I'm trying to get my trucks carb straightened out and need some help. Truck is a 74' F-100 302 2V. In 05' I got a reman carb put on at a local garage because I know very little about automotive carbs. They didn't make shure the choke was hooked, didn't set fast or curb idle or anything, just threw the carb on. I read as much as I can from the two manuals on my truck and conveted the thermal choke to a manual choke. I'm trying to get the idle mixture, fast idle speed and curb idle set properly.

The problem I'm having is the fast idle solenoid won't kick off. The solenoid works, has voltage and retracts when the engine is shut off or the current is cut to it. I'm thinking the solenoid doesn't kick off because it can't sense engine temp. I read that the solenoid should be hooked up to the temp sending unit in the intake manifold however mine is not hooked up as there is only one wire going to the solenoid. I have an aftermarket 3 gauge cluster that reads, oil pressure, water temp and voltage so the water temp SU for the gage is screwed into the manifold. I'm not shure how and if to hook the solenoid up to the sending unit. Any help or enlightenment would be appreciated.

 

If the solenoid retracts when you cut the engine, then it's doing it's job. That is the solenoid's only function. The only connection to the solenoid is hot-in-run power. There isn't any kind of connection to a temperature sensor. The solenoid's job is to hold the curb idle while the engine is running, and then retract to let the carburetor throttle plates nearly shut when the engine shuts off. This it to prevent dieseling, which is why the idle stop solenoid is often referred to as an anti-dieseling solenoid as well. Just some more clarification, it is not called a "fast idle" solenoid. Fast idle is a separate mechanism on the other side of the carburetor. Fast idle keeps the idle speed high while the choke is on, and then drops it to curb idle when the choke comes off. It's a mechanical linkage and there is no solenoid involved.

I hope that clarifies what the solenoid actually does and how it is hooked up. But I'm not really sure what the issue you are having with the truck is? I made a writeup that covers just about every thing you'd want to ever set on a stock 2-barrel carb; if you're having trouble dialing things in let me know and we can walk through it.

 

The problem I'm having when the engine is cold it idles real low and needs gas pedal to keep the idle up for the couple minutes or so. Once its warm it idles fine but is on the high side.(1000-1100rpm)

Do you have a link to the article?

Thanks for claifying the purpose of the Solenoid, now I know its working properly. I have a Haynes manual now and its pretty vauge. I plan to have the truck for a while so what manual would you recommend?

 

Here is everything you will ever need to know about the choke and fast idle on a stock 2-barrel. Ignore the first couple paragraphs about floats.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...ml#post6422219

On manuals - it's a crapshoot between Chilton's and Haynes, both are vague and have their share of mistakes. The best manual you can get would be the original Ford shop manuals which show up on eBay or at swap meets.

 

I appreciate the info. That thread should be in the tips and tricks section or in a tech folder, priceless info. I'll go through your instructions and see how it turns out. I believe the timing is a little off so I want to get that in check also. When I put the manual choke kit on I replaced all the vaccum lines and cleaned the EGR valve. (Was clogged) I have some lag between 1k-2k rpm when accelerating which got worse after I cleaned the EGR and installed the manual choke. I believe the 2100 is known to have that trouble. I want to get everything adjusted to see if it takes care of the problem, if not I'll go from there.