Ferrari Mailing List: Problems with 308

[georgedodson (georgedodson]

 I finally got some time to look at the 308. In a post from a couple of weeks 
ago I wrote that the engine lost power and stopped during high speed slalom 
down a steep hill. The engine starts, barely, won't idle, runs rough and there 
is no power (also no bad mechanical sounds from the engine). Neither of the 1-4 
or 5-8 warning lights are on. It turns out that what power there is comes from 
the 1-4 bank. Removing the coil HT wire from 5-8 has no effect. However, there 
is spark from the 5-8 coil! I found this by putting a HT cable from the 5-8 
coil to near the block and letting it arc over. With no coil HT wire there is 
some internal arc-over in the 5-8 coil visible, but not when it is arcing to 
the block or connected to the distributor. The 5-8 distributor looks fine. The 
5-8 and cap rotor are OK, no sign of tracking in the distributor.  I inspected 
the control modules. The compartment is dry and there is no sign of corrosion. 
I pulled the cables and cleaned the contacts, but that didn't help. I ran out 
of time before I could swap the module cables to see if the problem stayed with 
the cables or went with the modules. One question is; since there appears to be 
spark to the 5-8 bank, is there some external timing mark that I can look at 
with my timing light to see where the spark is coming in time? I can't find any 
reference to a timing mark. I can only imagine how much a control module will 
cost.

 

Regards,

George