How to Adjust Electric Choke on an Edelbrock Carb

by Jack Hathcoat
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roadster classic image by Denise Kappa from Fotolia.com

Edelbrock manufactures carburetors for classic cars and street performance machines. They offer two basic models that fit a large number of engine sizes made by different manufacturers. To accommodate cold starting requirements where additional fuel is needed, Edelbrock provides manual choke setups and electric choke designs. The manual choke has a dash-mounted knob that operates a cable to open and close the choke plate, while the electric version uses a electrically heated coil that expands as it heats to open the plate.

Step 1

Open the hood of the car and remove the air cleaner. On the right side of the carburetor, locate a black, round disc held in place by three screws. Two wires are plugged into the disc and provide power to heat the internal coil that expands and contracts to open and close the choke plate.

Step 2

Loosen the screws, but do not remove them. On top of the choke are index marks, and the factory preset is midway between the marks. If the choke is indexed further to the right, the engine will receive more fuel when it is cold. If it is moved left, it receives less fuel. Adjust the choke according to the way the car runs when it is cold. If it stumbles and backfires, it is too lean and needs more fuel. If it bogs down and is non-responsive under acceleration, it is too rich and needs less fuel.

Step 3

Tighten the screws and test-drive the car. The only way to tell if the choke is set properly is trial and error. If the car runs properly after setting the choke, no further adjustments are needed, however, if the performance is still lacking, wait several hours for the engine and choke coil to fully cool before making further adjustments.

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