on my trip back from the black hills classic i incurred some problems.

first i ran out of gas 15 feet from the pump at a gas station. that was more comical than anything. filled up and i was on my way.

next day as i continued my trek accross the state my car would lose "power" but not shut off. - meaning i would hear a loud pop and start losing speed. if i pressed to juice pedal nothing would happen.

while waiting roadside for a tow truck i spoke with my local mechanic and he advised for me to tell the local dealer look/replace the ignition coil and control module. (these simulate a "lean fuel reading").

got towed back in to the chevy dealer in rapid city and they determined that it was my fuel pump that was bad - not the coil or module.

on the way i went. 30 minutes later the same thing happend in the same location on the highway. dumb luck.

instead of getting towed back found that after the engine sat at idle for a few minutes i was able to continue driving "normally" for a distance. the problem did reacure after a some distance but i treked on.

i finaly stopped at a dealer in souix falls sd and told them of everything that was happening and what my regular mechanic advised.

they didn't believe it was electrical they thought it was fuel related. they found an o-ring missing at the in-line filter and replaced it.

before i left the shop i had my mechanic talk to the servicing tech and they finally agreed to replace what he originally suspected - ignition coil and ecm.

first they changed the coil and i was on my way - only to completely breakdown 3 miles away from the dealership. this time the car lost electrical power.

the culpret- ignition control module.

got towed in. and my luck - they didn't have a new one in stock. they found a used module and gave it to me for free.

i made it home ten hours later - with extreme paranoia.

since my car has developed a backfiring problem.

last week i had the used module replaced with a new one. it runs great for about and hour or so, or 50 or more miles, and then the symtoms reacure. the back firing happens between 45 and 65 mph. i have not experienced it at higher speeds.

i'm looking for any suggestions...

has anyone else had this problem?
does any have a cure?

does anyone have a bullet with my cars name on it?

thanks in advance
dan

 

Read my "All Noobs read this "post in "General".Your not going to get help with the info you posted.Something is missing.

 

sorry about that. my signature should been attatched. it is now.

 

I think we want to know what year and trans you have.

It's OK man, we all go through it.

 

trans - 4 speed auto


we should start a therapy thread.

 

OK now were in bussiness.Were /are there any codes?I see you belong to the High Miles club like me now.Ignition troubles can be a lot of different things. Did you use the proper heat sink paste when installing the module? Start watching for a temperature link like at what temp does it happen.

How about plugs,wires etc.? I basically replaced almost all my ignition system when I got it except for the module and coil and that is on my to do list in the future.

Lastly the Opti is a source of backfiring and misses especially when the water pump starts to leak. It can be a dribble at first but it will get worse.

 

opti? - SHEEESH! i don't even want to think about that thing.

plugs and wires were done 18 months, 10,000 miles ago. i have been thinking that could be part of the cause. that or some random wire shorting out.

i was thinking i could have flooded a plug when all my problems started. but i do not have any of these issues when idling.

the icm was installed at the dealer by my tech and yes it was installed it properly.

temp wise i am running at "midrange" on the guage.