garretttpe

Hi,I have 2 problems. first I have a 80 vette stock except all smog crap has been removed.
1) my choke light in the dash stays on and the car willnot kick down to low idle, when I move a small lever behind the choke with my finger all settles down nicely, when I step on the gas pedal the rpm goes up but will not settle doen again untill i move the little lever again. I have 12 volts to the choke wire but 0 volts when the wire is hooked up to the choke. Can i just diable the choke alltogether as I only drive it in the summer anyway??

2) My battery dies after 3-4 days, only thing I noticed so far is the altenantor. with car off and key removed I have 12 volts going to the wire on the terminal stud on the altinator. 1 wire is ground which is good, then the plug which is good then the other wire to the stud which is hot. Is this normal???????????

thank you all for your help
Larry

RonR80

There is a small fast idle screw under the choke , back it off 1/2 turn and try that , the screw is on the passenger side under the cam , Ron

RonR80

Has for the alternator it is normal to have power there, it's only batterie voltage , pull the fuses out one by one and see if the draw stops . Ron

tracdogg2

The alternator activates the relay for the choke. If the alternator is not charging the choke won't work. Start the car up and check the voltage at the alt. You should have 14.3 - 15.1 volts. If not the alt is bad. Don''t mess with the choke yet.
Mike

SIXFOOTER

There is a fuse for the choke that you should also check. Tracgogg2 is right about that part. The 12v you see on the wire with it disconnected is coming thru the Choke light. If you ground the wire the light will come on if the choke fuse is out or if the relay is bad. Look for the fuse first, then ohm out the choke to ground, then go after the relay. Here is a diagram

0grandmastercorvette

To find your power drain. Using a 12 volt test light. Connect it to your battery and see how bright the light gets. Remember the brightness. Now remove your negative battery cable. Clip your test light to the battery cable end and now position the pointed end in the threaded hole for the battery cable bolt. The test light should shine, ( if you have the door open and your interior courtsey light circuit is working correctly). With your drivers window already being down, close the door and note the test light. If it is still bright after 30+ seconds than you have a power drain. If it goes really dim, ( which means that the only thing powering up is the clock), than the system is fine and you have cable/charging issues. If bright, pull your courtsey/clock fuse and test again. Make sure that your underhood light is off and/or the hood closed and any lighted sunvisors. Also make sure that the ignitionis not on. If the light goes out, the problem is probably the interior timer controller that allows the interior lights to go out but WILL still draw currenbt. I have experienced this many times. If you ahev one, or get one, they make a dc amp meter that can clip around the negative cable and give you the amount of draw on a digital screen. You want to achieve ).1-0.2 AMP or 100-200 milliamps. When you start getting to 0.3-0.4 amps. The battery will die quickly. I have also experienced the alarm system horn drawing power eventhough the horn was shoty and not making a sound. Remember you have to look for circuits that are "hot" at all times, even if the key is out of the ignition. So it won't be your wipers or power windows because they only get power when the key is on. And yes, the problem can also be in your alternator and enev in the solenoid of the starter, depending on how much "hanky-pankying" around the electrical system on your car has had. GMC "DUB"

kylec3

Interesting! I just tested my alternator after reading your post and she reads between 14 and 14.2 volts in park and that number drops down to between 13 and 13.2 volts with lights turned on! Is the 1 Volt drop with lights on normal? And is 14 Volts a good output for my alternator or is she bad? This might be the root of my problems! Let me know.

SIXFOOTER

OK, so the problem is not the alternator. Hows the choke fuse?