Hard starting when cold - new electric choke needed?

[87 Money Pit]

Hello,

The patient - 87 Grand Wagoneer w/ stock Motorcraft 2150 carb

• Runs great once started but is almost impossible to start when temps are colder
• Everything in the fuel system before the carb has been replaced / inspected
• Fuel is defintely getting to the carb
• Much easier to start when the outside temp is warm. We've has some 70 degree days and starting is not such an issue
• When starting when cold it takes many tries, usually backfires just before it actually turns over, then finaly starts. In a NJ winter, a new battery does not have enough juice to actually turn the engine over enough times to start.
• I've driven plenty of careurated cars and trucks over the years and never had this much trouble getting something started. The one big difference is that they all had manual chokes.

Does anyone have any tips for starting when cold OR do you think I need a new electric choke on the carb.

Thanks

[Rich88]

If you're referring to the black choke spring housing that has a wire going to it, its not really an "electric choke", but a standard choke spring with an electric connection that heats the spring up to unwind it to take the choke off after a minute or so.

Anyway, next time its cold, take the air cleaner off, actuate the throttle linkage by hand and watch to see if the choke plate closes. If it does, then the choke is working just fine. If it does not, then need to find out why.

If the choke closes OK, next thing to confirm is whether throttle actuation is causing a squirt of gas to go down the throat. Get close and you should be able to hear it. If not, then the carb's accelerator pump diaphram is shot. It's this extra shot of gas that the engine needs to start up. That's why we pump the gas pedal a couple times to start a carburetor'd engine.

[87 Money Pit]

Thanks ... will check this out tomorrow if it's not raining