Posted by hogryder on August 27, 1999 at 20:51:53:
In Reply to: Possible problem with my Savage? posted by Frank on August 27, 1999 at 19:33:36:
You may have two different causes for the behavior you experienced. The power going off sounds like a worn ignition. You can get complete loss of contact (which causes everything to turn off) or partial loss of contact (just the lights or just the spark). Try spraying a good electronic cleaner into your ignition.
The slow shut down of the engine sounds like a batch of low octane gasoline. The engine will continue running even though there is no spark, just like a diesel.
It is not uncommon for stations to fill their "premium" tanks with lower octane gasoline to make a few extra bucks. It may also be the wholesale supplier making the money by selling low octane gas as premium. The stations and bulk suppliers are only checked once a year and the inspections are scheduled in advance so it's easy to get away with this. I have also seen batches of low octane gasoline come out of a refinery and be sold as "regular", one with an octane rating below 75.
Run this tank dry or drain it out and fill up at a different station that buys from a different wholesaler and see if that helps. Draining the tank only costs about $3.00 and isn't that hard to do.
Good Luck and enjoy your trip this weekend.