Sticky choke?
 

Okay guys, I have a 86 F150 lariat auto with the 302 EFI. And as of late when I crank it the choke sticks & I have to re crank it 6 or 8 times before it will idle on its own. Normally I wouldn't give a crap about this, but the wife doesn't want our son driving it like this. She seems to think it's unreliable and will leave him on the side of the road. So just to appease her could you guys give me some advice on how to fix it? Thanks

I am assuming you have a feedback carb? EFI doesn't have a choke....

Sticky choke
 

Ctubutis, So I assume the computer tells it to rev at startup? I assumed it had an electronic choke. You will have to school me on how it works. Sorry, total gringo mechanic here. Would an EFI tune up kit be a good place to start? It also sometimes sounds like it's skipping while idling. Thanks

Guys here are going to need to know if you have EFI or a feedback carburetor; I am going to guess EFI because I think that was the year the carburetor was no longer available on the 302 V8 but can't remember for certain.

In any event, if it were mine, the first thing I'd do is pull the codes to see what the engine management computer has to say... this can be done at home if you have a test light or voltmeter, most auto parts stores will pull codes for you for free but you need to find somebody who knpws how to do this with OBD-1 computers, merely plugging in a code reader doing nothing but reading the stored codes is only 1/3rd of the tests that need to be run.

These might get ya started:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120315...tion.com/?p=13

Ford Ranger - Testing EEC-IV Equipped Engines

Cool! Looks like a good start and Thank you. I'll let you know what shows up.

In 1984 and early 1985, the 5.0/302 motor would have had EEC-IV engine control and a feedback carburetor with both a thermostatic and electric assist choke. Electronic Fuel Injection replaced the carburetor entirely by mid year 1985.

Since your 1986 model has EFI, you not have a choke.

If you have to give your truck gas to get it to start, the idle air control valve is probably carboned up or malfunctioning. If the engine starts right up, but the idle is higher than normal, the throttle position sensor is probably the culprit.