Whats up,
i have a 96 camaro Z28 with about 139k on the clock. the engine had been running great until about 6 months ago. all of a sudden the check engine light went on and the engine started stalling out while driving. so i took it in the dealer and they couldnt really find the problem. they ended up doing new plugs and plug wires, ignition module, and ignition coil. ended up costing me over 2000 bucks. when i got the car back i noticed it was considerably slower but the check engine light was gone and it was running good. so about 300-400 miles later i was standing at a traffic light and the rpms started to dip again. a little later it started stalling again. so now i dont really drive the car, the check engine light is back on, the ODB is showing P0100, P0372, P1371. when i go outside and start the car, it ildes fine but if i drive it about five minutes in it will start to die. if im rolling i just downshift and punch the gas and it comes back but the second i let off it starts to die.
what should i do?? the dealer probably wont do anything even though the fault codes are showing the things that they fixed. what should i go tell them?? i fell like i got scamed out of 2 grand.\

sorry for the long post but im at a dead end and this is really starting to **** me off. also i have a hyper tech cumputer so i can check some stats if that helps.

Thanks a lot,
Neil


the fault codes are:
DTC P0100 MAF Sensor Ckt. Insufficient Activity
DTC P0372 IC 24X Reference Circuit Missing Pulses
DTC P1371 IC 4X Reference Circuit Too Few Pulses

 

P0100 = MAF sensor circuit, static frequency. Check to make sure the MAF sensor is getting +12V on the pink wire in the harness connector.

P0372 = loss of high res pulse from Optispark distributor
P1371 = loss of low res pulse froim Optispark distributor

The last one, loss of low res pulse pattern from the Opti is what is shutting it down. When the PCM can't find the low res pulse pattern, it shuts down the fuel system.

Hopefully, for $2,000+ they did more than plugs, wires, IC Module and coil. Possibly they replcaed the Optispark distributor? Hard to see how even Mr. Greedwrench and his assistant Ben Dover could rip you off for $2,000 without doing the Opti.

If you've only driven 300-400 miles, take it back and tell them they didn't fix the problem. Tell them you want your money back, then find a shop that knows what they are doing. It could be as simple as an electrical problem, corroded Opti harness, a broken pink wire in the MAF wiring harness (relatively common problem on the 97 LT1, and sometimes a problem on the 96), etc.

What codes did you get BEFORE they did the work?

 

I agree. Sounds like the opti is on its way out, Check the things fred outlined and get back to us with an update

 

yeah your right they did do a distributor also.
on another forum someone told me to check the intake elbow ans i noticed it was only half connected to the MAF. so i tryed to rig that back up (which was hard as hell) and then started the car. the check engine light went off and the engine was running real smooth. so i drove the car for about 10 min. and again it started to stall and sputter out. the check engine light came on and showed the same fault codes.
i called the dealer and set up an appointment to take it in on Monday morning. can i tell them to just give me my money back??


before i took it in to the dealer it was showing something about the dim1 O2 sensor and catalitic converter, i'll try to find my old estimate

 

UPDATE

i took the car to the dealer and they traced the problem to the opti-spark distributor. they kept trying to push a water pump replacement on me but i told them to just replace the distributor under warrenty. well once i got in the car and drove out of the dealer the red low coolant light came on. humm... when i checked the resovior it was a little low so i put in some coolant, but even with it filled to the top the light is still on. i drove it for about 20 min. and checked the level again and it was still topped up. what should i do??
well other than that the car is running great, when i punched it before it wouldnt ever spin the wheels but now it does every time. i feel like its back to the performance before the initial problems a couple months ago. could it have been running slow because they intalled the distributor wrong the first time??
also what would make the distributor crap out in 5 months??

thanks

 

For the coolant light just disconnect the positive battery terminal for about 10 mins to clear the code and it should go away.

 

NO!

The low coolant light has NOTHING to do with the PCM, and does not set a code. Its a simple connection direct from the coolant level sensor on the passenger side of the radiator, through the body control module to the light on the dash.
The low coolant light has NOTHING to do with the coolant reservoir. Its located on the passenger side end tank of the radiator, about 3" below the fill cap. Shoebox has a photo of it on his website, if you need help. Its measuring the coolant level in the radiator, NOT in the reservoir. You need to check the coolant level in the radiator (remove cap carefully if its hot). If the radiator level is "full", its a faulty sensor... a VERY common problem. If the radiator is NOT full.....

Since they had to pull the water pump to replace the Opti, its quite likely they did not correctly fill the radiator, and did not correctly bleed the air out of the cooling system. Either take the car back and ask them to fill it correctly (recognizing they may have the same technical IQ as the 3 Stooges), or fill it yourself and use the instructions on Shoebox's Tech Pages to bleed the air out.

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html

 

Sounds like some real smart part swappers over there eh?
Notice i dont use the word mechanic


Don