Choke light on, wont start :(

[Wbago]

Mechanic replaced plugs leads and rotor/dizzy the other day, ran like a dream . . ..
next day, started fine, ran fine  .. . .. all perfect, ran her for an hour to warm her up, all good ...
today, starts, but choke light comes on, doesnt go off, after couple of minutes engine stumbles and stops, im assuming cause the choke is stuck on .... now battery seems low, wont turn over fast enough to start

called mechanic, but its easter weekend, dunno if hes gonna get here or not

and things were going so well too, dammit 

[joev]

check battery calbles and voltage charge batteries up check alternator belt and see if its there and tight low battery will cause all kinds of issues. Allways check easy stuff first battery ,battery terminials, grounds, belts, and go from there .

[Wbago]

ya, chassis battery is low, think ill swap it out anyhoo ..

if this mech turns up, ill see if itll just start on a jump now, if so that might be all it is, i hope

[TripleJ]

It sounds to me like the battery might not be getting a charge. A bad battery wouldn't have started to begin with. 

A cold start is harder on a battery than a restart. No restart makes me think alternator

[Stripe]

Agreed, TripleJ and joev are probably right about the charger and battery.  I had same situation with my '77 and the HR.  Ended up being voltage regulator on both.

[Lefty]

Since an electric choke works by applying 12v power to an induction coil, it is entirely possible that a short in that circuit could drain a battery dead. If it is staying energized even with the ignition off. You can check that with a simple test light, or a multi-meter.

[Wbago]

Mechanic arrived, hooked up a volt meter to the chassis battery, 12.2v ...
turn the key, drops to 6 while cranking, dont start . ..

hooked up a booster battery, turn key, starts first time, volts go to 13.9 (charging) and the choke light stays for 3 seconds, goes out, choke comes off engine, settles to nice tickover

seems the battery is crapola, new one today if i get chance ...
also checked the power to the choke coil, seems fine, so i'll get the battery and see if thats all it was
he also noticed a fuse missing from the relays in the battery bay, might be for the momentary connection switch, which lets me use the coach battery to start the engine, which apparently would have probably worked too lol  D:oH!

cheers for the pointers tho ppl

[Stripe]

cheers for the pointers tho ppl

You're welcome!
Gotta love that AUX start feature.  I have it on the "Aluminum Goose" It works both ways too.  If house batts are too low to start the genny for some reason, I can use the Chassis battery to start it and vice versa.

BTW, if the mechanic is a Blues fan, get a second opinion..  GO MILLWALL FIGHT CLU.. ER, I mean FOOTBALL CLUB!!!   :)rotflmao

[Wbago]

Lol

personally i dont do the football thing, but ive done a stack of tattoos of the badge lol ...

actually, mechanic is a real old skool, mechanical type bloke, hard to find these days .. has used, dirty spanners, and knows how to use em, not scared of the rain or the cold, pretty cheap too
he's done me good favours time and again, i cant fault him ... he's not tinkered with these engines at all tho, so learning together is gonna be the key i think

credit where its due, always

[Stripe]

Hehe, Nice.  Sounds like my Gramps...  Miss him..

[Wbago]

Quickie update - - -

the Bago has started well for 3 days running now, seems like the new battery was the thing, im seeing a flicker on the choke light occasionally, im thinking i might still have an iffy connection somewhere, but i cant find it

gonna go for a drive as soon as i can, just to check out the pull, etc, bit of nerves about getting stranded, but it feels like time to try it out, fault finding is always a touchy time  ....

thnx again for the pointers

[Wbago]

Flickering choke light was a dodgy connection in the ignition barrel, behind the key .. . on turning, itd connect, start, then drop the connection to the alternator, lighting the choke light  .. .
finally spotted it when i sat listening to the radio, then started the engine, and the radio didnt come back on .. . .jiggled the  key and it came back on, so i poked about a bit ....

another day, another thingy fixed

[legomybago]

A lot of the time is just that simple little "hint" that you've been waiting for, then you can fix the problem....That is what being a mechanic is about, knowing when to recognize those hints...Good find

[Wbago]

now pondering on swapping out the old keyswitch, replacing with a shiny new one and a start button lol

[Wbago]

OK, so just to be sure i pop out the choke light (nosey aint i?) and i find its actually 2 lights, one is the choke, the other has no bulb, and a lump of paper shoved in it !!


whats the light for, and should it be connected ? ?

[legomybago]

I think the other light is an "Engine" light??? Wierd, I dont know how or why though i??

[Stripe]

Was there another indicator in front of where the "other bulb" was?

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

My guess is it is a Check Engine light used with the Air pump system.

Key ON, Engine Off - Light comes ON for 1-2 seconds then goes Out.
Engine Start - Light comes ON for 3 to 6 seconds then goes Out.
Light stays ON there is a problem in the AIR system.

Dave

[Wbago]

the light doesnt seem to work at any time lol .. . .

i spent 3 hours today trying to remove the ignition key switch ... and failed ...
swore at it a lot, still didnt budge, cant seem to find the lil button thingy in the hole

[ramit]

if i recall correctly you need to put key in accessory. position depress button and turn key backwards toward accessory position

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

I think it is:
1. Turn ignition switch to off position and leave the key in the switch.
2. Disconnect the battery.
3. Take a small diameter. paper clip and insert it into the small hole in the face of the ignition switch. You will feel a small button that you depress.
4. While depressing the button, turn the key to the accessory position (counter clockwise) and using the key remove the cylinder.
5. You can now remove the bezel by unscrewing it CCW.
6. This will allow you to remove the ignition switch from the dash and disconnect the wire harness plug from the rear of the switch.
7. They don't always come apart easily , and may require some Jiggling of the key and the wire.

Dave

[Oz]

I apologize.  I thought the topic had been solved, but it looks like there's still a problem with that light?  I don't want to mark it as solved if you're still having a problem.

[Wbago]

Um . . .depends how you look at it lol

i THINK the choke light is only a result of the connection in the ignition switch, which drops the first stage connection in the switch when the starter turns ....
im hoping that if i can get the darned barrel out, i can remove the assembly, and replace it ... (standard motor products pt. no. US-84) ....

if all that happens, im good

mark solved if you like, im pretty confident the ignition is the source, theory is that the dropped live to the wiring loom causes the choke light to be on because theres no link to the alternator, causing no live FROM the alternator (charge circuit), which turns off the choke light ...

metaphorically, the head bone's connected to the neck bone, etc

7. They don't always come apart easily , and may require some Jiggling of the key and the wire.

they not kidding  D:oH!

[Wbago]

finally got the barrel out today, parts now ordered, 2 weeks plus till they arrive ....

the button wasnt directly under the hole as indicated, but sort of half way between off and aux ... finally sussed it by marking the places i tried, moving slightly each time .. .

started her before i tinkered with it, fired right up, 3 minutes and shes ticking over smooth and clean, plenty power, all the dials work, darn stereo even got some dylan on, old girl was saying 'lets go for a drive' and everything . .. . .
.. so today the sweet spot in the switch was fine lol ....

[Wbago]

Update - 20 Days later

Switch arrived this morning, complete with new key ... after initial pre-fit, i find that the original body has been modified to fit the winnie/chevy dash (thank you winnebago builders), allowing for fit in a thicker panel .. . one new hacksaw and file later, and its in . ..
refit filter, turn the key ......

starts after a couple of turns, fires right up, runs a bit lumpy, bit of black smoke, 5 mins later its all good, settles into its rythm, sweet as a nut, all the gauges working, johnny mathis on radio, i sat for 20 mins, smoked a ciggie and drank some tea, heater came on (didnt blow hot before) and no funny noises or smells. ...

if it starts good for a few days running, ill take it for a drive, and see whats wot

thanks for all the advice and such thats gotten me this far, ppl . .. TYILYA