Help! Help! Help! Please!
I purchased a msd distributor from Summit, will turn over, but no start. The check engine light and check gages are on, and the (security light) was on, but it is off now. The car just stopped in the street approx. 1 1/2 months ago. New fuel pump, pressure regulator, (icm, coil, dist. wires from pcm to dist. are good), spark is good at plugs and coil, injectors good. Any help is much appreciated. Really need to get back on the road.

 

This should be in the LT1 engine section. Did you check the fuel pressure?

 

Yes, the fuel pressure was 41 psi. I had installed 2 distributors B-4 the msd one. The 1st time, the engine started and ran approx. 5 mins. and stopped. I removed the distributor and returned it to the parts store, and exchanged it for another. I installed the 2nd one, and tried to start it, but a little smoke came from it, that's when I checked the wires for a short (wires were good). Then I bought the msd dist. (the 1st two were new complete distributors).
Thanks, I will check out the lt-1 section.

 

Here is a link to read a little about the opti and check to see if its bad.

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1...d-opti-601565/

Have you done things like check the connector for corossion? Almost has to be something else, nearly impossible odds that all three were bad. I know you can install the opti wrong and it will not run. It can be forced on with little effort and many have done it. Does your battery have a full charge?

 

Yes, I checked the connector, no problem was found, and the battery is fully charged. It seems as though it tries to start sometimes and chuggs.

 

A bit hard to follow the sequence. Did the car just stop running, and then you installed the 3 Optis that did not fix the problem? Or did you replace the Opti first, and then it suddenly stopped running and you replaced it two more times.

Did you verify each time you installed an Opti that you had correctly indexed the splined Opti drive shaft? Did you verify the correct plug wire sequence?

At any point during all these problems, did you scan it for codes?

 

Injuneer
thanks for the feedback: This is what happened, the car just suddenly stopped one day in traffic, prior to this event, no problems were present at all. I checked for codes,none were present, checked the icm, coil, fuel pressure, fuel regulator, injectors, (all good).
#1. purchased a new complete opti at the parts store, installed, and started, it ran for approx. 5 mins. then stopped.
#2. I removed #1 and returned it for a replacement, installed #2 and tried to start, there was some slight smoke coming from the opti. I checked the wiring from the pcm to the dist. for a possible short, (no problems were found, even unwrapped and checked the wire runs in the harness)
#3. I purchased the msd opti, installed it, indexed the drive shaft correctly and labled the plug wires, and tried to start, but to no avail.
I had replaced opti's in 2000 & 2008. At the present time, there are check engine & check gages lights on the dash, this is the 1st time that this has happened.

 

when my ignition switch on the column went out on me it die in traffic. Also check your starter.

 

Check your codes first. Ignition stitch and starter as stated above can both cause the issues you are having. Seem like the opti replacements aren't working so you should look else where.

 

Thanks guys,
I checked for codes when I initially started having problems, but no codes were ever present anytime. I will check the ign. swh, and the starter, so I will post the results asap. Thanks again for the inputs.

 

Thanks to all who responded:
I did check out the starter and the ignition switch, and lo and behold, the starter had a bad connection (tightened the bolts, and solved the problem). I really enjoy the forums, a great site to find on-line, and I will be posting replies to try to help someone.

 

Glad to hear it helped you solve your problem. I have mentioned it to several others and your the first to find it was the cause. Doesn't really make since the car would die while running, since it appears to only be used to start the car.