I just finished taking everything off for my opti install and noticed something that makes me worried. I was looking at my opti that only has about 9,000 miles on it and noticed that the prong that sits inside that coil terminal on the top of the opti looks coroded and burnt. It almost looks like it has a white charcoal look to it. I put a MSD blaster coil on there about 200 miles ago. The terminal on the coil still looks fresh and new with dialectric grease. Aslo the coil wire that connects to the opti looks chared inside the boot. What could be causing this. Do you think I have a bad coil wire (which is brandnew) or is there something wrong with the blaster coil. I don't want to put my new opti on and have it fried in two weeks because the coil or ICM is bad. I'll post some pics tonight when I get off work.

By the way, the reason why I'm changing my opti is because of my code 16. I checked the wiring and everything was correct. Now I'm starting to think that my opti was killed due to the coil.

Also, the wires are MSD 8.5 (over the valve cover), the pugs are NGK Iridiums, and the coil is MSD blaster. All were replaced at the same time which was about 200-300 miles ago.

 

Is it possible that coil wire is arching at the opti terminal causing it to turn chared like that?

 

A poor connection can certainly cause a high voltage wire to disintegrate. The arcing will eat up the metal terminals, leaving a powder behind.

 

I'm pretty sure that is what happened because I remember my car having a hard time starting after driving it for a while. Then it wouldn't start back up until I would jiggle the the coil wire at the opti side. The terminal in the opti looks disenegrated, which makes me believe that is what ruined my opti.