just acquired a Y reg 1982 1300 Ghia Fiesta, which seems to have both an manual factory fitted choke AND an automatic system as well. The manual choke is disconnected at the carb end, and does not seem to work when re-connected anyway. The auto choke is also not working properly, not opening up when cold, and not closing automatically when warm and sticking at 2000 rpm instead of falling back to 800........tried a full carb clean and the mechanism seems to be running freely, but it's far from 'automatic'......any ideas?

Old ford automatic chokes are notorious, it looks like someone has tried to connect a manual choke to the auto one....aint gonna work.

You need a choke conversion kit which replaces the auto one, doesnt take long to do.

Could have told you this last night in the pub if you had mentioned it while we were talking about the car......

Old ford automatic chokes are notorious, it looks like someone has tried to connect a manual choke to the auto one....aint gonna work.

You need a choke conversion kit which replaces the auto one, doesnt take long to do.

Could have told you this last night in the pub if you had mentioned it while we were talking about the car......

it was fine yesterday.....started to act up when I tried to start it at Midnight to go back down pub from home.......very tricky with no choke at all and a cool night...

What carbs do fiestas have on?

I know no Maestros the problems with autochoke reliability is down to the o-rings for the stepper motor not being resistant to leaded petrol.

The manual chokes are no bloody better. The one on our Mk1 fiesta has a mind of its own. One day it will run fine with the choke in the next it will tick over too low and keep cutting out. It is better that the "automatic" chokes though. The warranty fix by Ford was to replace it with a manual one.

Been tinkering with it on and off for a few days now and I still cannot get either the auto or manual version to work at all...its either permenently jams ON or OFF, meaning its a nightmare to start when cold and runs at 2000 RPM all the time if it jams the other way........may have to strip it all down completely.

In the original operators guide it shows the manual choke option as being in a different place to usual Fiesta MK I chokes, (left on the steering column), this one is on the dash right of the column with orange light on it. It lights up but does no bloody good at all other than emit an orange light...and the auto version which is also in place is defunct.

Same as my other 1300 MK I, the auto choke on that plagued me for 6 months until the carb was completely stripped and rebuilt......nightmare. Looks like a very common problem on the 1.3 MK I's, others on various forums have also commented unfavourably on early Ford auto chokes being crap...

If its got a Ford VV or motorcraft carb, why not source a weber and put that on there instead.

That orange illuminated choke lever is off a Mk 2 fiesta, should do the same job assuming its connected!

If its got a Ford VV or motorcraft carb, why not source a weber and put that on there instead.

That orange illuminated choke lever is off a Mk 2 fiesta, should do the same job assuming its connected!
Its is a VV yes.....but I would like to get it working properly ideally and stay original.
Oh the choke is not the MK 2 one, this is definitely an early Ford conversion kit option, as it was common with a faulty auto choke to fit a manual conversion as it was easier than replacing the VV carb.

The manual choke actually opens and closes the butterflies ok, but seems to stick partially closed when engine running, resulting in idle speed of around 1800 RPM continuous......currently have to knock back the flaps after taking off the air filter....something is sticking somewhere but its been well cleaned out and lubed....had to short the fan switch to keep cooling fan on all the time until this problem can be sorted....