It closes off the air supply
But the choke butterfly is sprung so it will flap about a little. So, if you drive very gently the car will actually be more-or-less okay, if a little thirsty and petrolly-smelling. As soon as you try to accelerate at speeds beyond that experienced by octogenarian retired district nurses, the engine will fart, splutter, backfire and generally misbehave. If you're really lucky you'll get a big puff of smoke and possibly some flames out of the exhaust.

Citroën AX GTs are very good at this, because pulling the choke out allows the choke to close on a spring; this gets stuck and pushing the choke back in means that the bit that lets it open get stuck underneath the thing it's supposed to push. So, the choke is now well and truly stuck closed, until you lose your temper and slam the door. By this time you've basically been pouring a gallon of petrol per mile into the engine, which has all puddled in the exhaust pipe, so the next time you accelerate away from a set of lights you leave the twat in the Audi who is sitting 2" off your back bumper (because his car is newer so therefore must by rights be in front of yours, or die trying) in a gigantic cloud of sooty smoke, and a big orange fireball.

Jeez, I wish I had a camera when that happened.
(gordonjcp, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 1:08, 1 reply)

I can't like this
enough.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 4 Oct 2011, 19:41, closed)