Okay, I was running my 96 CE hard up to, well, exceeding the speed limit running from an irritating little 350Z and when I let out of it the car was dead. Never could restart... After troubleshooting today, (worried about jumped timing chain, 173,000 miles) so, checked timing with timing light on #1 plug. No light flashing. so I pulled #2 plug cuz it was easier to get to, saw fire. Assumed timing light was broke so pulled #1 plug to manually check timing and no fire. Then saw that #2 was firing intermittenly.

Here's my questions, would the opti go out on one plug and then intermittenly fire on the other? Also, (after the fact, I was told that it is a BAD thing to pull the plugs old school to check for spark)... is it really detrimental the the system and how so?

Last question... with all the "improved" options for the opti (delteq, LTCC, msd opti.. etc..) what would ya'll recommend as a replacement? Currently just trying to maintain the car until I have my shop built, then shooting to rebuild it as a 500hp naturally aspirated engine, would like to upgrade to something that could be transferred over to a high performance engine with everyday reliability.. (everybodys dream)...

Thanks,
Brian
Lafayette, LA

 

First get a Factory Service Manual from www.helminc.com for your year.
Second pull your codes there are other things that could cause this but it may be an opti rotor/cap problem.
With the FSM you will have a detailed flow chart to find the cause.

 

well, if this is the OEM opti, it could be dead, but there are simplier things to check first:

1) coil wire... they are known to chaffe against the waterpump.

2) coil itself... they do die

3) Ignition Control Module... see #2. It is directly behind the coil, both of which are on the right cylinder head, near the PS reservour.

Also, check codes... report them back to us, if any are present. I would spend some $$ and get an OBDII code reader and the FSM as noted above.

Thems be good places to start looking.

 

I had the ignition control module die on me, and it went all at once with no warning. If it turns out to be the opti, you may want to check on the availability of the MSD version. Not sure if it is out yet.

 

Okay.. first off..

I know its not the FSM, but I do have a chilton's manual. I did goto the helm website and it appears to be for dealers only, so, how do I get a book?
Second, all wires and plugs have less than 3000 miles on them, but will recheck for chafing.
Thirdly, someone mentioned an OBD codereader... any recommendations on which brand is best for the money?

Plan on changing the coil with the opti, once I get some recommendations on optis... Was leaning toward the delteq, but, MSD is looking better with the complete assembly from a tried and true manufacturer plus the coil. Still looking for answers to my third question...

Thanks for the feedback,
Brian
Lafayette, LA

 

Helm, Inc: 1-800-782-4356 Call them and they'll sell you a FSM. The Chilton's is pretty weak.

For a second-gen Opti replacement, I'd probably just go with another OEM unit (with a generous amount of RTV smeared all over the seams), unless you're willing to spring for considerably more $, in which case, I'd suggest the DynaSpark.

If you're gonna rev the engine north of the stock redline, consider the Delteq (but be aware that it will still require a functional optical section of the Opti -- just not the rotor & cap).

Last I heard, the MSD is still not available to the public, but that could be stale info now.

Be well,

SJW

 

Helm will sell to anyone - I recently bought the FSM for my Blazer directly from their web site.

This link should take you directly to the available manuals for the '96 Corvette ...

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...LHQ1MJNDLACKG7

Good Luck!

Steven

 

Thanks for the input and help with finding the FSM.... I'll be purchasing that next week. FYI about the opti, MSD is selling thier new complete opti ($499). I was going to get the delteq setup, but read a bit in some forums about how they are flaky (as is the LTCC deal). I'm thinking with MSD my chances of getting a better QC'd product increase, so, I'm prolly gonna go with them and change the coil and ICM as well. Still trying to acquire info before actually purchasing anything though.

Still curious, is it bad to pull the plugs to check for fire with these ignition systems?

thanks,
Brian
Lafayette, LA

 

[QUOTE=suerto

Still curious, is it bad to pull the plugs to check for fire with these ignition systems?

thanks,
Brian
Lafayette, LA[/QUOTE]

I can't say whether or not it's bad for the LT1 ignition to pull plug wires to check for fire, but it's not good for some ignition systems (e.g. HEI) to induce a high voltage that has no place to go.

I made myself a spark tester that solves this problem. You can easily make your own, too. Grab a spare spark plug, a coupla feet of wire (stranded is preferred), and a medium sized spring clip such as is used to connect a small-to-medium capacity battery charger to a battery. Solder the spring clip to one end of the wire. Wrap the other end of the wire around the steel body of the spark plug, and solder the wire so that it's made a decent lasso around the body of the plug (you won't be able to solder the wire to the plug, so don't bother trying -- just make a snug loop around the plug, and solder the wire to itself).

To use, connect the spring clip to a good engine ground, pull a plug wire loose at a plug, and connect the loose plug wire to the spark plug that's now part of your tester. Crank the engine, and look for spark across the gap of your new custom tester.

This is much safer for the ignition system, and you won't get knocked on your @$$ by the coil as can happen with the old screwdriver-in-the-end-of-the-plug-wire method.

As always, be sure there are no flammable vapors present any time you generate an open spark.

Be well,

SJW

 

Don't just order the MSD over the internet, CALL and make sure its in stock. I had ordered a Dynaspark from a reputable firm but three days later received an email syaing they were out of stock and could not provide an expected delivery date.

I just got a Dynaspark direct from Dynaspark.net. Eric happened to have a Gen 1 on hand and was able to ship it out immediately. (I understand that right now they are currently out of stock but that might be old info).

As others have pointed out, the Gen2 OEM Opti (which you have) is much improved over the Gen1. Given the price differential between the OEM and Dynaspark/ MSD you might want to stick with the OEM unless you plan to take it north of the redline on a consistant basis. For Gen1 owners, given the time and/ or expense of replacing these things, I would never consider going with an OEM unless I was stuck in the middle of nowhere and had no other options.

 

Yes an Opti can go exactly as the way you are seeing. If the cap carbon tracks it will hit some cyl'ers some of the time and others not at all. A good check is to get a spark tester, a clamp on type about $5 at local parts store, and test it on each cyl. You can start at the coil and see if you get consistant spark each and every time at the paroper gap. If that is good then check each plug. A couple of years ago my 94, old style Opti, took a dive on New Years Eve day and it would show inconsistant spark to one cyl with the test tool inplace and no or weak spark on others.

 

Once again thanks for the constructive input... And jrzvette, I got you covered.. I called my local MSD supplier for a price on the new opti and they gave it to me, I called them back to get thier location and told them I'd be on my way to order one and look at coils, etc.. That's when they told me that they dont have them and dont know when MSD is gonna start distributing them. But they do have them in the price book, so, maybe soon.
In the meantime I'm gonna order the new brakes that I've been puttin off.. I'd really like to wait on MSD, because I would like to transfer it to the new engine which will be revving higher than 6000..

Thanks again,
Brian
Lafayette, LA