How to Troubleshoot a Chevrolet Beretta
The Beretta is a front wheel drive coup made by Chevrolet. The car was in production from 1987 to 1996. Although the Beretta was designed to be a reliable automobile, there are some common problems with it, especially as the vehicle gets older. These issues are primarily confined to engine compression issues. You'll need to troubleshoot them, however, before having anything fixed.
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Instructions
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Start the engine and check the idle. If the Beretta misfires or has trouble starting, it could be a number of issues. The most common start problem with high-mileage Berettas is a weak starter. This will present itself as a slower-than-normal cranking sound. It can be caused by the starter motor bolts coming loose or the starter itself dying. The teeth on the motor fail to fully engage with the flywheel, making it incredibly hard to get the car started. You'll need to have the starter replaced, or the bolts tightened, by a professional mechanic.
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Allow the engine to reach normal operating temperature. When the needle on the temperature gauge sits in the middle of the gauge between the lower and upper mark on the gauge, it has reached normal operating temperature. Once this happens, press on the accelerator quickly. With the vehicle in park, check the response time of the throttle. If it seems to bog down as you press on the accelerator, or if you quickly press the accelerator to the floor and then quickly lift up on the accelerator pedal all the way and it bogs down or stalls out, you most likely have an air-to-fuel mixture problem. This can be caused by dirty fuel injectors or a dirty fuel filter. Both will need to be serviced by a professional mechanic (dirty fuel filters will end up causing problems with the fuel injectors, so both should be serviced).
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Check for oil or coolant leaks in the engine. When the engine is at its normal operating temperature, check the exhaust coming out of the tailpipe. The color of the exhaust should be a light gray. If you see blue or white coming out of the exhaust, you have a leak int he engine. White, indicates that coolant is passing through the engine cylinders (the white is steam). This indicates a cracked engine block or--more likely--the high compression of the Beretta's engine has caused the head gasket to finally fail. This normally happens at around 100,000 miles. Blue is oil burning in the cylinders and indicates that there is oil being pushed past the oil seal rings on the pistons or that the valve cover seals are failing.
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