So...

Really quick down and dirty....

Replaced Opti (Dephi-PartsLadi), Coil, Wires, plugs, and ICM all within a month of each other.

Before the ICM and coil, the car ran pretty good after the new opti went in with the exception of a SES light coming up with P0300-Random Cylinder Misfire. So, I parked it and recently replaced both the Coil and ICM thinking that it was good karma and that it wouldn't hurt. Drove the car flawlessly for two weeks or so then kaput....stumble and dead.

Gone through every check that I can possibly think of....

-got 1-4 vdc while cranking on my B terminal.
-got 10.5-11.8 vdc on both A and D with KOEO.
-got a good ground on the C terminal.
-got 40 (ish) psi of fuel pressure while cranking.
-got absolutely no spark on any plug.

Went back and replaced both the ICM and coil with the "old parts." Nothing again. Removed the Opti....no moisture and rotor is on tight. Reinstalled and confirmed plug locations and routing. Put the "new parts" back on...again, nothing.

So XMas Eve we have a bunch of family over and I'm Bs'n with a relative about the car. I happen to tell him my entire story with the car and right off the bat he says..."it's your key switch dude."

Now, he's a pretty smart dude and can wipe his **** without any help so I'm thinking I'll listen. He happened to have a similar issue with his 97 GMC truck where his truck would stumble then die. He replaced the Dizzy, Coil and ICM on it and still no spark. He worked at it for weeks before he finally bought the farm and took it into Chevy.

Well, 6 hours of labor and a $90 key switch later, his truck runs perfect to this day.

Now, I ain't got any kind of problems with goin out and pickin up a new kew switch or whatever the hell might be relative to that for my Camaro. But what I do got an issue with is paying 6 hours of labor at what (?) $85 bones an hour, to have some dude tell me yeah, or worse yet, no it isn't the switch.

So, experts of my dilemma, how can I test his theory or am I pissin in the wind??? One thing that I think I might want to try is to pull the coil (spark) wire off the Opti to confirm spark is getting that far. Then maybe I can nail it down to (or "upstream") from there.

BTW-There is an aftermarket alarm on it, but I would like to think that it's more of a starter kill type than a "spark kill" one...?? Should I look into this??

Thanks fellas for everything and may '09 bring my Camaro no more "no start" issues.

I want my new SS but not because I can't drive my '96.

-Ivan

 

You say no spark at the plug wire, but any spark at the coil wire?

You would not have any power to the coil if the ignition switch was bad. You can easily check to see if the ignition switch is passing voltage by testing for power at any fuse that is powered with the key ON.

 

Good thinking....I haven't checked for the spark coming out of the coil wire. My guiniea pig...er....wife ain't back from the grocery store yet...

I believe confirming spark at the coil wire will lead me to believe that the "new" Opti has taken the proverbial crap.

If that's (spark) the case, can I pretty much rule out the PCM as well right?? Because otherwise what would be initiating spark (signal)?

Thanks for the rapid response Shoe. I appreciate it.

-Ivan

 

Have you scanned it for codes?

 

The only time I ever had a chance to scan it for codes was when it was actually running and I stopped by AZ to have them scan it.

The only code that came up was P0300....

I eventually need to get my own for situations like now where I can't drive it and/or would like to read it.

On a positive note, I found that I have no spark coming out of the coil and into the Opti. I do however have voltage at the A and D wires going into the ICM. At least I do when I have it unplugged from the ICM with KOEO.

Should I be backprobing to confirm the voltage again???

-Ivan

 

I would double check the readings at the ICM connector. If you get the proper voltages and ground there, the ICM and coil would be suspect. Was heat sink grease used when the ICM was replaced before?

 

FOr sure....used all new grease and I even cleaned up the crap out of the ICM/Coil mount to the point where it was almost polished....hum...wonder if thats causing some grounding issues...??

But I have voltage across the board and even if I disconnect the ICM and plug in my "old" ICM I still get nada!

Am I missing it and probing incorrectly?? For some reason I'm thinking that I need to be backprobing all my readings but my CAI is all up in the damn way so all my readings are with connectors disconnected......?

I'm off all day tomorrow but I really need to remedy the situation.

Thanks for all the ideas and help guys,
Ivan

 

Ok.

So, started going "upstream." No spark coming out of coil wire. Figured replace my "new" coil with my "old." Nothing. Replaced my "new" ICM with my old.

Car started right up and idles great. Let it run for a good 2 minutes. Got back in and revved it up to redline a few times.

SES light went off right away upon start up and didn't come back on at all even with the revs.

My thoughts in retrospect......

There could have been several issues causing the codes and no start condition. But I believe that it was the combination of a bad bround (the braided wire that connects to the coil/icm bracket)...the frail coil wire to the opti....and the most importantly, a faulty ICM. I replaced my ICM and Coil with Autozone parts. I'm not gonna bash any company's parts because I've had bad luck with even "new OEM GM" stuff as well. When I pulled the AZ coil, it looked fine. No external issues at all and resistance measured 6.1K Ohms. The ICM however, had a nice bulge that was not there when I bought it. I'm totally thinking that it had to have overheated or burned up somehow. Now, I can't speculate as to "how" but I can only assume that somehow the internal electrical parts aren't up to snuff in the AZ unit. Even though, I had heard "don't buy a retail parts store piece" I thought that with the "lifetime warranty" it was worth more than a "shot."

So, tomorrow, I will be going down to the Chevy House and takin it in the wallet for the new GM ICM. I think I got a quote for $149 about 6 months ago. About right??

Thanks everyone for the time and replies. It totally sucks to have a no start condition and continue to always throw money and time on it. One has to completely start at the top of the mountain and work your way down to the problem(s) that are contributing to the condtion. Don't take anything for granted in thinking that a part is "good" or that it "should be alright." If you do, you are basically risking all the work on the way back down the mountain on that part or parts you are assuming are ok.

I look forward to moving on and getting some rubber on the road.

-Ivan

 

Posted my update up in LT1 tech.

New GM ICM and still nothing at all.....about to sell her.

-Ivan