I believe I have the signs of the failing optispark. I have a hard start that gets hard ever so often (I have a new battery). It turns 4-5 times before catching. I have a weakened throttle response when the engine is heated up. I have a rough idle (I have new spark plugs). And a ticking noise, which I heard is probably arching coming from the passenger side of the engine. I do not honestly think this is the optispark itself but was curious if it could be. The ticking is loudest at start up. The ticking coincides with the rpms of the engine. As I accelerate it gets louder and faster. It drives me nuts. It goes away suddenly after about 5 minutes of driving. When it first started to happen it lasted a shorter period of time but lately it's lasting longer and longer. Could this be related to the optispark or more likely a spark plug wire? Or maybe something else? I plan on replacing the optispark soon. The car has 154K miles and I don't know if the opti has ever been changed. I really doubt it. I've been doing a lot of upgrades on this car since I bought it.

Thanks in advance,
Shawn

 

Start the car in the dark, look under the hood, and find the arc. If it is arcing, then that can cause all of the problems you are experiencing.

 

Might be an arcing plug wire. I had a wire arcing on my Z-28, it made a nice audible ticking noise, similar to a gas stove ignitor. Start it up at night time, or in a garage and you should see it lighting up.

 

I think part of your problem is an exaust leak..

 

Try spraying a mist of water out of a cleaner bottle (window cleaner / spray 9) over your ignition system in very low lighting if you suspect a leaky wire,you will see arking if you have a problem.

 

I'll second that the ticking is an exhaust leak. When the engine is cold there is a small gap, when it warms up the metal expands and makes the noise go away.

The rough idle and hard starting could be as simple as a fuel filter or a bad fuel pump. Sit in the back seat and see if you can hear a whining noise. If it's whining pretty loud then your fuel pump may be going. My car is having problems starting after sitting for long periods. This started after I started hearing the fuel pump making the whining noise.