Choke Light Issue

Talk about the E-Type Series 1

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gilli67
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Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: Australia
Australia

#1 Choke Light Issue

Post by gilli67 » Sun Feb 17, 2019 5:57 am

Hello
Looking for advice regarding my S1 65 FHC, please?
The orange choke light stays on and will not turn off.
I have been advised it is ok and it only a faulty bulb.
I can not push the choke lever all the way down once the car is warm.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks

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Simonpfhc
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#2 Re: Choke Light Issue

Post by Simonpfhc » Sun Feb 17, 2019 8:31 am

Hi there,

It won’t be the bulb (faulty bulbs stay off , not on). It will be the switch which is turned off only once the lever is fully down as it is attached to the switch bracket.

Your problem will probably be the way the cable is attached at the carbs. Specifically, the cable is terminated under the rear carb and then linked to the middle and front carbs with rods. Firstly, you should release the cable clamp under the rear carb and confirm that you can slide the choke lever fuly down and that the light extinguishes. From then on, you will need to set up as per WSM.

Cheers.
Simon
62 3.8 FHC
91 Porsche 928GT
Find me on Instagram and Facebook @oldcarfixer

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abowie
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#3 Re: Choke Light Issue

Post by abowie » Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:29 pm

As Simon says your problem is maladjustment of the choke cable which is pretty common. What you need to achieve is to adjust the choke cable so that the choke lever can remain in the fully off position.

This will involve some horrible contortions under the carbies and the loss of some skin, and can be an annoying fiddle even with a helper in the cabin pushing the lever. Basically you loosen off the tiny pinch bolt on the cable, push the chokes on the carbs to the fully off position, push the lever in the cabin fully off and then tighten the pinch bolt. This is usually successful.

If this doesn't work, you can access the choke light switch and the back of the lever by removing the tacho (on a RHD car). It is held in place with 2 knurled nuts at the rear up under the dash. Once you have these off you can lift the tacho out and disconnect the wires. Disconnect your battery first; if you have the clock in the tacho it's brown or orange power feed wire is live all the time and always shorts out.

This gives you reasonable access to the choke lever mechanism. Once here you have the options to tighten the lever ratchet mechanism, to adjust the position of the switch itself and it is also possible to adjust the cable itself although from memory it's very tight in there.

Good luck. If you happen to live in Adelaide send me a PM and I'll give you a hand.
Andrew.
881824, 1E21538. 889457. 1961 4.3l Mk2. 1975 XJS. 1962 MGB
http://www.projectetype.com/index.php/the-blog.html
Adelaide, Australia

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Lodgebaker
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#4 Re: Choke Light Issue

Post by Lodgebaker » Wed Feb 20, 2019 1:08 pm

Hello Paul here. I had this problem a few weeks ago and it was a simple fix - remove the cover under the dash to left of steering wheel column (over your left knee if you were sitting in car) to reveal the choke cable attachment to the switch and adjust there so that switch will close then tighten. Also you should note that the choke cable is a tight fit to the cover when you put it back on so i have now just rested the cover in place (still quite firm) as when i screw it back in properly the cover pushes on the cable and so the switch rises a little and here is another reason light stays on. So for me i adjusted under dash by steering wheel and i only hand fitted the cover back rather than screw it in tight. That has worked and seems fine now.

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