maestro choke

[Guest]

hi guys i have read all the items about the choke and the conversion the problem i am haveing is lots of pre ignition and poor starting. so today i decided to check the valve for power and that seems fine but i am getting a realy poor power supply at the stepper motor. i left the stepper motor unpluged this afternoon and drove it home ran fine but wasnt to keen on ticking over any advise would be appreciated

[BIGDAVE]

re auto choke

i had a new maestro in 1984 and my dad in 1985.my dads started playing up after a couple of years so i changed his to a manuel choke and it was very sucessfull so i did my own they was both 12.75 hatchbacks and the engines are still running today thou not on the road

[Guest]

auto choke

i would convert it but there are no kitts to be had and the car has now refused to start
i am finding this the most unhelpfull forum i have ha the pleasure of joining thanks for your reply BIGDAVE

[E_T_V]

i am finding this the most unhelpfull forum i have ha the pleasure of joining thanks for your reply BIGDAVE

With an attitude like that you'll probably not get much help either!

With no detail on which engine you have it is hard to be definitive but usually an allegedly malfunctioning choke is actually something else.

Check/change the O rings on the autochoke
Check/disconnect the ORFCO valve
Check the diaphragm switch isn't broken
Check the vacuum system carefully for leaks and fix any (there are usually lots)
Clear out the vapour trap (if fitted)
Reset the timing (if applicable)
Reset the carburettor tuning (including lost motion gaps)
Unplug and replug the autochoke ecu several times to clean up the edge connector on the PCB.

[Guest]

thank you

now that didnt hurt did it lol i will get her towed to my garage on thursday were i will check all of the items you suggested thank you very much

[Guest]

my car

she is a 1600 lx automatic with 29k on the clock i am the second owner of the car it is a 1990 on an h reg very clean and i do enjoy driving it so any help i get will be very much appreciated

she broke down today and refused to restart even after an hour she didnt even reach running temp and just chugged to a hault not much fun having 1 leg and to brake down on a 60 mph road

[BIGDAVE]

re automatic

hello i had a automatic it was a d reg a little older then your one.it was fitted with the manuel choke conversion and it was difficult to start it.it had the choke ecu on top of the glove box repaired and i replaced the diaphram with a hose and tube resticted with a metal pipe and i reduced the opening with a 1mm hole it mite be a bodge job but it started first time every time

[Guest]

stepper motor

hi guys can anyone tell me how to test the stepper motor when it is off the car please

[E_T_V]

I think you need to check the resistance between all the wires to find which phase is which on the stepper motor. All phases should have roughly the same resistance. Any which are open circuit would mean the motor needs replacing.

I think there is a piece of test kit that tested the stepper motor, but they rarely fail. More likely is wiring failure to it, and more likely still is that it is set up incorrectly or a faulty autochoke ECU.

[ian drew]

If you haven't replaced or checked the fuel pump then that's often worth doing as the diaphragms often split, especially if it's original. The pumps are usually quite cheap.

Ian