96 SS with a 96 Corvette LT4, Auto. It has been on the road for a couple of years. Suddenly quit running while driving at a steady 40 mph. Coasted to a stop. Shut everything off. Started it back up and drove home. Hmmmm. About a week later, stopping at an intersection and it died. Couldn't get it to re-start and towed it home. A day later went out to test and it started and ran fine. Since it isn't my only transportation, I wasn't anxious to get far from home but I did test it and run it quite a lot without any problem. Eventually, it failed again while I was at home so I got some ether and gave it a shot and it tried to run. After the ether evaporated, it went back to the too fast crank which indicates no fuel or fire. I finally got to do an OBD II test and got a code of P1371 (IC 4x Reference Circuit Too Few Pulses.) But the tester kept disconnecting and reconnecting so I'm not confident it is reading correctly. Oh, and everytime it died, I got a "Check Gauges" indication. Any help would be appreciated.

 

P1371 Distributor Ignition (DI) low resolution circuit

That means your optispark (distributor) or it's wiring harness is having issues getting the required pulses to the PCM. Check it's wiring harness first for solid connections and no corrosion.

 

Thanks, shoebox. I'll check that.

 

FYI, the Check Gauges light coming on if the engine dies is normal, and not indicative of another problem. When the engine dies, oil pressure falls to zero and voltage falls to ~12v (battery voltage) instead of 13-14v (alternator voltage). Both of these conditions will cause the Check Gauges light to come on, and since the engine is actually not running, it's fine. Just make sure you turn off the ignition!

 

Check for moisture in the opti connector...common, and for corrosion(green or chaulky)