Vauxhall Cavalier (1988 - 1995) - 1.6 - pierburg carb settings

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 18 Oct 2007 21:29
1.6 - pierburg carb settings - scrumpyjax
Sorry guys,another pierburg problem---My vaux 1600 has a pierburg 2E carb and it's always been a pain.
I don't want another winter with choke hassle so I must fix it.
It fires up ok and runs for a few secs then goes onto megachoke and runs slower and slower until it dies.
I can keep it running by using the accelerator,the engine speed will increase ,but it's still chugging away.
After a couple of mins it will run well enough to drive.
I've checked all the vacuum pipes and the power to the auto choke and vacuum switch-OK.
What else should I be doing??---I also think that the thermostat is stuck open 'cos the gauge takes a week to get going and the heater is never really hot but I don't think this will effect the cold start problem--will it??
Any advice please?!!

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 18/10/2007 at 22:24

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 19 Oct 2007 10:31
1.6 - pierburg carb settings - sierraman
Yes it will as the autochoke has coolant directed to it to heat the bi-metallic coil.I think there is an electric heater as well,a small coil inside the choke operating unit,this may well have corroded.If it still gives problems when these are sorted you could tweak the setting so the choke comes off a bit quicker,find the alignment marks,three on the carb,one on the operating unit(round,with a hose on each side).This should be aligned with the central mark,slacken the clamp screws and move the unit to the outer mark in the direction that the choke flap moves to open(a/c I think).
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 19 Oct 2007 12:22
1.6 - pierburg carb settings - Number_Cruncher
then goes onto megachoke and runs slower and slower until it dies.

I can keep it running by using the accelerator,the engine speed will increase ,but it's still chugging away.


Is the choke pull down working properly? Looking from the front of the car, into the engine bay, with the air filter off, it's the large black vacuum diaphragm on the front right hand side of the carb. If you suck on the vacuum pipe, you should see the mechanism move, and be able to build up vacuum. If you can just keep sucking fresh air, the diaphragm is split.

Another difficult fault on these carbs is the bi-metal spring in the autochoke can break loose of its mountings. To check this, take the auto choke off, and try and wiggle the central pin which holds the spring to the housing - if it wiggles, you need a new one.

Check to make sure that the choke mechanism is all free and working - it should be oiled during a service, but I suspect many mechanics more used to fuel injection will forget about that service aspect.

Number_Cruncher
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide