# Yamaha 1028 Automatic Choke/starting operation



## LABVK540 (Dec 1, 2021)

Hello All,
New to the Forum and find it has very valuable information. I purchased a New Yamaha 1028 three winters ago and have No problems with it. Only thing i am Not real happy about is the Starting procedure with the Automatic choke when it is Cold soaked at - 18 c or colder. Procedure is Open Throttle wide Open to activate auto choke when engine starts keep throttle wide Open (Na good on cold soaked engine/thick Oil) until it warms up then throttle back which could be 4-5 Mins sometimes depending on the outside Temps.!!! If you try and Idle back when it starts it will Flood/choke engine and dye out!! will have to Re-Start at wide open throttle again and keep it there until it warms up. I have not had any issues with it starting in the cold just seems to Go against the Grain for all Cold starting procedures for ANY Type of Engine Designs. Unable to find any Info on the Web on this matter or explanation on how it works. checked with Dealer an says they have No Issues with this.. any Info would be greatly Appreciated.. 

ALL THE BEST
LABVK540


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Do you drain the carburator after each use as recommended by Yamaha??

If you keep your fuel clean and add a preservative like SeaFoam or Stabil to it or use a Mr. Funnel to get rid of any water in the fuel I would not fret too much. 

Do you have a torpedo heater/kerosene fired salamander space heater you could warm it up with before you turn the key? If you leave the space heater on long enough to heat the engine compartment and transmission you would not require the choke.

That would definitely save on engine and hydrostatic transmission wear and tear and also melt all the snow and ice off that beautiful track drive snow blower when you are done clearing the white mold off your driveway.

I guess other than switching to a straight 30 weight synthetic engine oil as that beautiful snow clearing mule is over the consumer warranty period I would not worry about it. 

When I wanted to buy a 1028EJ but could not buy it I was going to be a real masochist and purchase a RACOR gasoline filter with a 2 micron filter for it to protect the engine even more.


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## LABVK540 (Dec 1, 2021)

leonz said:


> Do you drain the carburator after each use as recommended by Yamaha??
> 
> If you keep your fuel clean and add a preservative like SeaFoam or Stabil to it or use a Mr. Funnel to get rid of any water in the fuel I would not fret too much.
> 
> ...



Hi there,
This snowblower in Question is kept inside a Cold Shed with 3 Yamaha Snowmobiles. My Previous Snowblower 1990 Yamaha 624 was stored and operated in the same conditions which was handed down to my Son when the New 1028 was purchased. The old 624 is still in Operation which has had very Minimal Maintenance or repairs over the Years and was a deciding factor when it was time to upgrade.. As Living in Goose Bay-Labrador where we get 10-12 feet of snow every winter a High Quality Snowblower is a Homestead Amenity.
As with most all Yamaha Products there Quality is Xtremly Well and i am sure the Design Engineers put a lot of thought and effort into this Auto choke design before it went into Production and this is why there is No Literature floating around the Web world on Problems with this design..

ALL THE BEST
LABVK540


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Welcome to SBF.

The owners manuals for my 2018 Ariens and my 1969 Ariens both say to start the machine with throttle set at fast (full throttle) position. Once I take them off choke, I let them warm up for a few minutes at full throttle.

Still running the original Tec engine on the 1969 machine, following this procedure for 50+ years has done no harm.

Follow the manufacturers recommended procedures for starting, maintenance, type of oil and gas etc and you will be fine for years to come IMHO.

How about some photos of your Yammies, we love photos. I really like the Yamaha machines.


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## roux-80 (12 mo ago)

Hi there,

Got also an 1028 that's very hard to start in cold weather, in fact it won't star at all below 20c.

First, the procedure in the manual is wrong, pushing the throttle lever all the way forward will not activate the choke. The choke is electric activated by a temp sensitive servo. The choke is always close on that snowblower when it's not running, when it start, it will sense the heat of the engine and open the choke as the engine warm up. Just remove the left hand side panel, you will see what's I'm talking about.

Second, ..still no idea how to get that thing running below -20c lol.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Bonjour roux-80

Do you have a 110 volt outlet near the snow blower???? It sounds as if the servo is bad and needs to be replaced.

If you have an outlet nearby a small pelonis or milk house heater would be of great benefit for you to heat up the motor with a milk house heater or a kerosene fired space heater to warm up that beautiful snow blower from the rear opening the access panels and then replacing the panels when it starts and runs well.
.


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## astro (Apr 6, 2019)

This happens on my 1332 also. The trick I found is to start cranking in the normal start position and hold the throttle wide open on the carb. Starts right up. Been trying to figure out if there is any adjustment that I need to do.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

A kerosene fired salamander/torpedo heater works wonders for dealing with very cold snow removal mules like your beautiful Yamahas. If I did not have a torpedo heater to use since 1994, I would have had both of my shoulders replaced by now due to recoil starters and cold engines. 

I am not trying to spend your money, I have found that after 20 minutes of heating up cars, trucks, walk behind snow blowers and snow throwers and JD garden tractors with junk 2 stage snow blowers they work much better, and after I am done, I heat them back up to dry them out to get rid of the ice snow and salt build up in them. 

The smallest kerosene fired salamander will do this for you in a short time and also dry out and melt off the ice and snow in the snow blower as well.


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