I have to adjust the auto-choke "in reverse"

[gr_diver]

There is something weird about my electric choke, which has been that way as long as I remember...

My choke was initially and perfectly set in autumn, right in the middle of the temperature range of my country. It would come off just as the engines temperature got out of the "blue-zone".

When then winter approaches, the lower temperatures make the choke close tighter and stay on for much longer than necessary. So I remove some tension, and then it operates fine for the season.

Then spring comes, and the temps go up, now the choke comes off too early and I have to tighten back to where I had it at autumn. Then it will be fine until...

...summer comes, and then need some more tightening, because it will again come off too early! I compensate again and then...

...autumn comes, and due to the lower temps it again stays on for too long, and have to remove tension....

and this is how it goes!!!!

Why do I need to set it the other way around? The choke spring is nice, clean , fully functional, and not distorted! It is not a big deal, cause I have made 3 marks of the choke element for "HOT - MID - COLD" weather and it is very easy to adjust, but makes me curious...

[GTJIM]

I would guess it is something to do with underhood air temperature and carb heat due to the colder air in winter "freezing" the carb so that it takes longer for the bi-metallic strip to heat up in cold weather. Less tension brings its opening point back to where it is working correctly again - and visa-versa for summer time.

[tekenaar]

. . . seasonal choke adjustments are really nothing new. All the manuals for carbureted cars in the US stated a suggestion to do exactly that if car became 'temperamental' during cold start and warm-up. Of course, this was much more necessary in climates with wide ranging seasonal temperatures.

[opelbits]

The Weber I had on my Manta would cool down enough during a highway run in cold temperatures to start closing the choke. Even after a thirty mile run, if I stopped to get gas, the choke would be partially closed and the fast idle would be engaged.
Plus, if I stopped somewhere for 20 minutes or more, the bimetallic spring would cool down and the fast idel would be engaged. This was frustrating when doing some running around, like around Christmas. I was almost always driving with the choke on.
I was much happier with the hot water chokes in the cooler parts of the year.

The Ford's in 70's had electric chokes, but also had the heater hose cradled in a metal bracket attached to the choke housing. The electrical part would heat the spring faster and the heat from the heater hose would keep everything nice and warm for quite awhile with the engine off. Since I have the electric choke carb on the car, I may make something similar and use the hose that would normally run to the water choke.

[gr_diver]

Originally Posted by tekenaar . . . seasonal choke adjustments are really nothing new. All the manuals for carbureted cars in the US stated a suggestion to do exactly that if car became 'temperamental' during cold start and warm-up. Of course, this was much more necessary in climates with wide ranging seasonal temperatures.

Seasonal choke adjustments are needed, but in my case I have to adjust it in the opposite way than normal. Usually, when cold weather comes, people have to increase the tension of the spring, so that the choke will not come off prematurely. In my car though, the low temperature makes the spring the spring close tighter, so I have to loosen it a bit to avoid the choke being engaged for longer than necessary... This is something I have not heard before, so I thought I might ask to see if anybody has experienced it before...

And as I see opelbits has...

[opelbits]

What is your temp range where you live? The problems I was having were usually below 32 F (0 C). It was the worst when the temps were down below 20 F.

[gr_diver]

I live in Greece, the South East border of Europe! We have about +35*C (+95*F) in mid summer and the average colder experience during the winter is about -10*C (14*F). We get both the central Europe's winter, AND north Africa's summer!