EMPI 32/36 Choke

[tartan18]

My EMPI 32/36 choke plates are locked in the full open position (no choke). Depressing the accelerator fully when the engine is stone cold does not release the choke plates. Starting the car when it has sat overnight requires 5-6 pumps on the accelerator. Then the car starts right up. Once started it runs as long as I keep pressure on the throttle (1000+/- rpm). If I release the accelerator the car will stall. I have 12v on the electric choke when the ignition is on. Once the engine warms up it idles great and restarts are no problem. The fast idle screw is about 1/2 way engaged. I live in western Oregon so not having a choke is not a major problem but having a working choke would ease my mind. Any ideas of what is causing the choke plates to be locked open (no choke)?

[donm]

Your carb is a clone of my Weber 3236 and i had the exact same problem last fall. You can't see it until you do some disassembly, but the diaphram seen on the right side of your picture has a notched rod extending from it that's supposed to slide back and forth under certain circumstances. There's a notched ring that supposed to keep the rod from rotating while it slides. In my case, the notched ring had become dislodged from where it was press-fitted into position and when that happens the rod will rotate, locking the choke open. If you remove the choke bimetalic spring housing and the white plastic cover underneath it you'll see what I mean. I had to remove the entire electric choke assembly to my workbench and hammer the notched ring back into position.

[tartan18]

Thanks for the insight. Very helpful. I am going to pull my car's engine this summer to have the car painted so I will repair the carb at that time unless I get ambitious