Alterantor?? 308 running great then started loosing power, and died!

As a first information gathering step -- measure the voltage across the battery at off, idle and ~2000 RPM.

 

Sounds like you have a major short going on. Recharge the bat and start it up and take a voltage reading to see if the alt is putting out arount 13V at 1000 rpm. If thats OK then you'll need to start searching for the short , circuit by circuit. I'd start with the buzzer

 

Yes

 

I dont have my car up and running to be able to check, so maybe someone else can comment as to the 308 having a charge light or how the car otherwise excites the alternator. If it does, it should light with key on, and go off with engine running. The light is used to initiate the charge circuit, so that if the bulb is blown or otherwise not making a connection, it would never excite the field windings to start charging.

 

yup, the "G" lamp in the bottom right corner of the instrument panel should light when the key is turned to the run position, and goes out when the alternator is outputting.

If the light bulb is good, but the lamp did not come on and the battery still drained, then I'd suspect a problem in the cabling between the alternator and battery (via the starter motor, I think).

disconnecting the buzzer shouldn't matter, but for what it's worth, the buzzer is connected to the fuse box when the key is in the ignition. For the ground side, a switch in the door jamb will ground the buzzer directly, or the drivers seat belt switch will ground it through the seat belt/buzzer relay. Yanking the relay would tell you which of the two circuits is stuck to ground.

Suggest popping the switch out of the door jamb and seeing if the wire connector has broken off and is touching metal.

 

Verall has a great wite up about how to do this....The issue is that I can't find it

We need a DIY section with all sticky's

 

Please post your car's info to your profile so we'll know which 308 varient you're talking about, there are some differences.

wolftalk's right on, if the dash light isn't working, then either there's a problem in the bulb & associated wiring, or the alternator has failed. Unfortunately, to check out the wiring you have to remove the alternator.

Search the archives for 'alternator' and 'removing' or 'removal'.

I've posted alternator removal info 3 or 4 times to both the current and 'Old Ferrarichat'.

 

Here's the link

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24719&highlight=alternator+removal

 

Before you start the "replacing alternator" syndrome, I urge you to do the tests suggested above. Be sure the alternator/battery connections are all good, the charge light works correctly, the grounds are all tight, etc.

See if the battery is discharging too: with the car off, touch your + meter to the + post of the battery and the - side to the battery case. You may find voltage! If so, you need to clean up your battery, battery tray, etc.

Ken

 

This one may be easy then! Change the light bulb and you have a good chance of fixing the problem! If the light still doesn't come on, you have to trace the path backwards with your meter to see where the problem is.

Ken

 

I think the bulbs are all pretty standard....and the alternator is not as hard as say.....a blown front header!

Hang in there...

 

No, you're in it for the long haul now! Can't sell it with a bad charging circuit!

Randy, you figured out the last problem and you will figure this one out too, with the expert's help here. All Ferraris are like this--especially 308s. They come with delayed maintenance issues and things the previous owner ignored that you have to sort out. Once you get all the bugs out of the car, it will be very reliable, I promise.

Birdman

 

I echo this sentiment; I went through issues with my car that seemed overwhelming at first. Still do sometimes! Something will go wrong and my first thought is I'm screwed. But then I remember I've troubleshot lots of things and eventually have fixed them all. It's just a car, not brain surgery. So try to not feel overwhelmed first off. This is a good problem you have in that you CAN figure it out yourself, with help from other 308 guys. It's not a leaky head gasket!

Alternator R & R is your worst case scenario; rebuilds are usually in the $120 range so it's cheap. And I bet your alternator is okay; it's a ground/bad wire/bad bulb type thing. The key is to get a wiring diagram, and take it one step at a time.

Ken

 

Ck the voltage across the battery terminals with the car running and the alternator light off. Should be roughly 13.25v - 14v before you break out the Champaign.
I fixed 25 minor issues on my 308 within the 1st 3 months of ownership(fuseblocks, relays, antenna etc), 9 months later it's been flawless and a blast to own. Hang in there and enjoy !