Engine Backfires; Help Please
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Western PA at the moment
Engine Backfires; Help Please
I have a 94' C4 and it's started to backfire slightly and runs rough 
. Seems to have a single miss in the idle as well; gives a very slight "kick". After reading the forums I'm thinking it's my optispark because I just bypassed my throttle body hot water intake and being the inexperienced young guy I am; lost quite a bit of radiator fluid leaking on the inside of my engine before I got it right 
(forgot to take off the intake part as well as the out 
) Anyways, any help or thought processes on why my car is backfiring would be much appreciated; and please bear with me, as I said before I'm not anywhere near to an expert when it comes to fixing my baby 
. Seems to have a single miss in the idle as well; gives a very slight "kick". After reading the forums I'm thinking it's my optispark because I just bypassed my throttle body hot water intake and being the inexperienced young guy I am; lost quite a bit of radiator fluid leaking on the inside of my engine before I got it right (forgot to take off the intake part as well as the out ) Anyways, any help or thought processes on why my car is backfiring would be much appreciated; and please bear with me, as I said before I'm not anywhere near to an expert when it comes to fixing my baby
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 136
Likes: 3
From: pittsburgh pa.
take your car around the block about a hundred times or a nice long ride RIGHT NOW!. keep in mind you might have to tow it back!!! you need to dry out the optispark distributor . if you let it sit , it will damage the opti and cause the rotor bearing to rust. drive normal no burnouts , no high speeds. good luck , keep us posted.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Western PA at the moment
ok, so I drove her around as suggested; backfiring periodically. She did alright long as I was moving; but as I was pulling her back into parking spot she died on me 
She started right back up but as soon as I put her into reverse or drive; she started like she was gonna die again untill I put her in park when she then rev'ed slightly before going back to the idle witha miss. Think I should go ahead and start saving for the opti? 
She started right back up but as soon as I put her into reverse or drive; she started like she was gonna die again untill I put her in park when she then rev'ed slightly before going back to the idle witha miss. Think I should go ahead and start saving for the opti?
Last edited by ace4472; Aug 21, 2012 at 01:19 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: South Lake Tahoe CA
sounds like an optispark to me but i've gotten mine wet plenty of times and no problem. I would also look into the ignition module located behind the coil on the passenger side head. if the gel inside that gets old, it has intermittent transmission of the signal and can cause that as well.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Drifting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 15
From: Mechanicsburg PA
Central PA Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
DTC codes can be stored in your ECM without a SES being lit... happened to me - had a bad TPS.
Please check for existing codes in memory before shelling out the money, first.
Do you know how to check/retrieve codes?
Please check for existing codes in memory before shelling out the money, first.
Do you know how to check/retrieve codes?
Last edited by Bandit's C4; Aug 21, 2012 at 09:10 AM.