manual choke

[dan no1]

i bought a �300 h reg ford fiesta a couple of weeks ago.  its ok apart from the manual choke which i absolutley hate!! once i get it going and put the choke back in, its ok, until i park up and leave it for just half an hour or so.  after only half an hour it wont start, even with the choke and my foot on the floor on the gas pedal (the way i usually start it).  does anyone know why?  i'm beginning to hate my first car! thanks

[philh]

Hi, I have a great F Reg Fiesta as my first car too, I've had it for about a month now and it's taken me a while to get used to it, especially the manual choke (and no power steering :'( )
What is happening with your car sounds strange, because usually in half an hour the car doesnt get cold enough to have difficulty starting. I usually bring the choke out, turn the key and listen to the engine before I put my foot gently on the accelerator to rev it up and really get the engine going. I'd suggest trying keeping the choke out, halfway or all out when starting the car and different degress of pressure on the accelerator. Also make sure you're battery is OK, because I've had that problem too. One more tip: having the choke out uses more petrol!
If you have any more questions just shout, don't know if I've been of any help but good luck anyway!
phil

[Fitzer]

If the car is fully warmed up before you leave it for the half hour you shouldn't need any choke to restart it, it could be that you're giving it too much petrol which is just as bad as too little. You also shouldn't start a car with your foot flat on the accelerator as the sudden burst in revs when starting from cold will ruin the engine as the oil won't have had time to circulate. If you've only recently got the car do you know how long ago the plugs were changed and what state the distributor is in? Basically you're going to have to go down the road of eliminating possible causes one by one, are you getting a good spark, is the fuel getting to the cylinders ok, is there a good earth on the block, is the distributor cap worn or cracked, are the HT leads in good nick. Sorry but there are a large amount of possible causes and without actually seeing the problem it's not going to be easy for anyone to diagnose the problem first time.

[Jay70]

Oh yes the fun of a manual choke.  I have an old Pug309 with a manual choke which has no faults but does involve some skill and practise to master starting esp after getting used to a car with an auto choke.  You may find this helpfull

To start from cold : Pull the choke out all the way and dont touch the accelerator.

From warm (ie very short journey): Pull the choke out a little.

From Hot: Dont pull out the choke at all but just press the accellerator slightly and turn the key.

I sometimes go to drive my car after driving my other auto choke car and end up flooding it.  Oh what fun.

Also on my car there is an adjustment on the air intake pipe to the air filter which can be altered depending on wether its autum/winter or spring/summer this also has quite an effect on starting. 

I think the old CVH Fiesta engine's have something similar from memory.  Good Luck

[jcdunne]

I've just inherited the exact same car - H reg ford fiesta 1.1? Got it yesterday and had the SAME problem completely - pulled the choke out full as it hadn't been started for a couple of weeks, got it out of the garage, left it on the driveway for half an hour, came back and it wouldn't start. A jump from a friendly neighbours battery did the trick. The advice i've been given so far is that pulling the choke out all the way is not a good thing, as you can flood the engine. What we think happened to me yesterday is that because it didnt start first time, and I flooded the engine then kept trying, it drained the already pretty empty battery. Having spoken to my parents, who've both owned their share of manual choke cars, the best bet is as was said above - if cold, pull it out, if its warm, only a little way or leave it in. My mum said she used to pull her choke out a little way, try it, then a bit more if it didnt go, etc etc until it did. I dont think you have to put your foot on the accelerator until the engine has started... not sure though. Does anyone know exactly how a choke works - is it to do with getting the right fuel/air ratio? I'm a novice driver with very limited car knowledge, so any advice gratefully received!

[dan no1]

jcdunne, thanks for your answer, i thought it was just me with the oldest car in the world!!  i've had it for almost a month now, and i've just about got used to it.  no, its not a good thing to pull the choke out fully unless the car is iced up.  with the weather being a little warmer lately, i have just been pulling the choke out a little and using a little gas to start the engine. once i get going, i gradually put the choke back in and after about just under a mile before the choke goes in completely. then its ok (don't leave the choke out too long or you'll end up stranded with your hazard lights on at some traffic lights like i did cos i flooded the engine).  i now know that after leaving car for about half an hour to an a hour and restarting the engine, you dont really need any choke at all.  because i have flooded the engine (again!) by using choke again and it wouldn't start and had to wait a coupla hours for the AA man and he started it first time!!

i think the choke gives the engine more petrol, but not too sure.  anyway good luck with it and lemme know how you get on!  PS - do you use red 4 star petrol?