Public Notice: there are several handyman  do-it-yourself  items on this Web site that require some care when using them or the tools and/or electricity when constructing them. I offer my ideas freely and if you use any of these ideas you are responsible for all aspects of that use. If you attempt to construct and/or use any of these items, you do so at your own risk.  Thank you, Doug Dickens.

 If the choke does work, when starting the cold engine the hot water choke takes entirely too long to heat up. And all the time it's heating, the engine is running at 1400 + rpm's. Then when the water is hot enough for the choke to disengage, the engine takes its time finding the 800 rpm idle speed. I've tried every way I know to make the choke more responsive and dependable. I would like to get into the van, start the engine and within 30 to 60 seconds, be able to put it in gear without the fear of ruining my transaxle and without burning $2.50+ worth of gasoline, heating water. 

After listening to the engine roar (or clank) for what seems to me far too long, I sometimes open the hood and manually force the choke off. I decided that if I can manually force the choke off by hand, I can also do it by cable from inside the cab .   But how would I do that? There isn't room enough to attach a cable to the lever which activates the choke butterfly without some sort of a small fitting to connect the cable. The conversion kits don't have a fitting for this choke lever. So I began looking for a connector that is small enough and strong enough to do the job. 

The 2 bbl Mikuni carburetor and its hot water choke apparatus. Just outside the housing for the choke butterfly is a small lever with a light duty spring attached to it. That lever opens and closes the butterfly as dictated by the little spring. All the other hardware around that spring - in front, behind, to the sides, and underneath - are parts of the most irritating, unadjustable, uncooperative carb choke device known to mankind.  

In order for this choke to operate correctly, all its little springs and gears must perform like clockwork - and this old 4 cylinder engine  definitely does not run like a clock. 
 

This is a 1986 Plymouth Voyager with the 2.6L Mitsubishi engine. I'm the second owner of this minivan. I've owned it for 8 years. It has only 151,000 miles, has never been wrecked, seldom is used, and it's too good to give away for junk. I keep it for - well, I'm not sure why, but I do keep it.

My only complaint with this van is the carburetor. Actually, the Mitsumi 2bbl carb isn't my complaint - it's the hot water choke. Sometimes the choke works and sometimes it doesn't.

After searching all my junk boxes and Peggy's kitchen utensils and finding nothing small enough and strong enough to fit over the butterfly lever, I happened upon these electrical connectors:  crimp-on ring tongues. They come in various sizes. I found the blue 16-14 size is perfect. After bending, cutting, compressing, and adding a little solder for strength, they make a perfect fit for the butterfly lever. They are also small enough to fit in the very limited space when the butterfly is closed. .