The Racing Car

May 02, 2023

Time for the new puzzler, a very automotive puzzler for you all today.

A customer came into the garage years ago, a long time ago. He was complaining that his car was racing. 

He said, "It races like heck in the morning and even later on after I've driven it a while, it continues to race. Could you take a look at it?"

So we said, "Yes, of course."

So he leaves the car with us and he goes off to earn the money he's going to have to make to pay us to fix it...

And he returns later in the day and someone hands him his repair order that says the car is all fixed. And the repair bill is for a very small amount. Very small. The amount was less than $50. Which is very low as repair bills go, as we all know. 

They handed him the repair bill, he looks at it and then says, "Well, what did they do to the car??" 

And the mechanic says, "Well, it says here that they adjusted and cleaned your choke."

And the guy says, "Oh, okay." And he happily paid the bill. But then, as he was walking out the door, he turns around and says, "Hey, wait a minute. My car has fuel injection!"

And the mechanic looks at the slip and goes, "Oh it does? Ooops!"

So, the question is, what happened? Who screwed up here?

Good luck.
 

Answer: 

Okay, time to answer this puzzler. The engine was racing on this guys old car, and he couldn't figure out why. This was years ago.

We looked at it and then fixed it. We handed him a bill for about $50. 

He was shocked at that small price and said, "Well, what did they do to the car??" 

And the mechanic says, "Well, it says here that they adjusted and cleaned your choke."

And the guy says, "Wait a minute! My car has fuel injection! So it couldn't be the choke."

And what is going on here?

Here is the answer. His car did have fuel injection. That was true. But his car also had a choke! There were a few Fords in the 1980s that had a fuel injection engine and also a choke. 

So, in general, fuel injected cars don't have chokes, but this one did. It didn't have a choke like you're thinking, a butterfly that actually closed and choked off the supply of air. But it did have a choke thermostat device that increased the engine RPM by opening the throttle.

So, it is a rare instance, but he did have a choke. And fuel injection. And fixing the sticky choke solved his problem.
 

 


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