308 won't start.

Your 1983 308 QV, right?

If it was out of fuel completely, then there might be air in the fuel lines between the fuel distributor and the injectors. Because the air in the lines is compressible, the fuel pressure from the distributor struggles to push the air out of the spring cutoffs in the injectors, so fuel is only very slowly making its way down the fuel lines to the injectors. Anyone who has replaced fuel distributor to injector lines or injectors has experienced this - the solution is to keep cranking. Eventually you will get one, then two, then three cylinders getting fuel and firing, and when the engine can stumble and keep running on less than all cylinders, it will just take a minute or so for all cylinders to finally get fuel to the injectors.

Another option (not recommended) is to unplug the blue wire on the fuel distributor, turn the key on, and press the air meter flap in the fuel distributor. This forces the fuel pump to run and fuel to go to the injectors - it might push the air out of the fuel distributor to injector lines, but the problem is that you almost certainly won’t fill all the fuel lines at the same time, so you’ll be flooding some cylinders with fuel. That’s very undesirable! However, if constant cranking doesn’t seem to be able to get a few cylinders firing, then perhaps trying the air flap routine for 10 or 15 seconds might prime a couple of fuel lines, then go back to cranking on the starter. Try at your own risk!

Gordon

 

Every single 308 and 328 will eventually need a fuel pump replaced and its wiring improved. There is no exception.

 

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