Well my car has been hesitating a bit lately, and today the SES light started blinking. Apparently this means it was badly misfiring. When the light started to blink, I let up on the gas and drove it easy. What could this mean? The plugs were replaced around 15,000 miles ago, but not the wires. Is it possible the Opti is starting to go? The car has 94k miles on it. Should I not drive the car until it is fixed?

 

You need to have the code(s) pulled. Take it to Autozone and have them read the code(s). Be sure to take note of the exact code number(s) and post them here.

 

Mine did that a while back, so I checked the wires and one of them was burnt by the headers. I got new wires and that took care of it. But I agree with moparman, take it to autozone.

 

Update: I took it to Autozone and the code is P0300: Random Misfire. So I looked around on the net and people say it may be related to cap/rotor, plugs, or wires. I might buy that MSD cap and rotor, but its somewhat expensive. Is it possible my Opti is dying all together?

Also what about fuel? I replaced the fuel filter a couple of weeks ago, but what if the injectors are dirty? I put in some 44K when I changed the fuel filter, but it didnt seem to do an enormous difference.

 

It could be an ignition related problem with the Opti. It can also be a case of clogged/dirty injectors. I would also check the car over for any vacuum leaks.

 

I would check the plug wires first. Make sure they aren't touching a header primary of getting cut by the pulleys on the passenger side.

If you just changed the plugs, it might be a wire that is hitting a header or a broken boot or old wires with tiny cracks in them.

 

I had the same problem about two years back. After changing the plugs, one of the plug wires was too close to a primary and melted all the wat threw to the core. I would look for that, especially on the passenger side. It might be in a spot that is not so obvious.

 

I'm not sure if it is the plug wires, since the car seems to hesitate under ~2000 rpm, not at all rpms. It seems to be fine at higher RPMs. Is it more likely to be fuel since this is the case?

 

Check your plugs and wires, but the first thing I would do is check the injector pigtails. I've had two LT1's and I've had injector pigtails get loose on both of them. Just a thought before you go through the hassle of changing plugs and wires or digging into the Opti...

 

I would try to isolate the problem first. W/ the engine running, pull injector clips off the injectors to see if there is one that doesn't make a difference in idle. When you find it it'll make your job that much easier.