white/blackss

ok, so ive had about 5 people from here call me and offer there advice and it`s great how we can all stick together like we do on here.

and to add my 0.02 cents on something, i wish it was a real 2001 camaro ss, actually i might go out and buy a orange one if it has low miles and is in good shape. i love this car, its the only camaro that ive ever drove and ive owned 20 mustangs!!

my fastest one was a notchback 1986 and it ran 11:50 on motor.
still, just to drive my camaro and sit in this car it feels so much better than the mustangs do.

ok so on to my story, (( again )) i been getting mixed advice about the opti,
some say that i can switch to a vented opti and the 1997 timing cover to add the cps, and some say i cant.

please, if i can easily switch the timing covers, opti, and harmonic balancer i need to know this, i now have that 1997 engine harness and will go out and buy the parts to make it all work.

a fellow member whom phoned me said that i would have to change the camshaft if i wanted to adapt the 1997 cps system to my car, is this true?
is there anyway around this?

i really dont want to change my cam just to make my car run again but i might have to.

well as always, thank you all and if you can answer any of this PLEASE DO!!

TraceZ

"To swap, the later distributor, vacuum harness, distributor harness, and timing cover must be used. A camshaft with a longer dowel pin and a hole in the center is required, along with a modified cam gear or 95 or later timing set or the LT4 or LT4 extreme duty timing set."

http://www.noid.org/~muttvette/opti.html

I was the guy that told you that on the phone. You dont need to convert it anyways. If it ran with that engine harness before, it should run again. There are guys that have transplanted motors and get them to run using the factory harness. You should be able to get it to run in your car. Did you ever locate those connectors that pass through the firewall behind the PCM and make sure they are plugged in correctly to the interior harness?

white/blackss

yes i did locate the connectors, and yes they are all plugged in.

well today i finally brought the car to my house and put it in my garage with a new heater, before the car was about 20 miles from my house and my tools.
so needless to say that i will be giving it ALL of my time to try n get it running.

ok, im sorry for doubting you about the optispark but i dont know anything about that system and there was other members that called and said that i easily could swap the parts from a 1996 caprice motor.

have you heard about this? is there some difference with the caprice cams that the vented system and cps from that engine will work with my cam?

well, either way i will be working with what i have now and trying to get it running.

as soon as its all done i will post a COMPLETE how to with proper spelling and captions, it may take me a week or so but i will post it here just for reference if anyone else wants to do this swap in the future.

RE AND CHERYL

Just noticed a thread about putting a 97-02 dash in a third gen car. If it's possible in a third gen car, then is should be no problem in your car.

Good luck finding what you missed.

white/blackss

can someone give me a link or a how too check for power at my opti and coil?

im stumped, i got fuel, but no spark, i have good ground,power,and switched power at the pcm.

this thing has to run, it should run without anywires inside of the car as long as the pcm has power, switched power and ground.

maybe i somehow fried the opti?

any thread would be great.

thanks again

TraceZ

Are you getting injector pulse? If so, that comes from a signal from the Opti.

I have a great link to troubleshoot LT1 no-start problems. CHECK IT OUT HERE

TraceZ

Dammit, the link doesnt work anymore. Here is a copy of what it used to say....

This artical will help to diagnose and repair an LT1 No start condition.


Specialty tools you will need...
12Volt Test light
Digital Volt Meter (DVM)
Noid Light (auto zone Part number OEM 25143)
Fuel Pressure Gauge with GM fuel rail fitting
A friend to help you out

If possible It's a good idea to Get teh Car scaned for Diagnostic Trouble Codes to help pinpoint an easy problem.


Before we begain lets have a quick overview on the use of a test light. A testlight is a very simple and easy to use diagnostic tool. You can pick one up at any parts store or tool store. The testlight consits of 4 basic parts. a clear body, a light bulb inide the body, a sharp metal probe on one end of the body, and a wire with a clip on the other end. When you are trying to find Positive voltage place the clip on a good ground soruce (usualy the Negitive battery terminal) however any motor or chassis ground will work. When you are looking for a ground signal you must place the clip on a positive feed (usualy the positive battery terminal) but the alternator wire and starter wire are other choices. Thats all there is to it.






First thing we will do is check for Fuel.


Install the fuel pressure gauge onto the shreader valve on the fuel rail. a picture can be found here http://shbox.com/1/fuel_schrader_valve.jpg
Once you have the gauge installed turn the key on but leave the engine off. this is the first key position BEFORE start and is refered to as KOEO (Key On Engine Off)

With KOEO the fuel pressure should imediatly go to 43.5psi +/- 2 PSI

The next important thing to do is watch the gauge. The pressure should hold right about there. Any bleed off could cause no start, hard start or bad perfromance.

If the pressure drops slowly you could have a leak in a line or fitting or possibly a faulty fuel pressure regulator. Usualy if you pull off teh vacuum line to teh regulator it will be wet if it is faulty.

Another cause of slow bleed down is a stuck or shorted injector. this will usualy cause a hard start and can be very very damadgeing to the motor since fuel is filling that cylinder when ever there is pressure in the lines.

If the pressure bleeds down fast it is usualy due to a faulty fuel pump check valve and the fuel pump will need to be replaced.


now that we know if you have fuel lets see if you have spark

remove the plug wire from the ignition coil. Clip your test light to the neg post of the battery. hold the test light probe close to the coil where the plug wire attaches to the coil. Have someone crank the car and spark should ark to the test light probe. It should be a strong blue color and arc a gap of around an inch. No we know if you have spark.



No fuel Spark ok Diagnostic.

you have a problem with your fuel system to where either the pump is not working or it's not getting to the fuel rail. With your pressure gauge attached to the rail take a wire lead from the pos battery post to the fuel pump prim connector. this connector runs directly to the fuel pump and will activate it and let you know if you have wireing problems in the fuel system. a picture of the location of the connector can be found here http://shbox.com/1/fuel_pump_prime.jpg

With battery volatge do you se 43.5psi on the fuel gauge?

if yes, see Fuel System electrical diagnostics.
If no, see Fuel pump testing



Fuel pump testing
The only real good way to make sure the pump is bad is to check for power at the sending unit. the sending unit witch holds the fuel pump is located inside the fuel tank. With the prim connector jumps with battery volatge probe the hot wire at the tank (usualy Grey or red) Does the test light light up?

NO, Fix short in wire between fuel pump relay and pump

yes, check for ground on the black wire.

Does your test light light up?

no, repair ground wire

Yes, Replace fuel pump



Fuel system electrical diagnostics

First we need to get at the fuel pump relay. here is a picture of it http://shbox.com/1/fuel_pump_relay.jpg *note 93-95 and 96-97 systems are slightly different.

With your test light at the relay test for ground on the black/white wire. Do you ahve a ground?

Yes, contunie to next step
no, repair ground wire.

Next with your test light and the key in the Key on engine off (KOEO) position test for hot into the relay at teh orange or pink wire depending on year. do you have hot?

yes, continue to next step
No, check iner panal and fuse panal fuses and replace any bad fuses and recheck

next check for hot on the Dark Green and white wire while cranking. This is a hot from the PCM to trigger the relay. do you have hot?

yes, continue
no, check wire back to PCM. if still not hot directly out of teh PCM possible faulty PCM.

if you have all hots and ground at teh relay next check the function of the relay itself. do this by checking for hot at the gray Wire with your testlight with the engine cranking. Do you have hot?

yes, relay and wireing is working correctly. veryify battery voltage with a Multi meter
No. unplug relay. with key on engine off use a fused jumper wire to aplly voltage from the pink or orange wire terminal to the gray wire terminal and recheck for hot at the gray wire. if you have hot replace the relay and recheck gray wire with the relay pluged in





No Spark Fuel ok Diagnostics


The first thing we will do is verify the optical sesnor is working correctly. and here is how..

unhook 1 fuel injector connector. with your testlight check for pulsing ground on the NON PINK wire while cranking the engine(different years use different color wires but all year have pink wires for the positive voltage side of the connectors) The other choice you have is to use the noid light noid light AZ OEM part number 25143, plug the noid light into teh connector and crank the car. The light should flash..

Do you have a flashing ground while cranking?

Yes, the optical sesnor is sending the signal and should be ok, continue to to test the ign system.

no, the optical sensor is not working see testing opti section.


next we will see if the coil and ICM are causing the no spark.
first on the ICM connector with KOEO check for hot on the pink wire. do you ahve hot?

yes, next step
No, check ign fuse, repalce and retest.

Nect check for ground on the black wire. do you have ground?

yes, next step
no, repair ground

next test for a pusing ground at the green wire at the coil coming from the ICM. Do you have a pulsing ground?

yes, next step
No Replace the ICM *note, I have seen a bad coil burn up an ICM. It might be a good time to replace or upgrade your coil*


next with your testlight check for hot on the Pink wire at the oil. do you have hot?
yes, Replace your coil *note, High resistence from bad plug wires can burn out coils. You can Ohm test plug wires or replace them if wanted*

No, Check and repair ign fuse




OPTI testing

If you failed the injector pulse test we must make sure that all the power is getting to the opti.

With teh testlight and the car on KOEO test for hot at the red wire at the opti. do you have hot?

if yes. then the optical sensor is not working and is porobably bad. based on the other tests run this is causing your no spark condition. it;s time to replace your opti.

If no, the pos feed comes from the computer. check that the PCM is sending the signal, if not then you might have a faulty PCM




No Start, Spark ok Fuel OK diagnostics

If you have fuel pressure and you have spark at the coil there are only a few more reasons the car will not start.

First and most popular is Rotor damagde in the opti. to check for this make sure you have spark at the OPTI end of the coil wire. Use your grounded testlight to check that. if you have spark at teh coil but not through the coil wire replace the wire. if you do have spark going in check for spark coming out of the opti. if you ahve spark in and non out the rotor was damaged and needs to be repalced.


Something that I have run into that causes a no start is a bad coil wire. Sometimes the opti end of the wire will crack and distort causing a lot of internal arcing and bad contact. If you look into the opti end there should be a plastic insert that keeps the wire centered and making good contact. if it;s cracked or broken replace it.


another no start problem could be no injector pulse. Use a noid light to verify injector pulse. if you have none check for the ground signal from the pcm. and check for the KOEO hot signal on the pink wire. They go back to 2 fuses in the fuse box.


Another point to consider is compression. a cyl will run on about 70 pounds of compresstion but it will not run well.



I am still amending and correcting this artical. please bear with me

Please feel free to view the rest of the site that this artical is posted on. anyone is free to join. we have several car forumes and welcome new memebrs http://mainstreamtopics.com/forum/index.php?act=idx


I would like to thank Rob AKA Shoebox for the use of his pictures, you can find more at his site http://shbox.com/page/index.html

white/blackss

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO,, I MEAN WOOOOO HOOOOOOOO, it finally started today, woooo hoooooo!!!!!!!!!

ok so i was about to call it quit when i seen a pink wire on the brake pedal switch and i tested it for switched 12 volt power and sure enough there was none.

now all the pink wires are suppost to be 12v switched and all orange wires should be 12v battery.

i ran a switched power wire to that pink wire and sure enough the service engine soon light came on and i cranked it and it started right up!!

actually, i even soldered the wire on there and went and drove it around and everything works great and it ran fine, now i do have a check engine light on and for some reason it says abs inop and that worked before but it finally runs.

i will post a complete how to and what i had to change to make this work, it will take me a week or so but it will be here, or am i suppost to put it somewhere else?

THANK ALL OF YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP ON THIS!!!!!
IT PROBABLY WOULD STILL BE IN A MILLION PIECES IF IT WERNT FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP...

IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO CALL ME ANYTIME OR CATCH ME ON HERE, AS I LOG ON SEVERAL TIMES A DAY.

THANKS AGAIN!!

TraceZ

Congratulations! I knew it was just a matter of time... It sounded like you already had all the parts you needed to get it working.

What code is causing the SES light?

Also, why would a wire on the brake light switch prevent it from starting?

white/blackss

im not sure about the ses light cause i didnt scan it yet, and your guess is as good as mine about the brake light switch, its pin 2 i think on the 4 wire connector and its a pink wire, it was the only one in the whole car that makes it start, very strange.

thanks on the congrats!! i gotta lot of assembly to complete on this thing and i will b taking pics and trying to post em on here when its all said and done.