Hello All!

New to the forum and looking for HELP! My Optispark died on my 94 Corvette. The water pump went out and got water on it. I researched and decided from reviews that aftermarket was not the way to go and GM did not offer replacements anymore so I decided on an AC Delco Reman from a place in Arizona. Got all the parts and put it back together and it ran literally for about 5 minutes before it died. Thinking it was just a fluke cuz I had replaced the Opti, Coil, Ignition Module, Wires ect. I hopped in to take it for a ride, made it 5 miles and it died and wouldn't restart after 2-3 minutes it fired up again and ran for a bit and it did it again. I limped it home and looked things over couldn't find anything I had missed. Finally the check engine light kicked on so i checked and it had H16 Distributor low pulse from Opti. I went online and found out that it was not uncommon for these to arrive and fail right away. I contacted the vendor and told them what happened and they were less than sympathetic and not helpful at all. Contacted AC Delco, and they told me to go back to the Vendor. long story short I believe the opti failed again and i am looking for suggestions on what to do now. Do I buy a module for the distributor? Send this one off to get repaired and if so, where?
Thank you in advance!!

Shane

 

Most of the opti problems are the cap and not the optical sensor. Unless the bearing is bad, and that can be replaced, many times all they need is a cap. Years ago I have replaced the opti, but today I would go with a cap as a first shot and preserve the housing and optical assembly.
So in short, is there any way you have your old opti and can take a shot at repairing it.

 

Here is one option:

https://petrisenterprises.com/collec...rk-distributor

Did you throw your OEM unit away ?

 

Unfortunately I sent it back for core that I never got reimbursed for. It was trashed inside with rust and debris.

 

There is also this option

http://www.dynaspark.net/products/

I recently asked a question on the forum if anyone had any recent experience but got no answer.

 

Someone posted a video not too long ago on how to test an opti spark. I'd search for that. Confirm the opti is bad. If it is contact your credit card company and they should reimburse you. Then buy another. If you get one from a local auto parts store they will often have a warranty. Autozone also matches online prices if the online warranty is the same. A lot of times autozone is lifetime warranty, but I have found online with lifetime warranty and they match it.

 

I agree, confirm. The fastest, easiest way to confirm a bad opti is this; Go drive do a drive routine that you know will make it fail. When it fails; you're driving down the road, key on, engine quits, right? But the engine is still being driven by the wheels...unless you put it in neutral, the engine is still spinning, right? While that's happening, what does the tach do? If it drops to zero, the opti has failed. If it continues to read a believable signal, it's still working.

I wouldn't buy an auto parts store opti. I tried that already. NAPA unit. It was $500 and lasted 5 years. Since ALL opti options are questionable, I went a different route and bought the cheapest opti with the best warranty I could find, which was one from Sac City. It was ~$160ish? And I've had it in there for years. Even dowsed it a few times.

 

You might try this OP. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...ette/year/1996

It's Summit branded but I haven't noticed them putting their name on junk. 32 five star reviews and 4 four star.

 

1/2 the warranty for ~$50 more. Smokin' deal.

 

I found the one on Autozone with lifetime warranty is 215. On Rockauto they have a Cardone one for 160 plus 12.00 shipping with a lifetime warranty. I'd go into autozone and have them price match and get the lifetime warranty where I can go in and get another easier than dealing with online hassles.

 

Tom400CFI the Tach is dead for sure when it happens, I tried to drive it to work and it is a 15 mile drive to and 15 back. On the way there it stalled 4 times and on the way back it stalled 6. Thanks for the help!

 

Autozone crap is usually just rebuilt. And not quality rebuilt either. They bank on you not owning the vehicle long enough to have it fail. Friend had an Autozone Gold alternator that was failing intermittently. You could take it to the store and it would pass their test. I took it apart and it was clear that when it was rebuilt the brushes were not replace and one was barely making contact.

As much work as it is to get the Opti off I wouldn't play Autozone warranty game. Especially if you have to pay someone to do it for you.

 

They don't rebuild anything. They use all the same parts suppliers as everyone else. It is a crap shoot if the unit you got was rebuilt right, just as it is with any of the others out there. I just like to have a lifetime warranty from a store that is down the street.

 

You could check the harness and connectors from the opti to the ECM....if that checks out and you're losing tach signal...that's a bad opti.

 

They were good when first started the business but went to crap after changing ownership. I really like the Petris now.

 

Did you replace the wire harness from the engine to the Opti? I replaced mine when I replaced the Opti and had an intermittent connection between the connector and the Opti. When it was running I jiggled this connector and found that the engine would stall or stumble. Every time the engine quit running I would jiggle the connector and it would run again. I finally managed to get the connector to seat itself in a way that seems to make a reliable connection.

 

The Wire Harness came with ne AC Delco unit.
Thank you for the response. I can fiddle with it if I put it back in. Not sure what I am going to do at this point. I pulled out the New AC Delco unit late last week.
Shane

 

Chris Petris is the only fella in the world who knows how to build an Opti that works for more than 30 days.

I know Chris, personally, & he is a real, stand-up guy.

Tell him Gregory with the 96 CE Coupe w/ LT4 from Chicagoland told you to call him.

He will get you back on the road!

 

Always try to have all original parts rebuilt. I have my original opti rebuilt by a menber years back and have a few good ones in stock at all times!

 

Update on this issue. I replaced the Ignition control module with an AIP module and I was able to find a deal on an MSD Vented cap. I would have went with the Petris, but they were out of stock at the time. Now after I have done all this they have stock, figures. Anyway, thank you to all that gave suggestions, it helped out! The car so far runs great!!!

Shane