Hi,

Before I start, I just want to say that I know next to nothing about
engines.

I have an Australian model Honda HRU196D push mower with a GXV160
engine. The throttle has three positions: low, high and choke.

The first time I started the engine while on choke, a lot of fumes
came out, which I believe is normal. Once the engine was started, I
switched it to "high" and it ran nicely without the smoke. The second
time I used the mower, I put it on choke again and started the engine
but there was almost no smoke, even when the engine was left in choke
mode. When I switched it back to "high", the RPM dropped and it
sounded as though the mower was running on "low" and making less noise
than when it was on choke.

A couple of questions:

1. Does it sound like the cable that connects the throttle may have
come loose, meaning I'm actually unable to get to "choke" mode? In
other words, when the throttle appears to be on "high", I'm in fact
really only on "low"?
2. If the cable hasn't actually come loose, and I am, in fact,
running the mower while on choke all the time, will there be any
damage to the engine?
3. Should the RPM be the same when running on choke and when running
on "high"?


Thanks,

Han.