3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Lets see.... Replaced fuel pump a month ago then car sat since cause of snow

Took out thurs died then restarted later took to work no problems next day drove it got stuff to do oil change.

Sea foamed it drove it till it burned off

Shut car car off ran inside for a bit came out started car and pop and no start

Had spark to opti but none to plugs and had voltage

Replaced with an orielly rich something brand.. Had fire but wouldn't start

Floored it and it started but only revved to 1lk barely...

Took it off and took it back... Tried another same deal

Went back got a re manufactured opti

Car started first hit but 10 seconds into it... It was so pig rich it would barely run although it revved ok then died

Replaced plugs/wires tried again first fired but broke up and was so rich it died

Double check firing order about 20x ok there

Icm new 3k coil new about 5 or 6 k

As it sits right the only way to get it to start is by flooring it and boy it's gassy!

I have to be doing something wrong. Yes I know franchise opti/distributors arnt the best for these cars but damn this is crazy

Can timing be messed up somehow?

This is 93 opti style so I'm at a loss.

Thank art

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Sounds like the engine is flooding with fuel. Did you check the fuel pressure after installing the new pump?
Could be stuck injector(s) or defective fuel pressure regulator.

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

No I did not check fuel pressure

I got injectors coming soon but they are 24's

And regulator didn't have fuel leaking from vacuum hose or there something else I need to check on the regulator??

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Are you sure you are indexing the Opti correctly with the splined shaft "odd" tooth? At any point have you scanned it for codes.... the Opti can set two codes. Have you checked both ends of the short Opti harness for corroded or damaged connectors/pins, or missing insulation?

Did you possibly leave the coolant temp sensor in the water pump damaged or not plugged in?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

I'm paranoid about the pin not lining up but all three did slide in

One opti came with a new harness and I kept it upon returning it

Now I have the water pump off

I just did a preliminary start up but damn wouldn't it idle and start??

I'm going to assemble it and see what happens..

Everytime I check for codes I get none

Thank art

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

You would be surprised by the number of people I've seenon this site in the 16 years I've been here, who have inserted the splined shaft incorrectly.... and yes it is possible.


How are you checking for codes?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Yesterday I pinned it. This morning I hooked up Doug's program.

Car did fire first try this morning and idled

So maybe not having pump and stuff on is only giving me a short window before it goes full rich?

Water pump coolant sensor is hooked up but pump is lieing on ground

So that's what I'm thinking is going on

After first two opti fails I didn't Finnish install until I knew for sure I got a good opti

I'm sure it's something simple

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

The PCM will richen the mixture and elevate the idle when coolant temp is low. And of course, at this point, it's only measuring the air temp.

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

mixed up wires? Are you getting a harness wit the optis?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Well it's all put together and just won't run at all

All you smell is gas and I've checked everything

I can replace the icm and coil again its been less than 3 months

And the only reason I replaced everything then was a stupid ignition fuse wasnt making contact in the box cause a wire pulled away somehow

Hell that racetronix fuel pump could be junk too

I don't know really gotta step back

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

I got spark everywhere and it's a good spark too actually surprised me..

I replaced coolant sensor with a known good one but no start probably flooded to hell

So how am I screwing up installing an opti? Do I need to find number1 tdc with opti out and then retry?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Can bad map sensor cause this and also not throw codes?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

I smacked fuel pump relay and car cleared up. Lol tell me that's not weird

Car has started everytime so far

Got a data log in a minute

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Well make it #4

Took it to work got gas. Started up the on ramp and the car started breaking up and tach was all over the place bouncing around..

I turned it around quick and the whole time tach was flickering and bouncing while car was bucking and cutting

Pulled in driveway let car idle and a few minutes later car died. Tried to start it started barely and made a loud pop and died

Im so sick of this car

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Sounds like the problem is cheap Optis, not the "car". There are people here who have gone 150,000 miles on the OEM Opti. Did all these "franchise" units come from the same source?

The crazy tach would appear to indicate a problem with the optical cam position sensor in the Opti. The other problems could still be something else.

What have you found when you opened up the failed units? Have you been applying loc-tite to the rotor screws before installing?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Lol Fred I know I know and agree

My original made the same pop and if its correct that's 243k miles

This one lasted 300 miles

Atleast my car got me back home then took a dump in my drive way

No I did not loctite anything or took one apart but my original did rattle

I need to buy this #4 special socket so I can do this..

I just purchased an oem opti so hopefully I'm not doing this again Wallet getting empty

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Take a Torx screw out of the throttle body cover, wrap the threads in tape to protect them, put it in vise grips, and use the Torx head as a E4 external socket. Or just get another Torx screw same size as the TB cover (T15 ???). Cheaper than a socket.

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Checked codes

Same 13 28 and 32.

New one is 42

Car did fire up no problem and idle. I replaced icm 6 months ago and did do the cooling mod.

Will 42 come up only for icm and ECM ?

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

I have a broken tab on pigtail to icm must have vibrated loose. Reset codes and taking for drive. This is weird

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

GaryDoug has built an LT1 engine simulator, complete with all sensors, Opti and PCM. He tried spiking the Opti low res signal, and I believe he found that could trigger the ICM code. Nothing in the factory manual about that though. I trust Gary.

Erratic signals from the optical cam sensor in the Opti don't seem to set codes (only total failures), but they can affect the way the engine runs... surging, whacky tach, stumbles. The cheap Chinese rip-off optical modules they use in the cheap Opti's appear to be real junk.

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Well when I seen code 42 and car started up I was thinking heat soak?

While car was running I wiggled icm plug and car died. So I checked voltage and I'm 4.5

So I sprayed electrical spray in contacts a taped and zipped tied..

I drove it till I got to temp then shut it off for 10 minutes (about how long it took me to fill up and get drinks for work) started right up.. So I flogged it. Clutch held up to lay marks in 1st and 2nd

So I took it to my favorite straight and beat on it good 4th gear only 5th/ 6th slip at 120mph

It's been idling for 20 minutes and not a miss or sign its gonna die..

Well I have a known good brand new oem opti coming so if this happens again I know for sure it's the opti

Most of my plugs ie harness tabs are broken so I gotta be careful things are old and brittle lol like the owner..

Thanks again Fred for chiming in..

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

If you like, you can send me the Opti for analysis and I will return it intact. That way you would have a clue about the failure mode and possible causes. You pay for shipping out and I will pay for return shipping. The test would include a 2 hour heat soak test of at least 150* F. If the failure is obvious, I might be able to repair it at no charge. No promises.

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Thanks Doug so far so good

Thanks for the offer I might send my new one if advised

Re: 3 opti sparks bad in a row or am I screwing them up?
 

Some distributors seem to need the E5, others the E4. This set has both and they fit perfectly.
6 Pc 1/4 in. Drive E-Socket Set