What opti?

Ugh
I think my car needs another opti. its running rough and it feels like its has a miss. I had the opti replaced when we were on vacation quite a few years back, and now it seems like it needs it again.
What opti should I buy? Thinking about selling the wagon, between the trans going out and now the opti looking like it needs redoing... 172,xxx miles

Sorry for your run of bad luck,Jonn. Seems like these old girls will always get you for something.

TheRoadmasterKing wrote:

I'd recommend this:
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Hope this helps!

Ah......I take it you've had personal experience with this?

silverfox103 wrote:

Ah......I take it you've had personal experience with this?

Lol actually yes, my car-nut friend has a neighbor with a 94 Caprice.

Almost got'um Tom.

Oh I see, a friend of a friend.

silverfox103 wrote:

Oh I see, a friend of a friend.

Yea. We got him the Jegs distributor I mentioned above because we got a Jegs store downtown. I definitely recommend GMJohn try it out.

That ones says fits 95 Roadmaster, when I click 94 it says this does not fit your vehicle

GMjonn wrote:

That ones says fits 95 Roadmaster, when I click 94 it says this does not fit your vehicle

Weird. It clearly says in the product description that it fits 94-96. Idk... At least I tried I have another one in mind but I'm not near my PC so I'll link it later

Edit: Try this opti, is says it fits on 94 and doesn't cost much more than the JEGS one.
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Hope this helps fix your issue.
-Calvin

Coil?

The 95 9C1 I bought, a few months before I got it the owner replaced every ignition system component since it cranked too long to start. Car runs mint. I'd suggest maybe taking a look at the other components that haven't been replaced first. Coil, ignition module, wires, plugs.

MalibuSSwagon wrote:

The 95 9C1 I bought, a few months before I got it the owner replaced every ignition system component since it cranked too long to start. Car runs mint. I'd suggest maybe taking a look at the other components that haven't been replaced first. Coil, ignition module, wires, plugs.

Fuel pressure regulator on the back side of the intake for long start/long cranking issue. Very common! It's a little silver diaphragm. Had to do this on my car about two years ago. FIXED!

-Mike

TheRoadmasterKing wrote:

I'd recommend this:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hope this helps!

I clicked on this and thought it was an entire Opti from Jegs for $69. Ha! I about fell off my chair before realizing it was just the cap and rotor.

81X11 wrote:

MalibuSSwagon wrote:

The 95 9C1 I bought, a few months before I got it the owner replaced every ignition system component since it cranked too long to start. Car runs mint. I'd suggest maybe taking a look at the other components that haven't been replaced first. Coil, ignition module, wires, plugs.

Fuel pressure regulator on the back side of the intake for long start/long cranking issue.   Very common!   It's a little silver diaphragm.   Had to do this on my car about two years ago.   FIXED!

-Mike

.
The car cranks right up, no issues there, pulled plugs and can't find any that show obvious signs of not firing all the time. How do you check a coil?

First you wet your finger and then...I better let one gurus handle this one.

Since you've never owned a B-body (or any car) and have not personally had any dealings with any optisparks, please refrain from giving "advice."

I'm sure it's well-intentionned, but the forum is a searchable database that some people actually rely on to find out what works well. Not everyone who searches is a contributing member, and not everyone who reads this 5 years down the line will realize that you were a car-less 16 year old.

jasonlachapelle wrote:

Since you've never owned a B-body (or any car) and have not personally had any dealings with any optisparks, please refrain from giving "advice."

I'm sure it's well-intentionned, but the forum is a searchable database that some people actually rely on to find out what works well.  Not everyone who searches is a contributing member, and not everyone who reads this 5 years down the line will realize that you were a car-less 16 year old.

Thank you Jason!

Tom

Ok

I’d look at a number of other things before I’d suspect the Opti. Coils can fail intermittently, and when they do, they can drive you nuts, trying to find the problem. If the coil has been on the vehicle for awhile, I’d simply replace it. They are cheap.

While doing so, I’d check all the wiring in the area of the ignition module, coil and particularly the coil wire to the Opti. All are susceptible to corrosion. Measure the resistance in the coil to Opti wire while someone flexes it. Remove the nut holding the ground wire to the front of the head and clean it all. It’s sure to have at least some corrosion there.

All this is about a half hour job, and less than $30. Opti’s are tough, but when they fail, it’s often completely. There’s not a lot to go wrong in them, other than the cap and rotor, and the bearing, for which replacement is impractical. The module either works or it doesn’t in most cases.

Unfortunately, changing the (typically long-life) cap and rotor requires distributor removal from the engine, at which point complete replacement is an option to consider.

paart wrote:

I’d look at a number of other things before I’d suspect the Opti. Coils can fail intermittently, and when they do, they can drive you nuts, trying to find the problem. If the coil has been on the vehicle for awhile, I’d simply replace it. They are cheap.

While doing so, I’d check all the wiring in the area of the ignition module, coil and particularly the coil wire to the Opti. All are susceptible to corrosion. Measure the resistance in the coil to Opti wire while someone flexes it. Remove the nut holding the ground wire to the front of the head and clean it all. It’s sure to have at least some corrosion there.

All this is about a half hour job, and less than $30. Opti’s are tough, but when they fail, it’s often completely. There’s not a lot to go wrong in them, other than the cap and rotor, and the bearing, for which replacement is impractical. The module either works or it doesn’t in most cases.

Unfortunately, changing the (typically long-life) cap and rotor requires distributor removal from the engine, at which point complete replacement is an option to consider.

All right, starting to get some real, experienced advice. Been waiting for this. To the best of my knowledge the coil is original to the car {I'm 2nd owner, bought it in 99 with 27K on the clock) guess I will go pick up a coil tomorrow and give that a try. I do know that we have had the coil wire replaced once before, many, many years ago.

ok, so I changed the coil and the problem did not go away. There is no major corrosion where the 3 grounds are bolted to the head. I tried to remove the coil wire but could not pull it off. Any tips for removing a coil wire? Should I try and get pliers on the boot?
UPDATE..... took the car for a drive and it is much better, goes up slight hills in OD and doesn't buck and down shift. still feels like a very slight miss or a bit of roughness. need to check that coil wire.

GMjonn wrote:

I tried to remove the coil wire but could not pull it off. need to check that coil wire.

I sounds as if the coil wire is corroded in the cap. Before you "mess with it" to try to get it out, I'd have a new wire on hand, as it may be destroyed or damaged in the process of removing it. One thing you can try, to get it out, is to shoot some WD-40 down in the hole around the wire, and let it soak awhile. If you install a new wire, clean out the cap as well as possible with a small nylon brush, and get some silicon grease and lightly coat the terminal and boot (inside). Silicon grease specifically for this purpose is sold in small packs at stores such as Advance Auto and Auto Zone. I remember seeing these packs setting on the checkout counter for about $1.

If this doesn't work for some reason, then I'm afraid that a new cap and rotor, or possibly a new distributor is going to be the best answer. If you consider a new Opti, don't buy the cheapest one you can find (unless you are getting rid of the car). There are very specific ones to purchase.

Is it possible to just get a coil wire?

At one time, GM did sell the wires individually, but I don't know if that is still the case. You might have to "scrounge around" and see what you can come up with. Personally, I'd check with some of my friends with shops and see what they have, lying around. Worst case, it might be possible to cut a longer wire and see if I could find some wire ends, and put them on myself.

Years ago, many cheap wire kits were "do it yourself". You received pre-cut wires in the box, along with a bag of wire ends. Perhaps a forum member has an extra coil wire--used?

O'Reilly sells individual wire and ends, and boots, although I forget exactly what is needed.

Anyone here ever use a Skip White OptiSpark? Price seems very cheap at $60, surely it's an off shore piece. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It's likely that since the GM OEM opti's have been discontinued, that all opti's made now roll off the same assembly line in China. Then are packed in their respective boxes; AC Delco, Skip White, Chandler, Spectra, etc etc. I could be wrong but who really knows?? AC Delco stuff is all made in China or Brazil these days.

Typically when an opti goes out it it's the optical sensor and can be rebuilt. (Look on ISSF for a looong thread about this).

Anyway you mentioned that you replaced the opti a couple of years ago. Who manufactured the opti? That could make a difference as from others experience the Chinese ones only last a few 10s of thousands of miles.

That all said and assuming you got a decent opti, I would look at other things first like the EGR valve, proper fuel pressure, etc.

All the B-Body cars 94-96 use the same part number. Some F-body '94s still used a non vented opti cap, but to my knowledge all the B-bodys used the vented caps so anything 94-96 for a B-body should fit (some parts databases may be confused with the F-body non vent variant - I have had 3 94s all with vented caps).

If you can buy a Delphi opti, they are Delco without the name stuck on it.

Now I had a weird issue when I first bought Dusty. Missing on #7, I had a garage mis diagnose it and spent a bunch on money on parts I didn't need. It turned out the metal shield inside the cap had a hole burned through it and when #7 came up to fire, the spark jumped through the hole and shorted out. New cap and rotor and I got another 50K out of it, until I replaced it with a new Delphi (which turned out NOT to fix my issue and that OPTI is on my shelf in the garage as a spare).

From what I'm told you can swap the OEM Mitsubishi optical sensor into an aftermarket distributor as the sensor rarely fails. In your case if your car already has an aftermarket distributor you could hit a junkyard or two and see if you can find an original opti for cheap, and between that one and the aftermarket on your car put together a decent distributor. If you do need one that is.

I've had 3 or 4 aftermarket Opti's on the bench here. I'd be careful with these cheapo ones, even the "pretty good" ones like MSD/Accel have had problems like leaky bearings and questionable sensors. If the sensor you have is OEM and it still works, I'd recommend leaving it alone and just replacing the cap and rotor if you find them to be bad.

Also make sure the opti holds vacuum. One I tried was sucking crankcase vapor through the bearing.

Another thing to look for that bit me is the ground near the ignition coil. I know you said it looked ok, but I had redone mine and it "looked ok" too, but I had weird intermittent problems until I installed new lugs and made sure they were clamped as close to a clean surface on the head as possible.

Cheap Optis Suck..., but I get it, they are a 1/3 the cost of a AC Delco unit. I've gone to junk yards and pulled optis off cars if they look okay. You want the Mitsubishi optical sensors, then get a cap and rotor from AC Delco.
I replaced my original opti at 185,00 miles with a ebay opti from Chandlermotorsports. I had to replace it later that summer with less than 4,000 miles on it. Code 16 was set.

Next was an A-1 Cardone, that lasted a few weeks, the rotor cam off. CHECK your little bolts/screws that hold the rotor on, and put some thread lock on them. I returned the opti, and bought a Delphi unit, no issues with 60,000 miles or so. That did just change a few days ago though. That's another thread...

I just experienced the cheap opti curse. After only 4k miles, the car would hiccup, and throw a code 36. Took the opti apart, and found the optical sensor was rubbing the trigger wheel. The sensors case had warped ! The rest of the opti was in great shape, so I replaced the sensor and wheel with oem used, it's running great again.

Ed