308 Won't Start

What yr 308? FI or carb??

 

Your profile is blank and you don't give any information about the car. Makes it a little hard to help you.

It takes 3 thing to make a motor run, fire, fuel and compression. The first step is to isolate which one of those is MIA.

You say you get some reaction to pumping the gas pedal. I would say it very possible that the problem lies in the fuel system but even that is not certain.

 

The fuel pump is in front of the left rear wheel, see if it is running.

 

Try your fuel pump.

Mark

 

There is an echo in here.

 

You may have been progressively losing the ignition system and it finally quit. A rich mixture is easier to ignite that a lean one so as the ignition system got weaker it needed to be richer to start. A common cause of that scenario is the points closing up from normal wear. Thats one of many possibilities anyway.

How long has it been since it got a thorough tune?

 

12 years and no servicing---should not have said that--now the Ferrari PREVENTIVE maintinance guys are going to lash you. Run and hide...

 

Well I certainly fall into that group. I like reliable cars and hate walking when I should be driving, but then that would just be me.

 

Dan, ask around the Ferrari guys in AR and find a Ferrari mechanic and have him have a look at it.

Also do yourself a favor. A Ferrari never fixes itself and almost never gets cheaper to fix when you ignore warning signs. Next time something comes up have somebody take a look at it before it makes that big, final noise.

 

Danny
Some basic things you can check would be...with fuel pump running look down into the carb and pull the throttle cable as it comes in the engine compartment. You should see gas squirt into the carb from the acc. pump. No gas... then none in the bowl. If you have a pressure gauge place it in line just before it enters the first carb. Pressure s/b about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. If not check pump, filter and small check valve by the pump. (I had this check valve go bad and the engine was starved for fuel). All of these are together in front of the left rear wheel. Maybe a bad tank of gas and clogged filter. Next have someone crank the engine while you pull any spark plug wire. Hold it near to but not touching a valve cover bolt. You should see a spark jump to the bolt. Watch you don't get shocked! If no spark then maybe an electrical problem. If you have a dwell meter your dwell s/b 34 degrees on R1 with R2 disabled on both dist. If you have an OM check the Electric System section or PM me and I'll try to explain. Any decent mechanic with this info s/b able to help you check this out. Good luck & I sure you'll get it running OK.

 

It's probably either fuel delivery or a dying coil; since you have 2 coils I'll bet on fuel delivery. Could be anything between the gas tanks and the engine; I'd start at the engine and work backwards.

BTW, if your fuel pump seems a lot louder than it should, that can mean not enough gas is getting there. That's what mine did when I had a clogged fuel line.

Just as a matter of course I'd change the spark plugs, wires, tune the distributors, etc. You have to keep after these old cars.

Ken

 

I had the same thing happen to my car 2 years ago. Exact same symptoms you describe.
Since you said the plugs came out wet, you are getting fuel but no fire. It was the points on my car. The 308 has a very weak ignition system to begin with. I replaced the points with the Crane Cams Fireball XR3000 ignition, the PS60 high power coils and Magnacor plug wires. A lot more power to the plug and a more reliable spark. I haven't had any starting or ignition issues in the 2 years since.

 

Check your Fuel Pump Relay. It is right there behind the Dash Panel on the Passenger side. And,there is a sticker on the backside that tells which Relay is which. Very simple. Take it out,tap it a few times on a Hard surface,then put it back in and see if it works. If not,just try a New Fuel Pump Relay anyway before you start taking anything apart. They aren't expensive,and I'm guessing that the one in there now is the Original. So,it should be replaced anyway. I had the same thing happen to my '81 once,and that was the easy,and,fortunately,inexpensive fix.

But,if that doesn't do the Trick,you have eliminated one possible source of your problem.

 

Perhaps this thread may be of some help.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61941