f#@k.

[lt1noob]

ok so...to make a long story short my swap from stock to 160* thermostat was a complete pain in the ass, a bolt snapped and now once its all back together the car wont fhcking start.....it just cranks and it jumped a few times like it wanted to start but wouldnt. i did manage to spill coolant and i know the opti is almost right under the water pump...my guess is i got some on the opti...anything else it could be? if so would i just need to replace the cap/rotor, or whole unit. ive no idea what the hell is going on but its pissing me off because im not starting my headers until this is taken care of...any tips/help anything is welcome, i need this fixed

[MEAN LT1]

wow, thats pretty shitty. Hopefully you'll be able to just replace cap/rotor.

[lt1noob]

yeah this cars put me through enough pain, and now this shit lol. i just want to do my headers.......went fishing for a bit so im a little more relaxed mood for the time being. just going to not worry too much about it and see what you guys say.

[warnerTA]

yeah this cars put me through enough pain, and now this shit lol. i just want to do my headers.......went fishing for a bit so im a little more relaxed mood for the time being. just going to not worry too much about it and see what you guys say.

yeah man, just dont get too frustrated! hang in there! its not like the opti to not work all of a sudden like that..wait till about 3-4 days without trying to start it. and then crank it over. if it starts let it get to operating temp and see how it runs, if it dies when its at operating temp. then my friend its the opti that water soaked. good luck man! keep us informed!!

[krayzie7th]

damn that sucks. Let the car chill for a bit maybe it will dry up and it will start.

[96LT1355Z28]

Don't forget to start simple, make sure everything is plugged in like the coil, icm, etc. I sometimes forget what I unplugged when I'm tearing down! After that make sure your coil has power and is getting the command to fire: http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#opti_test

If that's good then move on to the opti! Also, closley inspect your opti harness it wears easily from heat and can be the cause of no signal and easily overlooked. Good Luck

[97Snake]

Hey man its the opti for sure. I spilled some coolant on mine when I first started working on LT1's. Mine eventually started but when it got running for a couple minutes it had a horrible backfire. I tried everything else but that didn't help. I replaced the opti and then I was back on the road again. Hang in there bro. You'll get it.

[LT1Blackbird]

Don't be so quick to blame the opti. They aren't cheap, and like 96LT1355 said, start simple before trying to replace the opti. Give things time to dry. Just because you got the opti wet, doesnt mean its bad. It could just be wet inside and needs to dry. IF you do decide that it is the opti, replace the ENTIRE thing. NOT just the cap n rotor, unless you feel like doing the job again in a few months.

[mbarton]

if it is the opti, i have the msd opti for your year for sale-- see my add......


good luck with the car though for real. i love mine but it is a pain in the a$$ thats for sure!

[crows93z]

you might have damaged the coolant temperature sensor in the water pump, but the car would start and run for a little bit and run like crap.. sounds like it's the opti. what year? if it's vented, just try a hair dryer on it to dry it out.

[lt1noob]

its a 1995. im letting it sit for a bit and well see what happens, i have checked and everythings hooked up.

[ksmyss]

check the coil wire and possibly the opti plug. check any electrical conections that got close to water. if one is going bad it won't take much to do it in. i had a maf plug go bad and just bumps in the road would almost kill the car.

people are way to quick to point to the opti. its a sealed piece and i have never seen water inside one.

i have pulled the water pump atleast 4 times and changed thermos atleast 3 and dumped tons of water on the opti and it has never had a problem. i have washed the engine atleast 3 times a year since i got it in 98 with zero problems.

[warnerTA]

check the coil wire and possibly the opti plug. check any electrical conections that got close to water. if one is going bad it won't take much to do it in. i had a maf plug go bad and just bumps in the road would almost kill the car.

people are way to quick to point to the opti. its a sealed piece and i have never seen water inside one.

i have pulled the water pump atleast 4 times and changed thermos atleast 3 and dumped tons of water on the opti and it has never had a problem. i have washed the engine atleast 3 times a year since i got it in 98 with zero problems.


you are one lucky son of a gun!! i was taking my water pump off for a head gasket change.. and... i spilled some of the good stuff on the opti... didnt think much of it.. and i got her back on the road again..... and.... you know the rest of the story... opti was shot:cry:.. im not saying this happens to everyone.. but i wouldnt spill a drop of water on mine EVER :D

[ksmyss]

the optis are sealed way better than the old style hei dist. and those get wet all the time with zero problems. the only opening on the opti is on the bottom so the wire were either not on or bad and alowed water to get in that way.

[AChotrod]

I dont really see how it could get wet inside either unless its condensation.
Ive never had a water in the opti prob ever. I did manage to blow one up though!

[lt1noob]

so oncei make sure everythings hooked up, what else could it be other than the opti, i was looking at pics of this online and i dont see how it could happen either...so im not sure...

[96LT1355Z28]

Have you determined your coil has power and is the opti sending a signal to the pcm? Try unpluging the opti harness and make sure there isn't a puddle of coolant sitting in it. If your coil has power but no signal while cranking and the harness looks good, them my friend it's opti time! Here's a pic of my old opti harness, notice the corrosion on the terminals and the one broken one, the car ran with this but it felt like the timming was off and was sometimes hard starting.

[windsofthor]

I doubt it's the opti. Not everybody garage keeps their lt1's, and people do drive their cars in the rain. So, ......OMG I trickled a little water/coolant onto the opti, it probably is fried, I hate LT1's, I should buy and ls1...... is not always the answer..

As stated above, check the opti pigtail. Corrosion could be your problem.

[lt1noob]

I doubt it's the opti. Not everybody garage keeps their lt1's, and people do drive their cars in the rain. So, ......OMG I trickled a little water/coolant onto the opti, it probably is fried, I hate LT1's, I should buy and ls1...... is not always the answer..

As stated above, check the opti pigtail. Corrosion could be your problem.

didnt say it necessarily was, but theres a decent chance it might be. and im just fine with my lt...no need for an ls1. :shame:

ill check it out closer tomorow, it was rainy and shitty today and even though i would have been in a garage i just wasnt in the mood.

[Fastbird]

Just a crazy idea, but check your ignition fuses in the underhood fuse box. I had a no start condition one day, and it was those fuses had blown spontaneously for some reason. Only happened once.

Also, if you have an aftermarket ignition box, try bypassing that and seeing what happens. Had a no start one time and it was my MSD taking a crapola on me.

[96LT1355Z28]

^^Good thought, I also had a crank no start condition one time that ended up being the ground to my MSD box. I by passed the box and it fired right up!

[ksmyss]

Just a crazy idea, but check your ignition fuses in the underhood fuse box. I had a no start condition one day, and it was those fuses had blown spontaneously for some reason. Only happened once.

Also, if you have an aftermarket ignition box, try bypassing that and seeing what happens. Had a no start one time and it was my MSD taking a crapola on me.i have seen more than 1 msd box take a dump suddenly with no warning. one was at the track. the car ran fine up to the staging lanes then wouldn't start after that.

[warnerTA]

alright alright lets streighten somethin out here. the only reason it could have water in it is if it was cracked.. and after a while everything breaks.. these cars are getting old. keep that in mind :)

[lt1noob]

shouldnt be cracked, but ill make sure. so it has to be something else. is the fuse i need to check in the fuse box in the engine bay? which one would it be?

[Fastbird]

shouldnt be cracked, but ill make sure. so it has to be something else. is the fuse i need to check in the fuse box in the engine bay? which one would it be?

The fuse box I"m talking about is under the hood. On the bottom of the cover is the breakout for the fuses.....I think it was two 7.5 amp fuses in the bottom left corner but don't quote me on that.

[lt1noob]

alright, i talked to my friend at the shop today and explained it to him and he said considering the symptoms it actually sounds like the fuel pump, so tomorow im going to figure out if thats it. if so ill be sort of happy, ill just get a walbro right away.

[lt1noob]

ok we definately have spark from the opti...im stumped, have no idea what to check now. icm maybe?

[ksmyss]

ok we definately have spark from the opti...im stumped, have no idea what to check now. icm maybe?

if the icm was bad there wouldn't be any spark at all. it's in the loop before the opti.

if you are getting spark then it has to either be air or fuel. what does the fuel pressure look like? pull the vacume line off the regulator and see if its full of fuel. if it is the, regulator is done.

[lt1noob]

fuel pump is good, filter is fine, well be checking the pressure tomorow. is there a little fitting on the fuel rail to check pressure? and pressure i beleive should be 41-47?

[95formula383lt1]

yes theres a fuel pressure test port on the back of the rail.

[ksmyss]

the pressure test port is on the back of the rail, there is a cap that looks like your valve stem caps. your pressure should be 42.5 stock (i think, of the top of my head). with the vacume line off it should read a steady number and not bounce around at all.

[lt1noob]

ok now i feel like i dumbass, there was a wire disconnected when i found and hooked up when i first started working on it (beleive it was the harness for the icm) so anyways...i think in the process of trying to start it over and over the engines now flooded...so now knowing that im going to try and get it started today. lol. my own stupidity though...

[96LT1355Z28]

Don't forget to start simple, make sure everything is plugged in like the coil, icm, etc. I sometimes forget what I unplugged when I'm tearing down!

LOL, I've done it more than once. Ok damn near every time! I fell like a dumb a$$ every time for getting so pissed and always thinking the worst over somthing so simple I overlooked!:laugh: If you crank on it with the gas pedal all the way to the floor (WOT) it won't pulse the injectors and help "blow" out the cylinders.

[ksmyss]

you can also unplug the injector fuse

[LT1RUNNER]

Yup it easy to forget about replaceing things sometimes. Just this weekend I replaced the seals for the water pump and opti. (water pump seal leaked.) I replaced the spark plug wires and cleaned up all of my electrical connections that may have got oil in them. I replaced the starter and alt. I put all of my bolts in a box so I wouldn't lose them and when I reinstalled everything I had one bolt still in the box. :hmm: Not sure where that extra bolt came from but I guess I'll find out when something falls off!! :laugh:

[lt1noob]

its just flooded, it almost started yesterday but imj working on changing all the plugs+wires and doing headers right away while all the craps off.

[96LT1355Z28]

changing all the plugs+wires and doing headers right away while all the craps off.

That's the spirit!

[lt1noob]

yeah i had the headers waiting but didnt want to start until it ran (obviously) but itd be rediculous to throw everything back on, start it, and rip it all apart again for headers lol. so well see how this goes. maybe the cars just pissed at me for not doing headers sooner?

[lt1noob]

headers are on!!! one catch though, we lost a bolt in the process, looked for an hour with no luck so i just blew another 40$ on a set of stage 8 bolts so i had one :(....

[96LT1355Z28]

Sweet! Lets see some pics:D

[lt1noob]

ill get some soon, i have to get some pics of old tires im going to sell as well so ill just do it all at once.

[duh]

Glad to see you kept it. It'll keep you more entertained than a bike anyway....it'll also cost you a little more money ;)

[djjab57]

i was going to suggest the ICM but i see you found the problem, Good deal! V!!!!!!! !!! spilling a little water on the Opti wont make it take a crap unless it has some very bad seals. I clean my engine bay at the car wash and i know alot of water hits the Opti with no issues