| Author | Message | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 438 Registered: 10-2002 |
Andy, I forget--are you on points of electronic ignition running those MSD "Blaster" coils? | ||
| Steve (Steve)
Member Username: Steve Post Number: 439 Registered: 2-2001 |
Mike did you check the points on the bank that is not running right? Also before I went pointless I had a set of points that the contect head became loose and the car would run rough and sometimes backfire.Also check the condensors. | ||
| Andy Falsetta (Tuttebenne)
Junior Member Username: Tuttebenne Post Number: 212 Registered: 3-2003 |
Mike, I've been running MSD "blaster" coils for 17 years with no ignition problems. They make great spark are easy to wire in and the extra benefits are that they are red and they are cheap too. Another approach is to get a hair dryer and heat up one coil at a time first thing in the morning. Since the car normally starts in the am, if you get the coil up to the normal operating temp, if its a coil, the offending one should fail for you. Good luck Andy | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 436 Registered: 10-2002 |
Steve, thanks for the notes. I am running on points (single point conversion). I have learned that this requires a "ballast" resistor or something like that along with the coils. However, I'm not sure that my current Bosch coils have these--I will have to check. I'm thinking of trying out the recommended Pep Boys accel coils--a number of folks use these coils with their points setup. | ||
| Steve (Steve)
Member Username: Steve Post Number: 436 Registered: 2-2001 |
Mike about the coils. Do you have a points set up or did you convert to breakerless ign? Are the coils running on 12V or do they have the step down resistor in the circuit. If they have the resistor is it wired correctly. I have a 77 with elect.ign and Bosch coils running at 12V using NGK 5ES plugs and runs great all of the time. You can't run full 12V on a points setup . Also if points check your condensors. My 2 cents | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 434 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hmmm... Very interesting idea regarding the coils. In other searches on FerrariChat for "Vapor Lock," I've found several threads discussing this as a potential problem, and one thread where it was identified the problem. My coils are new as of 4k miles ago or so (January)... Hmm... come to think of it--the first time I noticed the problem was when I got the car back from the service where they REPLACED the coils... They were bosch coils. Very interesting. I'm thinking that maybe some coils are more resistant to the heat than others. Just tonight, I started to get strange rough running at low rpms. Maybe the first thing I need to do here is swap out the coils. Will do an archive search to figure out the best coils, and then I'll just jump on it. I think the coils are an easy job to replcae  . I'll report back... Thanks guys. | ||
| Andrew A. Illes (Andyilles)
Junior Member Username: Andyilles Post Number: 160 Registered: 10-2002 |
Oops... forgot to address your shielding, etc., question. As Lee notes, there's no padding or shielding on the fuel lines. Good luck, Andy [email protected] | ||
| Lee Hamner (Tennlee)
Junior Member Username: Tennlee Post Number: 101 Registered: 2-2002 |
Andrew may have the answer. I checked my 308, and there's no shielding for heat anywhere. | ||
| Andrew A. Illes (Andyilles)
Junior Member Username: Andyilles Post Number: 158 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hi Mike... Though Lee's idea is good, a weak coil(s) can also do that. The 10-15 min to calm down sortta points more that way, since vapor lock would clear in just a minute as cool fuel gets to the bowls.. while coils would take longer to cool. Also, vapor lock would cause a starting problem, which you're not describing. Try getting any 'ol AutoZone, Pep Boys, etc., cheapie coil (or 2) just to see if that's it. Hope that's helpful, Andy | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 433 Registered: 10-2002 |
Lee, Thanks for the response! From some other research and helpful replies on the FerrarList, yeah, I'm thinking it's vapor lock, as well. I don't know if I've got padding or shielding around the fuel lines... What would this look like? I'll check tonight when I get back home... Does your 308 have padding or shielding around the fuel lines? | ||
| Lee Hamner (Tennlee)
Junior Member Username: Tennlee Post Number: 98 Registered: 2-2002 |
Mike, this sounds like vapor lock. Are you missing heat shields or padding around fuel lines? | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 431 Registered: 10-2002 |
Lately, I've got the 308 sorted out so well it's like a dream. I continue to be plagued by the following problem, though, which I've simplified down as best I can. Here's the usual pattern. 1. Drive car to work in morning. Runs very well. 8am. 2. Drive car home. Runs very well. 6pm. Now, say I make a stop to the store on the way home. The car has warmed up completely, I park, and it's exactly 20 minutes before I come back to restart the car. When I come back to the car, it starts up fine (no accelerator pumping to do this, of course). It takes about 5 seconds of cranking before it catches, but comes along fine. THE PROBLEM: After restarting after sitting for 20 minutes, it runs rouger than hell. No stalling, mind you--just runs poorly when I accelerate. I feel like I'm running on 2, then 4, then 6 cylinders. All this is in the low to mid RPM range. If I just stomp on it, it usually irons out north of 5000 RPM. After about 10 or 15 minutes of this testiness, it usually seems to lessen and then return to its normal driving state. The problem also is such that, when it's running like this, and I step on the gas from a standstill, it'll often bog down and stall--I have to coach the throttle to get the RPMs up before I can get going. This problem has plagued me for a year, and there's no mention of it in the archives. The problem is repeatable, happens regardless of the whether, has happend through two different fuel pumps, and through a number of sets of spark plugs. Here's hoping I can beat it. Has anybody experienced anything like this? I'm in a carbed, 1978 308 GTS, US Spec, ANSA exhaust, stock ignition. NGK BP5ES plugs gapped at .030". Would be grateful for any help in getting this last problem sorted out. |