====== Starting A Car That Has A Manual Choke ======

| **Field** | Automotive |
| **Went Obsolete** | Approx. 1971 |
| **Made Obsolete By** | Automatic chokes, fuel injection |
| **Knowledge Assumed** | Knowing how not to flood the engine and how much choke to apply |
| **When useful** | When starting a pre-1970 European carbureted car |

To start a car or truck engine when cold, engines used to be equipped with a manual choke which restricted the amount of air allowed into the carburetor when cold, to artificially enrich the fuel mixture and make it easier to start.

On warm days, very little choke would be needed, and the control for the choke -- often a pull-out knob on the dashboard to the left of the steering column in the USA -- could be pulled out a short way and then returned to its full-open position immediately after starting.

On cold days, the choke would be fully applied, pulling the knob all the way out. It would then be left in this position until the engine completely warmed up, which could be 10-30 minutes or more, depending on the temperature.

The trick was to know when the engine had warmed up, and slowly back the choke off so that the engine would not run too "rich" and foul the spark plugs with soot, resulting in misfiring.