Sigh.. Weber issues.

[zoe60]

Ya gotta have that choke hooked up. plug the original wire from the alternator onto it. It will run way rich with the choke closed and if the high idle stays in it will idle high,

[greywolf200]

Ya gotta have that choke hooked up. plug the original wire from the alternator onto it. It will run way rich with the choke closed and if the high idle stays in it will idle high,

The Festiva choke uses 7 volts(one side of the alternator) and the Weber(and maybe the Escort) needs 12volts.

[zoe60]

Doesn't seem to make much difference on my car, I've been running mine off the alternator since I installed it 2.5 years ago. And that 7 volts has a large unfiltered AC component on it so the power factor remains pretty close to the same. It's just a resistive element after all. With lower voltage it would just take a little longer for the choke to open anyway. Mine opens fully after about 3 minutes. You really do need to hook the choke up to something or it will never open. The car will not run right. One time I forgot to hook mine up after working on it and my plugs fouled out after about 15 miles. Poor car ran like doody!

[drddan]

All the above above about choke, and butterflies is correct!
Unhook that throttle cable, make sure the butterflies open and close FREELY! ....and hook up that choke. It WILL NOT run right without. It is part of the system.
My choke/carb did not run right until I gave it key on 12V.

When the engine/carb is cold and you activate the pedal or throttle, the butterflies should pop open all the way, then the choke as it warms will start to close the butterflies

[MasterTec]

I spent good money on a brand new DGEV32/36 and never did get it to run quite right.

First off, I had mad issues with sealing up the vacuum leaks. I ended up making my own gaskets and using Indian sealant. This finally did the trick.

Then I had similar issues with sticking throttle issues like what you're experiencing. I ended up sanding down the primary throttle plate just a tad as it was just lightly interfering with the bore of the carburetor. This helped some but in the end it was really just the throttle cable not being properly adjusted. It has to be almost stupid loose for it to work properly.

But then I never could get the transition to work properly. It seemed like no matter what jet configuration I used it would bog down between the idle circuit and the main circuit. I ended up figuring out that the transitioning port wasn't supplying fuel properly so I had to bevel the edge of the throttle plate which did help but it still didn't work quite right.

After reinstalling the carb about a dozen times and removing the air horn about two dozen times to access the main jets (and having a heart attack every time I dropped that stupid tiny circlip holding the chock linkage in place) I still wan't happy with the results.

Then I got lucky and found an old Escort Carb on Ebay for $10 shipped so I jumped on that deal. Another $15 for a rebuild kit and I was good to go. OK That's a lie. I realized that it was missing its idle mixture screw and had to special order it from Italy (as this isn't a typical Weber DGV carburetor) and wait two weeks for it to arrive. But WOW what a difference! It absolutely purrs like a kitten, has power (as much as a stock B3 can produce anyway) when I need it and sips the fuel when I don't. It starts right up and runs flawlessly with no bogging down or cutting out or anything! My last tank was 41MPG and I still have some tinkering to go!

My favorite thing about the Escort Carb is that the jets are right there. You remove the air cleaner and they are right on top! No more disassembling the carb just to make an adjustment! I bought a jewelers drill bit set and filled them with solder and drilled them out to whatever size I need. It ran great with the factory jets but only got 32-33 MPG. I've got it up to over 40 now with no noticeable drop in power.

I did have to modify the base of the carb a little bit to make it fit on my DGV adapter. I also had to modify the factory air cleaner to fit on top of it (window weld is awesome for this!) but it's been working out great!

[Spike]

Sigh. Should've gotten the $10 Escort carb from my local junker and forgotten this $300 mess. >_< I'll get it right, though (hopefully).

Didn't touch anything today, had a lot of house duties to attend to. Hopefully I'll wake up early and figure it out tomorrow. Choke will be the first thing I attend to.

-Joe

[drddan]

I spent good money on a brand new DGEV32/36 and never did get it to run quite right.

Sigh. Should've gotten the $10 Escort carb from my local junker and forgotten this $300 mess. >_< I'll get it right, though (hopefully).

Didn't touch anything today, had a lot of house duties to attend to. Hopefully I'll wake up early and figure it out tomorrow. Choke will be the first thing I attend to.

-Joe

WOW :shock:

Thats crazy! Are these carbs the EMPI holley weber carbs?
Mine is an original Weber, and I ask about the EMPI because I have thought about getting a new Weber and I am curious if these issues are with the new ones.

BTW, I have a DFEV 32/36, not the DGEV. Dont need to install it "facing backwards" with the choke towards the rear. DFEV and DGEV are, more or less, left hand/right hand versions of each other.
I like the choke facing towards the front, which is how the DF version sits.

[zoe60]

The advantage to a DGEV for me was that I was able to use all of the Festiva throttle linkage an re-install the idle up solenoid so I can still run my air without the engine dying. The choke being on the back wasn't an issue for me. As good as my car runs with my Weber, I can't understand why it is so hard for some people to get them running right. I wish I could see some of them in person and lend a hand.

[Spike]

Well, mine was $230 + $70 Rocketman Adapter, so $300 + whatever else. DGEV Samurai kit (though I realize now that doesn't matter, they jet the darn thing same no matter what kit..).

Okay, here's what I've just now done.

Hooked up choke (stock 7V to alt), which.. made an instant change. lol. Unplugged ECU (my back is permanently bent ). A second instant change. Set A/F screw all the way to 0, actually died. That hasn't happened since I put the darn thing on. With that, I can adjust it decently well, and get it to run at 400 RPM (though a bit jumpy - I MUST have a vac leak). I bumped it back to 800ish when it was fully warmed (throttle cable OFF). Put cable back on and it jumped to about 1000. So cable is sticking somewhere..

Now, I adjusted to 800 with cable on, fully warmed, ECU off, choke connected. Took it for a drive. Drives a lot better (still tries to grind in Reverse, but that's a completely different issue, might just put in new fluid and hope). Acceleration is still good. Now the new issue:

Pull out of gear at any RPM range and it drops to 3/400 RPM immediately, then goes back up to 850ish. Put on headlights, brakes, radio all at the same time, drops to 400 for a bit, then rises back up.

Vacuum leak?

-Joe

[bhazard]

Eliminate ANY possible vac leaks before trying to tune.

[zoe60]

Did you adjust the idle mixture like it tells you on the paper that came with the carb? It's important to get it right. And x2 on what bhazard said. Sounds like you are getting closer! You will love it when you get the bugs worked out.

[Spike]

Yes. All the way in until it starts to cut out/dies, back veerrrrrryyyy slowly.

Will spend a few hours tomorrow sealing up any possible anything. Want this to run right, as it won't even be my car. It will be my mother's DD (and she wanted a 5-speed and MOAR POWER at 61 years old lol..)

[MasterTec]

WOW :shock:

Thats crazy! Are these carbs the EMPI holley weber carbs?
Mine is an original Weber, and I ask about the EMPI because I have thought about getting a new Weber and I am curious if these issues are with the new ones.

BTW, I have a DFEV 32/36, not the DGEV. Dont need to install it "facing backwards" with the choke towards the rear. DFEV and DGEV are, more or less, left hand/right hand versions of each other.
I like the choke facing towards the front, which is how the DF version sits.

Mine was a genuine Redline Weber. I don't know if it was bad out of the box or what but I never could get it to run right. I was seriously starting to doubt my tuning skills but I've had absolutely no issues tuning my Escort Carb. I make a change and it responds (I have an fuel/air meter) just as I expected. With the DGEV it would do some silly things!

I should also note that my computer *IS* hooked up. I left my Evap and EGR systems intact. I have the O2 simulator wire on my wideband hooked up to it and have no fault codes set.

[1chrisapple]

Mine was a genuine Redline Weber. I don't know if it was bad out of the box or what but I never could get it to run right. I was seriously starting to doubt my tuning skills but I've had absolutely no issues tuning my Escort Carb. I make a change and it responds (I have an fuel/air meter) just as I expected. With the DGEV it would do some silly things!

I should also note that my computer *IS* hooked up. I left my Evap and EGR systems intact. I have the O2 simulator wire on my wideband hooked up to it and have no fault codes set.

Hey mastertec did u notice any power loss between the escort vs 32/36 weber carbs.i have a weber but also would really like to try an escort carb. I like cheap and reliable so i want to try escort

[drumnerd33]

So far your on the right track, choke has to have power or it will never come out of the choke high idle. Now you need to realize this carb does not have a idle solenoid to adjust for electric load, so when you turn lights on and heater blower, and radiator fan is on, ect.... it is gonna draw down your rpm. You need to do a check for vacuum leaks, thats one of the first things you should do before driving it. To check for vacuum leaks grab some carb cleaner and just spray it all around the base of the carb and if there is a change in idle you have a leak somewhere. Get that fixed and then you can start tuning. I have a very heavy cam so i have to idle high but my electric load also makes it hard to keep running so i have my idle set even higher... during the day with no load i idle around 1500, at night with load i idle around 1100, now if you have a stock cam you shouldnt have as much problem as me, you should be able to idle around 800 maybe have to set it a little higher for electric load but not much. The escort carb is just a weber, if you install the weber correctly and follow the directions that come with the weber it should be a fairly simple swap and will produce excellent results. Anytime you are gonna run a carb that was not specifically designed for that vehicle... its gonna take some tinkering but thats part of having a carb is the tinkering.... carbs are very simple but do require a little more tlc then f/i but they are typically way easier to trouble shoot and fix also.