308 QV cooling system leak / ignition problem | FerrariChat
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308 QV cooling system leak / ignition problem

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by cecinestpasunjan, Sep 5, 2005.

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  1. cecinestpasunjan

    cecinestpasunjan Karting

    Sep 15, 2004
    51
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Full Name:
    Jan
    #1 cecinestpasunjan, Sep 5, 2005
    Hello folks,

    My beloved car starts causing some minor trouble.

    1.) Cooling system:
    Recently I had a small leak in the cooling system which was easy to fix. However, I wanted to refill the expansion tank and noticed that the owners manual only states the minimum fluid level of that tank. My question therefore: What is the maximum fluid level upto which I can refill the tank?

    2.) Ignition:
    The latest problem is that after running for a while on idle, one or more cylinders seem to stop firing, the idle speed goes slightly down, the engine is stuttering a bit and looses considerable power. Once I hit the gas, and revs jump above approximately 2000 Upm all cylinders come back with an impressive backfire.
    The engine starts fine when cold and my feeling is that the ignition problem happens only after the engine has warmed up. Spark plugs where changed 3 Years and 4400 miles ago.
    Where do you think should one start to search for the problem?

    Regards,
    Jan
     
  2. snj5

    snj5 F1 World Champ

    Feb 22, 2003
    10,213
    San Antonio
    Full Name:
    Russ Turner
    #2 snj5, Sep 5, 2005
    This happened similarly to me, would look at a couple of things to start.

    1. Inspect the ceramic plug extenders for signs of small pinhole sized burn through
    2. How old are your spark plug wires?
    3. Inspect caps and rotors
    4. Would check idle system voltage (for alternator/regulator), connections and battery

    It may be totally unrelated, but would check these first.
    best of luck,
    Russ
     
  3. fletch62

    fletch62 Formula Junior

    Mar 8, 2004
    333
    Fairhope, AL
    Full Name:
    Larry Fletcher
    #3 fletch62, Sep 5, 2005
    I had similar problems with my '80 308 and it was the flywheel sensors, also known as crank angle sensors or speed sensors. There are 3 on the car one for each bank and one that is used by both banks. Try to see if the problem is front or rear bank. If it is both then move the sensors and see if the problem is on one bank. Hope this helps, I pulled my hair out looking for this problem on mine. Good Luck

    Larry
     
  4. cecinestpasunjan

    cecinestpasunjan Karting

    Sep 15, 2004
    51
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Full Name:
    Jan
    #4 cecinestpasunjan, Sep 8, 2005
    Russ and Larry,

    Thanks very much for your input!
    Looks like I need plenty of time to check all the potential sources of failure that you mentioned.
    B.t.w.: When looking at the bills I discovered that Ferrari charged the previous owner 530 € + VAT (750 $) for a set of ignition cables for one bank three years ago. Quite impressive!
    Jan
     

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