cold start or engine idle

[chester rides again]

as the morning are growing a bit colder up here in northern NY, i'm finding it necessary to use either the cold start or the engine idle lever to get the truck going in the morning.

when i use the cold start, the engine fires right up, but runs real rough - i would say "rich", i then switch over and increase the engine idle up to about 1,000 or so rpm's and shut the cold start down, and the engine purrs nicely.

is this the proper technique for cold starting? does the cold start need some adjustment? i didn't have any luck just increasing the engine idle lever, but had to resort to the cold start THEN the engine idle.

[luckyjoe]

On a Zenith carb, you can adjust the choke actuating rod to raise revs as well as apply choke. The rod is on the bulkhead-side of the carb, actuated by the choke cable. For reference, a straight-ish rod will apply choke first, and a J-shaped rod will raise revs first. This is an over-simplified explanation, as you do not need much of a bend to change the actuation balance of revs : choke! A very slight bend will give you the revs you're after with very little choke cable pull.

Regards,

[chester rides again]

i was somewhat under the impression that both the choke/cold start and the engine idle lever did the same thing. apparently that is wrong. does the engine idle lever just act like the gas peddle while the choke/cold start functions by adding more fuel to the existing mixture?

[singingcamel]

cold start is your choke.
you can adjust the throttle linkage on your carb.:)

[Terrys]

As Tom P says, adjust the choke level to throttle level by bending the arm as necessary to get The following: Full opening of choke cable gives full choke and advances idle speed; Pushed in within about 1/4" to 3/8" opens the choke fully without lowering the idle speed; All the way in is no choke no idle increase. Cold start is UK for Choke. Yes it richens the fuel / air mixture. Not by increaseing the fuel, per se, but by reducing the air.