Hi All,

Please forgive me if I’ve posted this in the wrong area. I am new to the forum. Also, please forgive my lack of mechanical jargon. I will try to describe what I’m asking as best I can.

My 16 year old son bought an 84 Chevy Berlinetta; a beautiful, garaged car. The car was babied by it’s previous owner and driven regularly until a year or two before he bought it. It had blown a head gasket because the driver couldn’t get it off the freeway fast enough after losing a radiator hose. Since then it has been in the garage and started weekly. He bought it and decided to rebuild the motor.

Fast forward to now... The motor is done and the car seems to run and sound excellent. The check engine light is on and the choke light is on. The choke is not stuck. We took it to be smogged and it would not pass. Smog guy thought the carburetor was bad. The guy who rebuilt the engine thought it was a computer connection. He checked all those and found no problems. Hooking the car to a scanner results in, "Cannot connect to computer."

We arerunning out of money very fast here. The guy who rebuilt the engine says I should take it to an electrical expert which I really can’t afford. What else can I check or do before taking it to the expert?

Any ideas or help would be appreciated! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

is this an after market carb or the stock carb?

 

It's stock. The entire car is pretty much stock with a 305. We're in CA with all the smog stuff, too, if that helps.

It's running rich. The mechanic said the carb is supposed to click when you turn the key on and it doesn't.

Thanks again!

 

ok youll want to talk to a guy names madmikez28 on this forum. hes had one of those things and hes in cali. should be able to get ya set straight. PM him multiple times. he usually wont respond to just one..

 

First thing to check is to make sure you don't have any blown fuses. That could be why you can't connect to the computer too.
And that "choke" light in the dash isn't telling you whether the choke mechanism on the carb is working or not. It must have been called that to purposely deceive the owners.
Your car has a choke relay that prevents power from going to the choke pull-off on the carb if your key is left in the "on" position (not run), so that the choke wouldn't open as the car sits. The choke pull-off gets power (from the alternator) after the engine is running. Generally, if the choke light is on, it means that the relay isn't getting sufficient power (bad charging system). Have your alternator checked. As crazy as it sounds, it's a likely culprit.

 

Camaro 69 gave very good answers. And your mechanic is correct about the clicking sound from the Air Fuel solennoid on the carb.
Go over what Camaro 69 said and if needed get back with us. We are much cheaper than an electrical specialist and some times hit the nail on the head. Also look at fuses and such to make sure there is no corrosion.
Oh and 350RS is just picking on me. I will answer the first PM when I see it.