1. tested the coil and it is putting out spark but unsure how much it should put out.

2. wires 1 and 4 both do not get spark.

Background:

the icm is brand new (got it for free so tryed it)

the opti has 1300 miles on it and is an acdelco, i converted to the vented opti a few months ago.

the wires are also 1300 miles and msd 8.5

plugs are now brand new.

the coil is 6 years old. it was putting out spark yesterday but i do not know what it should look like.

Main Question: is there a possiblity for the coil to fire but not enough fire to get to the plugs? also i check the coil last week and it put out 2300 ohms out of all 4 connectors. stock is around 8000 ohms but i'm told aftermarket coils run lower. the problem is that it is a discontiued coil and i can not find specs anywhere. thanks for you help

 

come on you guys i know someone knows somthing.

 

As I mentioned in my PM. If you have spark consistantly at the coil but not at a plug, it has to be either plug, wire, cap or rotor.

Swap a good plug and wire and see if spark returns. If not pull the cap off.

If you really want to check for spark CORRECTLY. Get a spark tester tool that has 2 contacts further apart than a spark plug. It will simulate a spark under compression.

 

no plugs have spark. i should have claified more clearly. those were the only 2 that i had checked. but none of them are getting spark

 

It's then a good time to double check the coil wire to the opti and if that has spark, it's time to open the opti.

Do yourself a favor and put a cylinder (doesn't matter which one) at top dead before you open the opti. On of the back 2 cylinders would be the best to do.

 

is there a way to check how hot of a spark is comming out of the coil? to make sure that its getting enough?

 

aight well after checking all the stuff with the multi meter i got pretty mad and said screw it. told my little brother to get in the car and crank on it while i held the coil . i shocked me, but not that bad. so i bought a new coil and it fired right up. I guess having a temper helped in this situation. thanks for the help.

 

Even good coils never seem to deliver the specified resistance. Unless I see a dead short or open circuit, I have yet to definatively diagnose a bad coil with a DVM that showed a resistance that was outside the spec. But, I have mistakenly replaced good coils when I believed the meter and the spec. And yes, I'm using a good, high impedence meter. So, don't feel bad about not nailing it down with the resistance test. Is you hair still standing up?

 

nah i'm an electricians apprentace and i'm used to getting shocked by 220's it actually was a little worse tho, more sting less vibration/suck you to it type shock. i'll live. might have discovered a cheap form of killing sperm and birth control doing it tho.