i just replaced the optispark in my camaro and sadly it doesnt quite work as i would like it to. the reason for changing the optispark was that when i was driving down the street all of the sudden the car decided to die on me. i had it towed to a shop and they told me they would replace it for $800 dollars, so i replaced it myself. before i replaced the optispark it would start, idle fine, then drive for a few moments. after replacing the optispark it will not start. we charged the battery because it was near dead. then tried to start it, first it just spit out smoke assuming that it was just fuel we let it air out. then tried to start it again. it started but it died right after. like 30 minutes later we got it to start again and it sat and idled for a minute but when i gave it a little gas it died immediately. i cant figure any solutions. if you got an input please help.

 

Did you replace it with the GM opti, or an aftermarket unit?

Is the SES on?

 

its gm. same as the one i took out.

the ses is off but before i replaced it, it came on after it killed when i tried to start it again.

 

If you have a way to pull the codes, try it and see if anything is there.

I just put an MSD cap and rotor on, and it ran a couple of minutes and died. It set a high res code. The cap and rotor were bad.

 

i ran it after i put it on and there were no codes. before i replaced it i got the low res code.

 

You should look closely at the Opti exension harness, specially the end that connects to the optical module. Usually they corrode on that end and/or the terminals are loose and you get false contact and symptoms like the one you describe.

 

it turned out that it was my friends fault. i took it up to the shop and they told me that i had it timed right but my buddy mixed up the spark plugs on the drivers side.