Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Hey gents,

I recently rebuilt my original 1969 Rochester 2 barrel and had to upgrade the divorced choke to an electric choke. Got everything from Mikes Carb's, installed and tuned. Everything seems to work fine except now my battery drains every couple of days. I ran the power source through my firewall and back to the fuse panel and plugged it into the IGN UNFUSED port. I have always thought that those two connectors were 'Key On' so it shouldnt provide power unless the key was in the on position. Am I missing something here?

Prior to the electric choke, everything was working fine and i did not have any battery draining issues. Also, would leaving the key in the ignition in the 'off' position cause it to pull power? Appreciate any help.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Got a test lamp to verify on or off?

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Welcome aboard. Leaving the key in the ignition should not cause the battery to be drained.
The first thing I would do is test the circuit to make sure it is de-energizing when the key is off. Use a test light or a voltmeter and hook one lead to the power lead you ran from the fuse box to the choke. The other to a good ground or the negative post on the battery. With the key on you should have at least 12 volts and it should go to zero when the key is switched off.
If not then things get more involved.
Can you post a picture of the fuse panel and identify which wire you are using for the choke? That may help us solve your problem.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

I think you have picked always on power source

1 check with your voltmeter that power still goes to the electric choke even with the truck off

2 is the wire going through a grommet in the fire wall

Wiring going through sheetmetal with no grommet is a potential source of dead shorts to ground which may cause electrical fires

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

HO455 Here is a picture of the box, i circled the wire that is the lead for the choke.

I have a voltmeter and tested the choke with ignition off (0.0 showing), with ignition on (4.9 showing). Doesnt appear that the choke is sucking anything when ignition is in Off position.

The lead is run through the grommet that is used for the oil pressure gauge (no damage to the wire, no risk of fire).

I just recharged my battery and will leave the choke disconnected for now and check the battery in a couple of days to determine if anything else could potentially be draining it - although I dont think that is the case.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Does your voltmeter have the capability of measuring amps?

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Yes, i have amp capabilities on my meter.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

You can troubleshoot the problem with a amp meter. First thing is check the capability of the meter. Some are only good for milliamps which may not work for this application.
The next question is do you have an aftermarket stereo? If so it will most likely have a draw on the battery with the key off. Usually there is a specific wire for the clock and memory functions. You will want to isolate that wire from the power circuit before starting.
Once that is done a simple check is to remove the negative battery cable and then touch it to the post. Do you see any sparks? If so then something is drawing power.
Is the spark loud and bright similar to a spark plug spark? If so then it is a fairly large drain that would need a meter capable of measuring 10 or more amps. Any less and you are likely to blow an internal fuse in the meter.
So moving forward set your meter up to measure DC amps. (If you are unsure how the link to the video should help)
Now with the key off you will need to put the meter in line with the negative battery lead. With the negative lead still disconnected put the black lead to the negative post and the red lead to the negative cable. Turn the key on and check what the meter is reading. If you are reading amperage then start pulling fuses one at a time until the meter drops to zero. You may also have to disconnect other components that are not fused but wired into the panel (like your choke)
If when you turn the key on and have disconnected the wire to the radio and there is no amperage reading try reconnecting the l stereo lead and see what the meter shows. It should be down in the milliamps range. If it is higher the stereo may be the problem.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

https://www.google.com/search?client...-4sQWS4q6gDw34

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Thanks for the advice. I am going to give it a shot later today...I'll let you know what i find.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Well, i tried your idea HO455. went step by step as you instructed.

No spark when i disconnect negative and touch it back to post.
attached multimeter to negative cable and to negative post. Key off no reading whatsoever. When i turn the headlights on, i can see its drawing power (that was my test to ensure multimeter was working). When I turn the key on, i can see power being pulled. key off, no reading on meter.

Im stumped. Im now questioning whether or not the actual electric choke is now faulting-since something was obviously draining the battery before.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

If there is no drain, as evidenced by your test, it's possible the battery is not holding a charge (bad battery). According to your test, the choke element is not your problem. Here's one last test.. Slow charge the battery for a few hours.. Leave the cables disconnected and let it set overnight.. If the battery is low the next day, the battery is bad.. If it held it's charge, your drain test is somehow flawed...

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Well it appears that you don't seem to have a grounded circuit. Good news right?
You still don't have smoking gun though.
At this point I would put the battery on a charger and fully charge the battery. With the charger disconnected check the voltage and then let it sit overnight and recheck the voltage. The voltage should not drop. (Or very little) If it does then there is problem with the battery.
Have you checked the voltage while starting?

Or do what the quick writing RustyPile says.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

im going to try to do that tonight/tomorrow. Thanks all.

Re: Electric Choke Issues '69 C10
 

Great minds think alike......... Just not always at the same speed... :lol: