Glad this post got TTT. There have been a lot of questions lately about the opti...

 

hey so long as i never have to change the cap anr rotor again and i can deliver full electrical power to each plug without having an MSD box i am happy

 

Just be aware that the bearings in the opti can fail in time and cause the sensor to fail also.

 

ok im sure someone has already answered this, but im going to ask again.

i recently purchased a 93 camaro z28 and got a pretty good deal. not so good that i would expect problems, but good all the same. 2 days ago one of the 1 inch hoses going into the water pump broke and sprayed coolant everywhere.

after replacing the hose, i noticed the car starting to sputter and it eventually died. i finally got it to start and after a few minutes it seemed to clear up, aside from the occasional backfire every 20 seconds or so.

i noticed it running funny again and looked at the tach and saw that, while the car was idling, the tach was shaking and moving all over up past 5k.

i assumed that some coolant might have gotten into the distributor. now my question is, is this my problem? and if so, is there an easy fix? do i have to replace my distribtor, or can i just let it dry out?

 

Since its sealed, and its obvious water got in I doubt letting it dry will do anything. The only option you have is replacing it... probably looking at about $2-300 for a non-vented maybe more... Replace the whole thing and not just the cap and rotor.

 

ok, well i think i may have ruled the opti problem out...

the problem started clearing up a little bit, but occasionally the car will sputter and sometimes completely die, and it starts rough, sometimes taking several tries

i bought a code reader and, since i dont have my results with me, ill try to remember what they were. i think i got 12, 15, 33, 34, 46,56, and 64. im not for sure on all those, but from what i gather, i think i have a short somewhere or i lost a ground. the coil was slightly loose and i put a new one on it. it ran great for a while, no service engine light or anything, but now the problem is back. any thoughts?

 

I would clear the codes and see what comes back, also just an fyi each code flashes twice if you're waching the blinking light.... good luck.

 

Diagnostic Codes

Can anyone tell me why when I jumper the last two pins on the upper right of the diagnostic port, the cooling fan comes on (with key on) and I don't get the service engine light to flash code 12 for diagnostic mode or any other codes to flash? Maybe I'm not on the right pins ??? I'm trying to troubleshoot what may be optispark problems.

 

Yes the jumper method only works on '93 Camaros. You will need an obd1 code reader, you can get one from autoxray I think for around $200...

 

Optispark rebuild ???

Thanks for the info mdstud. I ended up taking the opti off and found it's problem to be bearing failure (metal dust and flakes from bearing blocking slots on the optical disk). There doesn't appear to be any other damage to the optical or distributor sections (no signs of water inside).This might explain the random nature of the ignition problems I've been having. Does anyone know of the P/N or where to get a new bearing for unvented optispark?

 

I don't know about the p/n however I would recommend going with a completely new unit and replacing the entire thing.

 

distributor may be done again.

Ok, so I'm thinking my distributor may be done again. Will the distributor cause the car to skip and shake? The water pump I put on last summer (I did the distributor at the same time) starter leaking out the weep hole (lifetime warranty on the pump was nice). Now the car skips. I'm doing the wires just to be sure before I go and change the distributor. But I just dropped most of my money on tuition for this semester and I saw you guys talking about rebuild kits for the distributors. I'm short on money so I'm willing to rebuild the distributor if I have to, but I don't know where to find the rebuild kits. The car is a 94. Can anybody tell me where to get one if I need it?

 

My 95 z28 dies while i'm driving sometimes and won't start right away but after i let it sit for a bit it will. Does that mean my opti is going? Or is this something totally different?

 

sorry guys im new here but im about to buy a 1994 z28.. he said it hesitates when not giving it much gas but when u put it to the floor it goes like nothing is wrong. any ideas any help thanks

 

ok i have a 94 caprice with the 4.3L L99 engine with the optispark system trying to find out whats wrong my car starts to heat up the will kill and will not start back up tell the next day i think its kinda weird since i try a couple hours later and it wont start...ive replace the back to the distributor befor cause the optical sensor went out an have replace the coil and the control module can someone help me

 

Now thats funny.i dont care who are thats just funny

 

your info is very helpful. but when i redid my motor i didnt know anything about the opti. i just bought one from summit (cap & rotor) put them together. so far. knock on some wood. i havent had problem with it. i`ve got about 4-5000 miles on it.

 

Ditch the opti

I found a good kit to replace they quirkey opti. Check it out;
Lingenfelter Performance Engineering: Bailey LTCC Coil Conversion Module - LT1 to LS1 Ignition Controller

 

hi it's interesting

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