If you use some starting fluid and it doesn't fire up then you can rule out fuel problems and it has to be spark.
on the spark issue, it could be the cap, rotor, plug wires or plugs.
have you tried to pull plug #1 and crank it over and see if it sparks?
also you said you never took the cap & rotor off, maybe there is moister in there, you can ground the opti and turn the key on and spin the opti by hand and see if you get any spark and injector action! i did that with mine once and could hear the injector work and got some pops from the intake.

 

I have been trying to crank it without the MAF installed, both completely off, and the sensors hooked up but the elbow off to the side. Don’t tell me that is my problem, I will kick myself in the nuts.

I do get a strong whiff of gas when trying to start, I wonder if too much gas is being dumped and it is flooding out. Probably not normal to smell gas every time you go and start it.

As for spark, like I said at least #4 is getting spark right now, I would imagine #1 is as well, but I could pull that one to check.

I wonder for how long it is been in a no start condition, the lack of fluid in the water pump, hoses, and top of the radiator indicate this issue has been chased by the previous owners. I’m leaning more and more towards that being why the car sat and ultimately unable to turn the crank due to moisture/rust.

Brand new Opti, wouldn’t expect moisture, but I suppose I can pull it and check. Would give me an opportunity to put the one that came on the car on the scope. Today might be just a mess around day, still have until tomorrow until my cable arrives. On the slow boat from Wisconsin.

 

I took off the cap and rotor from the old Opti (I assume another Duralast) because I had it here at the house. I haven't put this one on the scope yet, but I did notice the spline is offset from the center of the rotor - it was within the sweep, but maybe halfway between the edge and the center. I have no idea if this is fine or not. This still had the seal intact, and was absolutely pristine - I'm pretty sure this was never run with the car working. I could order a Petris, but at this point it might not be the route to go down. I don't mind eating the money I paid for the Opti that is on the car, particularly if it is determined I now have two good ones.

Today I am going to see about cleaning the battery ground near the motor mount, pulling the injector power to see if it is getting flooded on crank. Should I put the water pump back somewhere that the CTS will see at least ambient temp? The other question is when does the oil pressure switch start indicating good pressure, and what role (if any) does that have in the cranking process?

 

Tested TPS, showed .6 to 4.5V WOT. Doesn't seem to be an issue. I disconnected the injector harnesses and attempted to start the car, seeing if the available spark would ignite any fuel in the cylinders. That was a no, but I definitely smelled gas again. Either a leak, which there is no evidence for, or there is indeed a good amount of fuel going in. I see another spark plug pull in my future.

The other thing that has occurred to me is this: fuel pickup is at the bottom, right? So if there's water in the tank for whatever reason, I might still get a gas smell but it obviously won't spark. I should at the least test the fuel, if not drain it I think.

 

Check the vacuum line from the fuel pressure regulator. A leaking diaphragm in the FPR can dump raw fuel into the intake manifold. The line should be dry and not smell strongly of fuel. The fact the fuel pressure held when the pump primed and shut off would indicate there isn’t a problem, but worth checking.

 

Refresh my (failing) memory - have the fuel injectors been cleaned or replaced?

If you want to check the injectors, pull the fuel rial up with the injectors intact. Put a jar under each injector. Let fuel pump prime and check for leaks. Then have someone crank the engine while you observe the spray pattern.

Engine will be cold so that minimizes fire risk. But have the correct fire extinguisher nearby before doing the above. Eliminate any potential sources of spark. I normally recommend doing this outdoors, but that may be difficult in your case.

 

On that, I agree. I only smell the gas upon cranking, not on RUN while the line is primed, so I am keeping it as an option but it is very low on the list.

I have not touched the injectors. I don't know what their history is, only that the injector harness don't "clip" into them, just sit over the top. I don't know enough to determine if that makes them aftermarket. The car is outside, and I've had an extinguisher on hand for ether use. I can pick up a case of Bell jars and probably do that. I do think I'm going to siphon the fuel out today, though, and put some fresh 93 in.

There is the possibility that the plugs are getting flooded out, even with using the ether. I never stopped the fuel flow when attempting it. I'm really hoping that's the case, because if not we are back to spark/timing/compression.

 

If you think it's flooding, put accel pedal on the floor and hold it there, then turn the key start, continuing to hold pedal on floor until it starts. That puts the PCM in “clear flood” mode.

The harness connectors for the injectors should have built-in spring clips that fasten them to the injectors. Push in on the clip to release:

https://www.camaroz28.com/g/picture/20674058

 

Yeah, I'm completely missing those clips. I don't think it is impacting my start issue at the moment, though.

Working on draining the tank. I'm not sure who thought coiling up a siphon hose in the package was a good idea.

 

Duralast and others have been known to have the Opti-disc index wrong, also the optical sensors are garbage and cause erratic pulses to the computer.

 

As in, the entire disc is manufactured incorrectly? From what Gary stated, it seems like the pulses are fine. Timing could be the problem, sure.

Buying a $500 Opti at this point seems a bit of a gamble, unless we can come to a consensus that it really is a timing issue. I know the Autozones are a bit of a gamble, but I was banking on availability, and warranty. I didn’t find getting the water pump off to be a big deal.

I’d love to be wrong, though. In my line of work, we fall back to “if it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.” How can we document this?


I got almost all the fuel out, nothing doing on lighting up whatever fuel might be left in there. Gas looks clear, not cloudy. I’m going to try some more ether before I call it an evening and pull the plugs tomorrow. I am getting the oil pressure gauge to rise a bit on cranking, which is good. Seems to be cranking a bit easier on jumper cables, and tach is getting to about 100rpm doing so.

 

The little bit of ether did make it want to catch. This is a positive result.

 

The injector harness clips being missing may account for the intermittent firing of the injectors.

 

i don't know if the disc have flaws in it, but there are a lot of posts about how the disc is index, in other words, the slots don't line up to the right position on the crank shaft.

when they don't line up, then the computer tells the injectors and spark to fire at the wrong time (or position) in the combustion cycle.

google "duralast optispark problems"

 

For one glorious moment, it caught.

Aimed the ether towards the back of the intake, and I was getting more positive results. Decided to put the new gas in and hook the injectors up. Back to how it was. Then I took the injector fuses out again, and sprayed most of what was left of the can all around the intake. It struggled for a second, then caught, then it was gone again. This does prove I have spark. Another round of ether got it to just about do it again, but I didn't have much left at this point.

So, it can work. The Opti could be badly constructed, as stated. The bad gas still remaining in the line doesn't help (I should have been more patient and purged it), or possibly the injectors are dirty. Maybe all three.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. It is capable of running again I think is what it showed today. I think the smart play is to work on the injectors and fuel before I order a Petris.