Little background. I bought the car not running. 94k original miles and well looked after. Told it was diagnosed with a bad fuel pump. Tested fuel pressure and it was below 10psi. So I changed the fuel pump. Now have around 41psi with a leak down of 38 after about an hour. So I would say that issue is solved. Still no start.
Was turning over with a spark at coil, but no spark on plug one. Plug has fuel on it. Tested the voltage at ICM and Opti and everything tested as outlined on Shoeboxes website. Replaced the coil (Autozone could not find the connecter to test ICM). Turned over and sounded like it wanted to start now. Sputtering and rumbling a little. Tried a few times. Last time it sounded like something blew. Now it will try to turn over slightly, but seems really labored. Any ideas what I can test next? SES light is on, but I don't have a tool to pull the codes.

 

Spark at coil but not at the plugs is the clue....check the rotor in the opti...it's probably broken.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply. Kinda figured the sound I heard was inside the opti. I was hoping it would be easier than ripping that thing apart. I assume this entails removing coolant, fans, water pump and dampener?

 

Drain coolant below water pump connections. Leave the fans alone. Remove the water pump. Remove the damper pulley only (not the hub). The engine can be bumped to position the 3 hub arms so that the Opti can be accessed.

 

Finally got around to removing the water pump. I have 5 bolts out but didn't see a mention of air pump removal. It looks like the water pump bolt and flange are under the air pump on the drivers side. Does that need to be removed also, or am I looking at it wrong?

 

They do share one bolt. Most setups have the AIR pump deleted.

 

Yes, the AIR pump has to be moved out of the way. Remove pump, then bracket to get to the stud holding on the water pump.

 

Optispark and coil wire were both bad. Cap was cracked and the coil wire was open. So I got it to start. Now a new problem. Still was labored starting, but started a few times. Now I went to start and I got a big puff of smoke and an electrical smoke type smell. This is coming from the rear of the engine bay on the passenger side. I assume the solenoid on the starter just blew? Is that a common issue. Any idea what could have caused it?

 

No, that is not common. Are you sure the wiring there is correct?

http://shbox.com/1/starter.jpg

 

Yes. Wired exactly as your diagram. The car is pretty much untouched from the factory. Doesn't look like you can just buy the solenoid, but an entire rebuilt starter. Is that a fact?

 

Some people have gotten solenoids or had them replaced at starter repair shops.

 

Figured I'd ask you guys since DB Electrical is closed until Monday. Removed the old starter and replaced it with the "OE" one from DB Electrical. Everything looked about the same, but the DB one is a tad bit smaller than stock delco. One noticeable difference is the smaller mounting flange on the DB. It did come with smaller bolts, but they just don't seem small enough. After fully tightening, the are about 1/4" too long. Starter is still loose. Anyone experience this issue with the DB starter on a 94?

 

If anyone else had this issue, I used the supplied long and short bolts along with a few lock washers-- that did the job. Didn't change the gear engagement and no shims were needed.