But, since you didn't take it back out to confirm it is the problem, you are only guessing the Dynaspark is the problem.
Until it is confirmed and fixed, you don't know it is the Dynaspark -- even if everything seemed to work well with the old Opti-Spark.

Tom Piper

 

And I respect your opinion, as well. However, I do not think anyone would be well advised to go with a Gen1 OEM Opti rather than the Dyna. The Gen1 Opti has some major design deficiencies, all of which (aside from the unit's placement on the front of the timing cover) have been solved with the Dyna. I would never install an OEM Gen1 Opti in any car unless I was truly desperate.

The Gen1 OEM is truly junk, whereas the Dyna is a quality piece. I bought my '94 when it had 19k original miles on it. The Opti failed two weeks after I brought the car home. Having installed the Dyna, I no longer worry at all about an Opti failure. In fact, it never crosses my mind.

Be well,

SJW

 

Ill do a deal with ya PLRX, ill pull my 12 month old GM optispark distributor (which works perfectly) out and ill swap ya for your DYNASPARK unit. Straight swap.

 

Conversion #'s 3 and 4 are not the easiest trick. You see, the Opti is also the fuel timing regulator. Without that, you cannot use the factory ECM. It has no timing reference to fuel delivery.

This is what the so-called "hi-res" and "low-res" circuits do. The "hi-res" is the engine timing (which can be managed by a crank trigger, but not as accurately) and the "low-res" is the fuel delivery meter.

 

A few thoughts:

1) It's called an OPTISPARK. Not the "opticspark." There is no "C" in the name.

2) You have a problem, they have offered to inspect their component, yet you haven't sent them the suspect component and then have the audacity to blame said component? That's lame. Take the damned thing off and send it in before you say word one about it. Most unacceptable. Are you waiting for them to send you a mechanic to do the work? Yea, keep dreaming.

3) GM has apparently changed the parts source for the optical pickups. They are no longer Mitsubishi. The new ones are junk, with a capital "J." The old Mitsu pickups are known to lasting 200k miles (a friend works at a Dodge dealer, and they last forever on the Mitsu sourced engines). I have read here on the forum, where a number of OEM Opti's fail within 1 year - sometimes within the month.

4) NEVER buy an Opti remanned. I know you didn't say this, but I am. They are even worse than OEM.

5) The other options not referenced here are the MSD Opti and the Accel Opti. The MSD looks like a nice piece. But they haven't been on the road long enough to establish a history. The Accel looks like crap... oilite bushings? WTF?

 

[QUOTE=bogus;1558130689]Conversion #'s 3 and 4 are not the easiest trick. You see, the Opti is also the fuel timing regulator. Without that, you cannot use the factory ECM. It has no timing reference to fuel delivery.



Bogus
The crank trigger on my friend 1995 turbocharged vette are not difficult to do. Well, I guess, only if you know what you are doing. And of course he uses megasquirt ECU and it perform really well.

 

There is nothing wrong with the Optispark either so long as you don't hose it down. If you do get it wet then pull it, disassemble and clean it which is not really all that difficult. 95 and 96 are updated by connection to manifold vacuum and venting to the air intake and are more reliable. If you need one I would recommend another Opti as they are not all that expensive. I recently put a new one on mine and I don't really know why as when I disassembled the old one with 110K for a look inside it was fine. Preventive maintenance I guess for lack of a better reason.

 

[QUOTE=Bruce;1558132578]hm... the last time I checked, the megasquirt isn't OEM.

 

[QUOTE=bogus;1558137959]ehehehehehh... I never say the MS is a OEM. I replied to the post simply say, get rid of the opti is not impossible. Perhaps people ought to know, anything is possible.... never say never........

 

Thanks for all the tips and info. I knew it was possible because there are quite a few guys that have done it.
If I go to the extreme of doing what I would like, I don't think the Opti would suffice. I was wanting a "shopping list" of the things that work.

 

Any idea when the changeover from Mitsui took place? ..recently or a year or so back..? Can the new or old optical pickup be referenced by the GM part number. Many of us purchased OEM units within the past 2 years from GM dealers; is there any way of verifying which pickup unit is inside (without the obvious teardown)..?

 

Delteq for LT1 Covette available NIB. I decided to go with the MSD instead. Let me know if interested @ amcm911@hotmail.com

 

[QUOTE=Bruce;1558141736]Ah, but what I was referring to is that the OEM engine controller requires the optis input. Hence, it is impossible within those parameters. Besides, without the OEM ECM, you lose ABS/ASR and the CCM... so climate controls and the IP go to hell.

 

[QUOTE=Bruce;1558141736]I don't know for sure. There have been a raft of failures on the newer OEM replacements, and someone took one apart and didn't find the 3 diamonds.

 

[QUOTE=bogus;1558189926]I have personally inspected these new non-mitsubishi optical triggers. They are essentially the same. Other than the obvious fact that the sensor is housed in a unsealed/unsafe location, I dont see any reason why a mitsubishi would outlast it. On the few I have inspected, however, I noticed that they carry slight imperfections near the diode where plastic burrs build up which could cause them to not read properly but would not warrant a complete failure. I believe the mitsubishi housing is made from glass impregnated nylon, wheras the other is made from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS plastic.)

ABS is more of an impact resistant plastic however it has good corrosion resistance, wheras nylon can readily absorb moisture. They both work fine IMO, the real issue is the distributor as a whole.

 

I respectfully disagree with this.

Having worked for a semi-conductor manufacturer, I have seen where the development process for identical materials can be a factor. The silicon process should be done in a "clean room." This adds up to a higher cost.

As an example, if the silicon processing allows contamination of the silicon, at normal room temperature it may not be a problem. But, on the front of the engine at elevated temperatures (normally reaching as high as 230 degrees) the contamination of the silicon can cause degradation of the semi-conductor material.
So, a "cheap" process may affect the outcome of the same material.
And, this may happen gradually over time.

This is the reason that I did not mount my Delteq box on the front of the cylinder head as per the instructions.
I mounted my Delteq box on a standalone bracket elevated from my alternator.
I actually discussed this with the Delteq engineers, and they assured me their components were mil-spec and would not have a problem with the heat. But, for added insurance, I mounted it away from the head anyway.

It is also my belief that this is why "rebuilt" alternators are mostly junk today that last about a year.
The cheap silicon manufacturing process where these cheap diodes are done (in a tent somewhere) allows the silicon to be contaminated. And, they gradually become junk.

Tom Piper

 

Good point. I guess I just assumed it was made the same, we all know what assuming does.

 

hmmmmm....which begs the question, which optical trigger does Dynaspark source for its distributer....Mitsubishi or "the other guys sensor" ...??? Inquiring minds want to know.....

 

mitsubishi

"the other guys sensor" is what is used on Summit Racing's distributor and ACCEL's. OEM still uses the mitsubishi sensor despite what you may hear/read.

 

My GF's 95 TA has 145k on the clock, and still is running the original opti.