Electronic Quadrajet runs VERY rich

On Sunday, April 4, 2004 2:44:21 AM UTC-4, parkerea wrote:
> My friend has an '83 Olds Ninety Eight with a 307 V8 that is running
> extremely rich.
>
> Symptoms:
>
> - The tailpipe is very sooty. On starting it leaves a large soot stain on
> the ground beneath the exhaust.
>
> - It is so rich that when starting it barely runs; you must constantly gun
> the engine to keep it alive. Once the choke opens it will idle, but is very
> lumpy, and overall running is poor.
>
> - It gets terrible gas mileage, well under 10 mpg. The owner claims 5 or 6!
>
>
>
> Assuming I have done my research correctly, it is equipped with an
> electronic Quadrajet 750. Although I am mostly guessing, I assume there may
> be many potential causes:
>
> - A float that is losing buoyancy.
>
> - Sensor problem (O2 sensor? TPS? Other?)
>
> - Carb mixture control (solenoid?) stuck full rich.
>
> - Bad engine management computer.
>
> - ????
>
>
>
> Initially I wanted to check the floats, but when I realized what I was
> getting into I figured I better think before I jump. Being middle aged, my
> backyard mechanic days are from 60's era cars, so I have never touched an
> electronic carb, plus I have only rebuilt much simpler 1 & 2 barrel models,
> so I don't want to jump into a major effort unless it is really needed. Not
> to mention that the car currently runs, and after I "fix" it the car might
> not.
>
>
>
> Questions:
>
> 1) Any likely candidates for this kind of problem? How likely are my
> guesses?
>
> 2) Can the float level be checked without completely removing &
> disassembling the carb? I read one bit that said "remove the air horn." as
> if it is easy to do in the car, but I have my doubts, like they skipped that
> pesky little "after removing the carb" step.
>
> 3) What is the mixture range that the engine management system can actually
> control? In other words, if there is an EMS failure can it really make the
> engine run this rich? From my limited experience with EMS on fuel injected
> engines, I suspect the their range from full rich to full lean is
> significantly smaller than might cause this level of problem.
>
>
>
> If it matters, the carb #'s a
>
> 17083253
>
> 1573FLC
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> parkerea

Probably way too late but check the metering rod solenoid ,, Ohm value should be online some where. They go full rich with no input or open coil.

On 2014-05-07, > wrote:
> On Sunday, April 4, 2004 2:44:21 AM UTC-4, parkerea wrote:

> Probably way too late but check the metering rod solenoid ,, Ohm value should be online some where. They go full rich with no input or open coil.

only a little over ten years...