Lots of problems... Please Help!
03-19-2004, 06:43 PM
#16
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Pgh, PA
Posts: 2,628
Someone had a guide online for how to check the Opti to see if its functioning rite. I could be wrong but im 99.9% positive it was Shoebox that gave me the link. Give him a PM and see what he has to say.
Did it just start running like crap or was it a minor problem that kept getting worse?
Check to make sure your getting the rite fuel pressure. To do this, you need a fuel pressure gauge. Turn the keys to ON ( dont crank it ) and that will turn the fuel pump on for like 2 seconds. Check the guage and see what it is reading. It should be around 45ish, I forget the exact pressure, but its around there give or take. Also, it SHOULDNT drop pressure. If your getting good fuel, then I'd say its probly the Opti like I mentioned earlier.
As for the starter, I still have no idea what it could be. Someone suggested a groung wire being loose ( Or corroded ) so check them, theres a few of them on an LT1.
~ On the back of the intake, going to the firewall
~One down by the starter ( I think, its been a while )
~On the one side ( forget which ) of the block
~One right by the cruise control module
~Two on top of the Rad. ( Top of core support ) Easily seen when you first pop the hood.
Definatly check the ground to the starter. Also, maybe check for any loose fuses ??? I bought my car totalled, rebuilt it, and when i went to start it, NOTHING, so i checked, and there was a fuse missing.
...
Check that ground, and the Waterpump weep hole & Opti.
If your Opti IS bad, dont buy the rebuild kit for it. Just buy a new one, or get one of the after market ones, I think theyre called a Dynaspark ???
Did it just start running like crap or was it a minor problem that kept getting worse?
Check to make sure your getting the rite fuel pressure. To do this, you need a fuel pressure gauge. Turn the keys to ON ( dont crank it ) and that will turn the fuel pump on for like 2 seconds. Check the guage and see what it is reading. It should be around 45ish, I forget the exact pressure, but its around there give or take. Also, it SHOULDNT drop pressure. If your getting good fuel, then I'd say its probly the Opti like I mentioned earlier.
As for the starter, I still have no idea what it could be. Someone suggested a groung wire being loose ( Or corroded ) so check them, theres a few of them on an LT1.
~ On the back of the intake, going to the firewall
~One down by the starter ( I think, its been a while )
~On the one side ( forget which ) of the block
~One right by the cruise control module
~Two on top of the Rad. ( Top of core support ) Easily seen when you first pop the hood.
Definatly check the ground to the starter. Also, maybe check for any loose fuses ??? I bought my car totalled, rebuilt it, and when i went to start it, NOTHING, so i checked, and there was a fuse missing.
... Check that ground, and the Waterpump weep hole & Opti.
If your Opti IS bad, dont buy the rebuild kit for it. Just buy a new one, or get one of the after market ones, I think theyre called a Dynaspark ???
03-19-2004, 10:24 PM
#19
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 282
How recent would you say is "recent" for the waterpump? I had it go bad but that was probably 8-14K ago. I figured the OPTI would have gone bad around that time. My OPTI probably has about 20k on it.
I will probably check the fuel pressure tomorrow. I am also going to take a big wrench and try to turn the crank. I am also probably going to check the wires for the spark jump like yall were saying.
I will also check all of those ground connections, and hopefully by Monday I will be able to have the new elbow in and on. I am also gonna check the starter ground too.
To answer a couple of questions:
I do not have cats so it couldnt be clogged.
The car slowly progressed. First it has a choppy idle just every once and a while down to about 500 RPM. Give it a good rev, and the car was fine back at normal idle. Well then the other night it just cut off while we were driving it did that about 3 times, then left me stranded... Then we tried to fix it, and it left me totally stranded. SO, it has kinda progressed, but I dont know if problems are related.
I hope it isn't the opti. Please keep putting in suggestions, as I am sure I will need them! Thanks as always guys!
I will probably check the fuel pressure tomorrow. I am also going to take a big wrench and try to turn the crank. I am also probably going to check the wires for the spark jump like yall were saying.
I will also check all of those ground connections, and hopefully by Monday I will be able to have the new elbow in and on. I am also gonna check the starter ground too.
To answer a couple of questions:
I do not have cats so it couldnt be clogged.
The car slowly progressed. First it has a choppy idle just every once and a while down to about 500 RPM. Give it a good rev, and the car was fine back at normal idle. Well then the other night it just cut off while we were driving it did that about 3 times, then left me stranded... Then we tried to fix it, and it left me totally stranded. SO, it has kinda progressed, but I dont know if problems are related.
I hope it isn't the opti. Please keep putting in suggestions, as I am sure I will need them! Thanks as always guys!
03-20-2004, 03:56 PM
#23
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Pgh, PA
Posts: 2,628
Check for the right fuel pressure first, then if the pump seems ok, test the Opti. 20K isnt old at all for an Opti, but then again some guys get 100K out of them , others are getting a few thousand ... Theyre jsut a bad bad design ... I wouldnt think its related to the waterpump in anyway, but It does sound like either an Opti or fuel pump related problem. To test the Opti, try spraying a very small amount of starter fluid in the throttle body while someone cranks the engine ( Once you get it cranking again ~ This seems to be two problems ) It should at least try to start if the Opti is OK. Have a hose/extinguisher by if your using starter fluid lol. If your gettins spark, and starter fluid, itll try. If not, then check wires and go from there ... If it does try, then its something fuel related ... Pump, Injectors, Regulator possibly ??? ...
03-20-2004, 10:31 PM
#24
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 106
<<-- the gf...
it started today when we went to get it...sounded like hell, lots of knock. ran for about 10 miles and then cut off when it stopped to turn....pushed it across the intersection and towed it to my house.
we looked at it briefly tonight...all connections seemed tight, no corrosion or anything else...i ran the multimeter over a few things, seems like power is getting to the right places in the right amounts...didn't check the f/p yet, as it started raining... everything seems fine until the starter solenoid, i can hear it engage but it just can't turn the car over...tapping on the assembly didn't help either...hopefully it won't rain tomorrow so we can take a more in-depth look...
sorry babe but we just need to push start this thing over a cliff
it started today when we went to get it...sounded like hell, lots of knock. ran for about 10 miles and then cut off when it stopped to turn....pushed it across the intersection and towed it to my house.
we looked at it briefly tonight...all connections seemed tight, no corrosion or anything else...i ran the multimeter over a few things, seems like power is getting to the right places in the right amounts...didn't check the f/p yet, as it started raining... everything seems fine until the starter solenoid, i can hear it engage but it just can't turn the car over...tapping on the assembly didn't help either...hopefully it won't rain tomorrow so we can take a more in-depth look...
sorry babe but we just need to push start this thing over a cliff
03-21-2004, 12:15 PM
#25
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 282
Well... Got under the car in the light today. Took me a while to get it off cuz of the exhaust, but I got the starter off. The starter is working perfectly. There is no problem with that. So, either the engine is seized, or we have some kind of other problem. But I dont think it is seized cuz it did this same thing before when we couldn't get it to crank. Any ideas?
PLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE HELP!
PLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE HELP!
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