All of a sudden my 1984 308 has developed an annoying problem: On a random basis the car appears to lose power. It is as if there is bad gas, a stuck throttle etc. I was in 3rd gear today and suddenly the car seemed to die, coasted along at about 40 mph at 3500 RPM. Hit the gas and the RPM shot up to 4500 but no increase in speed. After a couple of minutes suddenly the power kicks in and the car shoots up to nearly 60 mph. Any ideas before I start trouble shooting?
Remember if you stay in gear and don't push the clutch in, if your engine speed changes without your vehicle speed changing... it's your clutch that's the problem! Or trans. But more likely the clutch! LOL
Hi Darrell, Sounds like an ignition issue. Maybe a loose wire at one of the coils, or a bad ground at one of the digiplex boxes. Had you just washed the car or hit a pothole or something? How often has this happened? Is she still drivable? If it's the clutch, we can tackle that one. I had to do mine last summer, and it's really no problem. If you want, bring the car by this week and we can both scratch our heads.
John: I think I have narrowed it down to ignition/injection problems. The clutch is fine. The car started sputtering on a drive to Sunday River last week and then cleared up for a day. Then on Saturday hit rock bottom. The car has been backfiring and popping alot. I have a call in to my Ferrari guru down south but I fear for him to really assess the situation will require me to transport the car down. A real bummer as the weather has finally improved. If you are available this Sunday I could swing by and we could kick some tires and catch up. Hope all is well. Darrell
