I figured this situation will have no problem fitting in here as it's dealing with 3 systems/built motors/turbos/etc

Here's what I've got going on. My setup is a stock ECU running the guages, a FAST system spliced or "piggy-backed" with a www.fasttrackperformance.com harness, and a Delteq ignition.

I was tuning the car on the dyno about a month ago and had to quit because of an exhaust leak. Now, I noticed the car would break up around 4200rpm, so thus I thought I'd go with a more powerful ignition. Hence, the Delteq.

Now, I drove the car to the dyno, on the dyno, home FROM the dyno and it ran well (other than the exhaust leak). At home, I installed the Delteq system. After finishing the system, I tried to start the car and it didn't fire right away (long story short, plug wires in the wrong places). NOTE: while I was cranking away on the car and it didn't start, I noticed the ground strap near the stock coil location was getting quite warm... just something to note.

After getting the car to run, I let it sit and run for a good 5 minutes to clear everything up (plugs were definitely wet from the cranking and not starting). After that, I drove it home (10 minute drive at city speeds) shut it off. It sat for 30 to 40 minutes while I did some things and then I started it and drove over 150 miles back to Omaha... NO troubles whatsoever. It sat overnight and throughout the day until I started it around 5 and drove it to the dyno. Then, this afternoon he tried to tune it. It ran for about 5 minutes and then just DIED. It's like it completely loses spark all together.

THe stock computer is throughing a 36 code (has to do with a faulty opti high (or low, I forget) signal.

Anybody have any thoughts? This is probably going to be the last straw before I take drastic measures with this. I'm simply losing the drive to worked on a highly modified car.

Jesse

 

[no need to "quote" the original post]

TTT for you, I would liek to see how this turns out. When it turned off, were you able to fire it back up?. Also are you getting fire from all cyclinders?.What have you done since then.

 

Maybe the optical sensor inside the opti is shot? Since the stage 1 Delteq only replaces the Cap and rotor that could be possible.

 

I have an extra non-vented opti if you want it.

 

yup, it'll fire back up... sometimes.

My thoughts were leaning towards the opti as well, but how ironic is it that it would crap out RIGHT on the dyno day??!?!?!

NegCreep, I'm going to go with a new one this time around.

since I have the fast track harness, does the stock ECU still pull a signal from the opti or were those wires cut? (I don't have my directions infront of me, nor do I have the car.)

 

FAST uses the Low Res pulse from the Opti. I can't remember if that hookup was a cut, or a splice. If it was a cut then you would get a code because the PCM would no longer be seeing the low res pulse, but would see the high res.

 

Jesse,

The Delteq system needs both the high and low resolution sensors to function properly. The factory ECM needs both to work properly as well, but it will run with just the low-resolution sensor in a "limp home" type of mode.

My search found your code 36 to be:
DTC 36 - Distributor Ignition System (Faulty High Res. or Extra Low Res. Pulse Detected)

The ECM will trigger this trouble code when there is a problem with the high res sensor or encoder disk. It can also be thrown by a malfunctioning low res sensor.

I am not sure how the FAST system uses the Opti signals. They are technically able to use the low res sensor only, but this would drastically decrease their engine position accuracy (and result in inaccurate timing like GM's pre-LT1 distributors).

Which wires were getting hot on your car? The three black ground wires that screw to the front of the cylinder head (under the stock coil bracket)? Check to see that the engine is properly grounded and that the ground wires are tightened securely.

What year/make/model is your car?

Pete Visser
Delteq

 

Pete thank you for chiming in pertaining Jesse's issues.


Jesse give me a call if i can help out in any way


Jim

 

James, thanks for the option. I'll call you if I need anything .

Pete:
I've called fast track and left a message about the wiring questions. I'm almost possitive the opti wires were spliced into, rather than cut altogether. So, does that lead you to believe the high-res or low-res signals are struggling from the opti?

my car is a '94 Formula. The wire that is warm/hot is the ground strap that comes from the front-drivers head area and goes to the chassis. It's only warm if I crank on the motor for a while. Meaning, it seems that the starter current (only while cranking, of course) is going through that strap. Isn't there another strap it should be going though???

 

Jesse,

The ground strap you are referring to sounds like one of the main engine grounds. There might be one other one, but I am not sure offhand. Regardless, the starter current will flow through this strap, and it will heat up if you are cranking for a while.

The only way I would know for sure whether the high or low res sensor was bad would be to hook up an oscilliscope. You might be able to get some data with a digital multimeter though...

I would make sure that the opti sensor wires are not being shorted out in your harness. If there is a sensor wire being shorted out, it may ultimately damage the sensor, but it may also cause a good sensor's signal to drop too low in voltage for the ECM to read it.

There are 4 wires in the opti harness that runs along the passenger side of the intake. They are connected to a 4pin gray and black connector pair. The wires are:

A: Low Res (Red/Black)
B: High Res (Purple/White)
C: +12V from ECM (Red)
D: Ground from ECM (Pink/Black)

First make sure the +12V and ground wires are actually carrying +12V and ground. You can then probe across the low res and ground and the high res and ground to see the signals on a multimeter or scope.

There is a good chance that both sensors are intermittently working. I guess this is obvious since your car sometimes starts up. I would check for debris in the opti spark that may be blocking the sensors from reading the wheel...there may be oil buildup on the wheel causing some of the slots in the wheel to be opaque to the sensors.

 

Sell the coils and the Deltaq and get a distributor. Then your worries will be over. And your fustraction will end and you will enjoy your car.

Rob

 

excellent idea. How much will it cost to have an intake milled and buy a distributor?

I'm probably going to buy another vented opti and see if that solves it. First, I'll be taking off the delteq system and see if that is the culprit...

 

... and don't forget to pull the motor to install that distributor.

 

Jesse, why don't you check the wiring from your opti before you pull the Delteq... i am 99.9 % sure it's not the delteq unless it has been wired incorrectly...

Jim

 

jim,

i'm thinking that way too, but I had to check the wiring 99 times to make sure it was correct when I installed it (had the coils reversed). I'm certain the delteq is not the culprit, but I've got to narrow it down. Considering this is the last thing I did, I don't think that's out-of-line.