are 'addicted' to numb feeling cars. I don't like the vague feeling of not being connected to the machinery that you get in many new cars.
Of course, on old cars gear boxes and stuff gotta work well, but in general i like pre-2000 stuff more than cars produced after 2000.
A manual choke is also very handy for getting you out of trouble if your throttle cable breaks. Had that happen to me twice many years ago - on the Marina it was easy to disconnect it at the carb and connect it to the throttle linkage instead and have a resulting hand throttle on the dash to get me from the middle of nowhere to a Unipart counter. The Hillman Imp was more tricky - especially using the hand throttle as the choke control was down at the base of the gear lever. Got me home, though.
Wow, really helpful video! Thanks!
I've had 6 cars and none of them have had chokes. So I've never operated one. Good video, maybe one day I'll find a motor with one.
my 1991 FIRE engined Uno was the latest car I had with a choke. Nice summary, thanks
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj I agree, and as it was my first car, mine put up with a lot!
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj yes, I replaced the door on mine, but tinworm killed the car
My first car (1978 VW Derby) had a manual choke. They tend to give a car personality IMO, as you can get two identical cars that both have totally different starting techniques.
ive found that in my mini if you pull the choke out just enough that you can get your fingers behind the knob that the engine will start no matter the temperature but she still always wants a few seconds before we start moving
American manufacturers adopted automatic chokes almost universally in the 1960's. Our early 1970's VW beetle also had one. My first experience with a manual choke was when I bought a new 1980 Renault 5. 1.4L. Renault went with fuel injection across it's range in 1983. Throttle body style on the 1.4L R9 Alliance . California cars had multi point FI.
Never knew the double carb Civic have a manual choke. I have a single carb EG8 Civic and it has an automatic choke... works flawlessly too.
My first car (1987 Fiat Panda 1000S) had a choke. Brings back fond memories, like using it as a kind of cruise control (as mentioned in other comments) Mine didn't have determined choke steps, it was just a sliding scale if you will.
My first car was a Marina 1.3 - I was taught to only use the choke when absolutely necessary and push it back in as soon as possible - usually as soon as I started rolling.)
The choke on a car is always a bit if a curiosity. It really varies from car to car.
'72 Triumph Stag basically only requires choke if its below 5°c.
Austin Maestro? Full choke to start in the morning unless it's over 20°c. As soon as it starts you have to drop it from position 4 to position 2, and set off from there. Close it off about a minute or two after that.
The 1980's Datsun Sunny had an automatic choke on the carb.
There are also carbs with primers and ticklers instead of chokes.
That's how modern 2/- work.
NO choke just bubble/primer.
Cheaper manu I suppose.
The Reliant Robin was the last car sold in the UK with a manual choke.
My newest car with a manual choke was my old 1990 1.0 OHV Vauxhall Nova. That thing still had breaker points and was a very reliable car i sold it with 140 thousand miles on the clock still running well when it was about ten years old.
Triumph 1500 TC and Triumph 2000/2500 (MK2) owner would agree, good intel put out Ian.
My first car, a Volvo 460 with the Renault 1.7 engine, had a choke. Strangely, for a car produced by a Swedish company (so one expected to sell in reasonable numbers in a cold country), they decided to make the choke controls out of brittle plastic; the handle would shear off on frosty mornings. Remember that you couldn’t warm up the car without starting it...
.... by pulling the choke out.
After three replacement (genuine Volvo) parts I resorted to keeping a pair of locking pliers in the door bin. Lock ‘em on, pull the remaining stump of plastic connected to the choke cable out, and when you’re done unlock the pliers and put ‘em back in the door bin. Driving round for a couple of miles like this did somewhat compromise Volvo’s safety systems a bit though🤭
My dad's first gen 1442 Alpine (S) reg with its twin barrel carb was a right bugger until it warmed up, then it would blow a 2 litre Cortina away. I suspect it got faster as it got older as the car dissolved with its doors and sills starting to show signs of rot by its 2nd year.
When I worked for a hire car company in Jersey we had 4 Mini Mokes, and nobody understood how to start them from cold.
I have a 1992 Peugeot 106 which still has a manual choke. It even illuminates a choke light when its on
Hi Ian,I had a Mini and it was a pain for the choke,I used a mighty clothes peg to sort it out because it wouldn't hold but once warm it was fine.
Thanks,,!!
Never had any problems with my Seat Marbella that i had in the late eighties
Chokes can still be found on most small engined machinery such as lawnmowers and generators but these are being replaced by a thermal auto choke systems to make the engines a easy start system, which work ok until someone leaves fuel that has gone off after three months in the tank which causes non easy start.
My grandad gave me a Ford Fiesta with an over fuelling electric auto choke which he fixed by putting resistance into the circuit by adding light bulbs on to the wires. You’d start the car cold and the little lights would glow near the air filter.
My motorcycle had a manual choke, good for cold starts and getting the motorcycle to move forward faster in first without much throttle.
Might be a good idea and very useful to film a series explaining how all the different components in a car work.
I agree. I like driving cars and reminiscing about the cars of my youth but I have no mechanical knowledge at all.
I had a 1.3 Ford Escort with an after market manual choke. The car started perfectly for me but my wife at the time was totally unable to start the car from cold. Teaching her how to use the choke was like trying to teach a dead man French.
My 66 beetle has the auto choke, 61 was the first year for the auto choke on the beetle.
Great video 👍👍
Very nice explenation!
Amazing video.
Just got a classic car, Peugeot 309 1.1 from 1991, and was trying to find out how could i use the manual choke.
Thanks!
Sadly, I think the last time I operated a choke was in 1992, on my N reg Morris Marina, that sadly bit the dust that year. Only to be replaced by a Volvo 245 with an automatic choke.
Good explanation of the Choke mate.👍👍
Well, I suggest you leave it to the experts ! I've suggest he do it again !
Thanks for the explanation Ian, to be honest I hadn't fully understood how a choke works. I've never driven a car with a manual choke.
I have an Escort 79 with Automatic Choke it works with the coolant, it works brilliantly, almost Inyection 😍
HubNut technical explanation!
Surely this is knowledge every person if born with? Im only 28 but I remember adjusting the choke on my mums mini on winter mornings before going to school. Two out of the three bikes I own still have chokes but I think carbs were still used a lot later on bikes then cars.
Really enjoyed that Ian, and you know, I actually received some edumecation, thanks to your tutorial! My Zafira, aka Uncle Bobo, has twin injection thingie... it really is off the line like stink in it’s ‘Sports Mode’ even from just fired up after a pissy weekend.
Good video Ian. 14.7 air to 1 part petrol ,but when you choke it the ratio changes
My mum didn't understand how the choke worked on her Renault 5. She would keep starting it without pulling the choke out till it flooded. Once my neighbour showed her what to do there was no stopping her. It was a pain starting from cold anyway.
Very informative, thank you :)
Used to have one of them honda civic cars with the twin carb too, pretty nifty it was too.
Skoda Estelle has the choke next to the hand brake. Best place for it in my opinion as you can nudge it off slowly without having to press something under the dash. Don't forget to prime the carburettor with the manual pump though otherwise it won't start even with the choke!
i have 1956 Mercedes here with a manual choke (it's a german choke,not a spanish choke) . When I first started working in a garage,all ordinary cars had chokes,only the expensive euro and American based cars had automatic chokes. I had an older lady come in with her hilman 10 which was smoking pretty badly. It was mostly black petrol smoke so I guessed (wrongly ) that it was a carb fault. What I saw was her shopping bag hanging from the choke knob. which was pulled right out . A few minutes explaining that the choke wasn't a handy hook and how to use the choke properly and she was set to go .
Jesus, been 30 years since i last pulled a choke on. A 79 Vauxhall 2.3 Magnum
The latest car I drove with a choke was '93 Rover Metro. It also had a catalytic converter; a very odd combo I always thought!
My Escort MK4 (89 G) 1.3 HCS has a manual choke, one of the last fords to be manual i think, all the MK5s were automatic , 1 year later.
They were. They used coolant to open the valve.
Butterfly valve, sir!
In the cold of winter my Fiesta Finesse 1.1 on a D plate started with less than half a tun of the crank with zero choke. Carburettor cleaned out thoroughly.
My first car was a 1990 Suzuki Alto (0.8 litre, 31 horsepower). That also had a manual choke. Bought it for 225 euro and it always started 👍🏻
Have you reviewed a Trabant?
The worst chokes often called the strangler in the US were the automatic ones which worked on a bimetallic strip, fine when the engine was really cold but drive down the road until the engine is warm stop the car then get back in fifteen twenty minuets later and the damned choke had closed but the engine was still warm as the carburetor cooled faster than the engine, the engine would then be very hard to start.
Well explained!
Funny isn't it how we now take it for granted, but back in the day (late 1980's for me), we had to use choke, especially in the Winter. I had a MK1 Fiesta with a really good choke control. My Austin 1300 has a SU carb and the first thing the choke lever does is set higher revs, then when pulled out further it chokes. I have no idea if this is the same for all manual choke cars. Mine hardly needs choke since an engine re-build and new carb body.
In the USA automatic chokes where a thing from the late 60s.....reliability was spotty over the long haul and savvy drivers often converted to manual choke.
Ah, the good old days ! The last car I had with single carb & manual choke was a 1989 Fiesta 1.4 Ghia .
There have been ladies who allegedly pulled out the choke so they could hang their handbag on it........
Yikes
I actually know a lady who did just that - her husband couldn't understand why she complained so much about a spluttering engine until one night she was kind enough to give him a lift home from the pub. First time he'd been in the car when she was driving.
@@saddoncarrs6963 Big yikes!
It used to be an oft told joke, but I suspect it must have happened.
Blimey, how did I get this old and not know what "choke" actually meant. Thanks for the informative video.
"Youngest" car i recall with a manual choke was my grans 1993 L reg Rover Metro 1.1 (i think) Tahiti.
I was 8 when she got it in 98 and that was how i knew about them so early on.
Yes Ilearned on one.
I cringed when the DI made me use the choke to up the revs for a hill start.
That took 40000 miles of its life.
NEVER buy an ex Driv Inst car.
Haha it was when BL was facing MAJOR problems too ...... I though oh nice one mate, thats gonna help alot......
David Farmer use it to help for a hill start?! That's a crazy idea...I get the theory behind it but as you say, it'll do more damage than good
@@lewishart9698 A LOT more.
The drivng instructor got a new car every year so he didnt care.
This was a well known company in the 80,s i dont know if they are still going.
My brother is an engineer, Ill spare you his language when I told him.
Worth saying of course that operating the choke closes the upper butterfly and creates a higher vacuum to 'suck' more fuel from the jet(s) thus increasing the fuel/air ratio