Choke light/high temp.

[CRYPTIC86]

ok guys...

got an '86 suburban, 350, 2wd....... ok...

trucks been fine, no overheating, idles normally, timing is good, no rare incidences... its fine.
today, the choke light stays on after startup, never turns off. so im just sittin there, wondering WTH is this, staring at it for about 5 minutes..lol...waiting. cut the engine, check what i can see of the carb, start it up again, and the same thing. then i notice the temperature guage is reading about 100+ degrees what it should be. i wait again for that to change. it doesnt.

so... im guessing thermostat.  and also the temperature sending unit maybe...in regards to the choke light.

any other ideas?

[Blazin]

If they both started acting up at the same time it might be electrical. It said it was to hot. Did it actually overheat? If it didn't I would again lean toward an electrical issue.

[CRYPTIC86]

nah, it definately didnt over heat. it was cold, hadnt been started for a good 4 hours. and the drive before the last start was perfectly normal.

[chevy754x4]

I'd start by looking for some kind of short in the wiring for the gauges and make darn sure you don't have a missing ground connection or something of that sort. 

[CRYPTIC86]

thank you for the replies... heres some updates
so, talking to a mechanic friend, i found out that one of the wires running from one of the temperature sending units to the carb had been sitting on a part of the block, melted, and... yeah. so the temp GUAGE issue is fixed. we did see water leaking out of the thermostat housing, and the smaller of the upper radiator hoses is pumping way more than it should. lowers are not getting as hot as they should.

AND im now having an issue with the battery guage. needle's laying down to the left, like no volts/amps. so... we're gonna be fixing up a lot of wiring.

and the choke light is still on... might need a carb adjustment

what a headache 

[CRYPTIC86]

LOL! 

no cussing on this forum???


thank you captain 

[VileZambonie]

Diagnosis & Testing
Possible conditions for the electric choke not operating properly are listed as follows (use a voltmeter to check oil pressure and choke coil circuits):


Low or no engine oil pressure.
Faulty oil pressure switch.
No current to oil pressure switch due to:
Burned out fuse.
Broken wire to oil pressure switch.
No current between choke and oil pressure switch due to:
Broken lead wire.
Wire terminal not properly secured on coil terminal.
Faulty ground circuit between choke assembly and housing grounding plate.
Faulty choke coil assembly.
If it is determined that the choke coil assembly is inoperative, the following test must be made:


Remove choke coil from carburetor. After removal of choke coil, allow coil to cool to room temperature.
Connect a ``jumper'' wire between positive battery terminal and choke coil terminal assembly. Connect a second ``jumper'' wire between negative battery terminal and choke coil assembly grounding plate.
The tang on the choke coil should rotate 45°in 54-90 seconds.
If choke coil does not rotate or exceeds the 54-90 second time limit, replace choke coil.
If coil is within specification, check steps 1 thru 5 for possible cause.

[CRYPTIC86]

thank you vile, some good info there