My Optispark and ignition adventure
08-28-2021, 05:13 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Elizabeth City, NC
Posts: 44
My Optispark and ignition adventure
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If I would've just listened to that phrase it would have cost me alot of headache, (and a little money).
I have a 1995 Z28, right around 110k on the clock, chunk of bolt-on mods and pcmforless tune, nothing too crazy. A little while back I had pulled off my opti to just give it a once over, it's not the oem opti, an AC Delco one when they still used the Mitsubishi sensor. Now, I hadn't really had issues with it, every now and again I throw dtc16, no idea why though, it only does it once or twice a year. Just reset the pcm and it's fine for the 6 months. However, I did notice the opti shaft had some play, and I got it in my head that due to that and the random twice a year dtc16 I should probably replace it.
It seems that every opti these days is a crap shoot on if it will work, I didn't care to drop money for a MSD unit and since everything else typically had 50/50 reviews I just decided to get an Accel unit and see what happens. Now, I will admit, I did want the nice pretty red MSD cover, found a deal on a MSD cap and figured I'd just use it on the Accel for "bling" factor.
. When they came in, they looked good, seemed like quality pieces. I had also decided to get the cool red MSD ignition coil too. Got everything installed, coolant in, ready to go, I turn the key and I get this awful popping, misfiring, throwing every ignition and opti related dtc in the book. I sat there for minute hoping I didn't just blow up my car, made sure I had the spark plug wires on correctly, and tried again to the same results.
So, back to tearing everything back down to see what in the world is going on and there was nothing I could physically see that was wrong or that I messed up on the install.. I started messing around, took off the MSD cap and put the Accel cap back on, tried putting the old cap and rotor on, replaced the ignition switch, put the oem ignition coil back on. I even put the Mitsubishi sensor from the old opti on the Accel unit. Nothing. Same results no matter what combination I threw at it.
. Now, the one thing I hadn't done yet was just throw the old opti back together and back on. Defeated, I decided to go back to ground zero and put all the old stuff back on. I honestly thought I had messed something up and that wasn't going to do anything. It fired right up. Idled perfect, started perfect, everything. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed. However, since the old opti worked, I decided to see if the MSD cap would work on the old one. Nope.
. I tried the MSD coil again, tried the Accel cap, the ONLY way my camaro would start and run is with the old stuff. Now, maybe something got ruined with all the back and forth and attemps to start, but my camaro did not want anything to do with anything aftermarket on the ignition.
. Needless to say, I was wondering why, so I tore the Accel opti apart and found some interesting things, but I don't know if they were the exact reasons it wouldn't work. What I found, first off, the opti shaft on the Accel was a tad longer than it was on my old AC Delco. I don't know why that be a big issue, I'm using the cc503 cam and the dowel pin is actually shorter than the oem cam. Secondly, I found that the timing wheel didn't spin straight and it would contact the sensor when it spun, and it wasn't just a warped timing wheel, the entire shaft didn't spin straight. That would explain why the Mitsubishi sensor didn't work on it either? Maybe? The last thing I noticed, is that the MSD cap is a little bit different design than the AC Delco cap, idk, it seems like it had less area for contact for the spark plug and coil wires. Also, I just have no idea why the MSD ignition coil didn't work with the AC Delco opti. It just straight up wouldn't.
. So, at the end of the day, after all that headache the camaro is back to where it was before I went on this endeavor. I'll just live with the random "issues" as they come up. If there is any experts who actually read this whole thing, any ideas as to why all those problems?
.
.
I have a 1995 Z28, right around 110k on the clock, chunk of bolt-on mods and pcmforless tune, nothing too crazy. A little while back I had pulled off my opti to just give it a once over, it's not the oem opti, an AC Delco one when they still used the Mitsubishi sensor. Now, I hadn't really had issues with it, every now and again I throw dtc16, no idea why though, it only does it once or twice a year. Just reset the pcm and it's fine for the 6 months. However, I did notice the opti shaft had some play, and I got it in my head that due to that and the random twice a year dtc16 I should probably replace it.
It seems that every opti these days is a crap shoot on if it will work, I didn't care to drop money for a MSD unit and since everything else typically had 50/50 reviews I just decided to get an Accel unit and see what happens. Now, I will admit, I did want the nice pretty red MSD cover, found a deal on a MSD cap and figured I'd just use it on the Accel for "bling" factor.
. When they came in, they looked good, seemed like quality pieces. I had also decided to get the cool red MSD ignition coil too. Got everything installed, coolant in, ready to go, I turn the key and I get this awful popping, misfiring, throwing every ignition and opti related dtc in the book. I sat there for minute hoping I didn't just blow up my car, made sure I had the spark plug wires on correctly, and tried again to the same results.
So, back to tearing everything back down to see what in the world is going on and there was nothing I could physically see that was wrong or that I messed up on the install.. I started messing around, took off the MSD cap and put the Accel cap back on, tried putting the old cap and rotor on, replaced the ignition switch, put the oem ignition coil back on. I even put the Mitsubishi sensor from the old opti on the Accel unit. Nothing. Same results no matter what combination I threw at it.
. Now, the one thing I hadn't done yet was just throw the old opti back together and back on. Defeated, I decided to go back to ground zero and put all the old stuff back on. I honestly thought I had messed something up and that wasn't going to do anything. It fired right up. Idled perfect, started perfect, everything. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed. However, since the old opti worked, I decided to see if the MSD cap would work on the old one. Nope.
. I tried the MSD coil again, tried the Accel cap, the ONLY way my camaro would start and run is with the old stuff. Now, maybe something got ruined with all the back and forth and attemps to start, but my camaro did not want anything to do with anything aftermarket on the ignition.
. Needless to say, I was wondering why, so I tore the Accel opti apart and found some interesting things, but I don't know if they were the exact reasons it wouldn't work. What I found, first off, the opti shaft on the Accel was a tad longer than it was on my old AC Delco. I don't know why that be a big issue, I'm using the cc503 cam and the dowel pin is actually shorter than the oem cam. Secondly, I found that the timing wheel didn't spin straight and it would contact the sensor when it spun, and it wasn't just a warped timing wheel, the entire shaft didn't spin straight. That would explain why the Mitsubishi sensor didn't work on it either? Maybe? The last thing I noticed, is that the MSD cap is a little bit different design than the AC Delco cap, idk, it seems like it had less area for contact for the spark plug and coil wires. Also, I just have no idea why the MSD ignition coil didn't work with the AC Delco opti. It just straight up wouldn't.
. So, at the end of the day, after all that headache the camaro is back to where it was before I went on this endeavor. I'll just live with the random "issues" as they come up. If there is any experts who actually read this whole thing, any ideas as to why all those problems?
.
.
08-29-2021, 03:46 AM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Duvall, WA
Posts: 184
Re: My Optispark and ignition adventure
I rebuilt my AC Delco Opti, with this Cap & Rotor (https://www.ebay.com/itm/402713457326?) and it has been running rock solid for 2 yrs now. you just have to make sure the optical disc doesn't get warped by tightening the rotor too much.
08-29-2021, 06:07 AM
#3
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 372
Re: My Optispark and ignition adventure
The optispark, and the problems , like you describe, are the main reasons why there are so few of these cars on the roads.
The use of Chinese and counter fit parts, the lack of reliability of these units along with General Motors not backing up the consumer with these problems are why fewer and fewer people are buying Chevorlet.
My "93Z, once I get it running, is the last Chevorlet I will ever buy!
Sorry for all your problems!
The use of Chinese and counter fit parts, the lack of reliability of these units along with General Motors not backing up the consumer with these problems are why fewer and fewer people are buying Chevorlet.
My "93Z, once I get it running, is the last Chevorlet I will ever buy!
Sorry for all your problems!
08-29-2021, 09:01 AM
#4
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 13
Re: My Optispark and ignition adventure
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If I would've just listened to that phrase it would have cost me alot of headache, (and a little money).
I have a 1995 Z28, right around 110k on the clock, chunk of bolt-on mods and pcmforless tune, nothing too crazy. A little while back I had pulled off my opti to just give it a once over, it's not the oem opti, an AC Delco one when they still used the Mitsubishi sensor. Now, I hadn't really had issues with it, every now and again I throw dtc16, no idea why though, it only does it once or twice a year. Just reset the pcm and it's fine for the 6 months. However, I did notice the opti shaft had some play, and I got it in my head that due to that and the random twice a year dtc16 I should probably replace it.
It seems that every opti these days is a crap shoot on if it will work, I didn't care to drop money for a MSD unit and since everything else typically had 50/50 reviews I just decided to get an Accel unit and see what happens. Now, I will admit, I did want the nice pretty red MSD cover, found a deal on a MSD cap and figured I'd just use it on the Accel for "bling" factor.
. When they came in, they looked good, seemed like quality pieces. I had also decided to get the cool red MSD ignition coil too. Got everything installed, coolant in, ready to go, I turn the key and I get this awful popping, misfiring, throwing every ignition and opti related dtc in the book. I sat there for minute hoping I didn't just blow up my car, made sure I had the spark plug wires on correctly, and tried again to the same results.
So, back to tearing everything back down to see what in the world is going on and there was nothing I could physically see that was wrong or that I messed up on the install.. I started messing around, took off the MSD cap and put the Accel cap back on, tried putting the old cap and rotor on, replaced the ignition switch, put the oem ignition coil back on. I even put the Mitsubishi sensor from the old opti on the Accel unit. Nothing. Same results no matter what combination I threw at it.
. Now, the one thing I hadn't done yet was just throw the old opti back together and back on. Defeated, I decided to go back to ground zero and put all the old stuff back on. I honestly thought I had messed something up and that wasn't going to do anything. It fired right up. Idled perfect, started perfect, everything. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed. However, since the old opti worked, I decided to see if the MSD cap would work on the old one. Nope.
. I tried the MSD coil again, tried the Accel cap, the ONLY way my camaro would start and run is with the old stuff. Now, maybe something got ruined with all the back and forth and attemps to start, but my camaro did not want anything to do with anything aftermarket on the ignition.
. Needless to say, I was wondering why, so I tore the Accel opti apart and found some interesting things, but I don't know if they were the exact reasons it wouldn't work. What I found, first off, the opti shaft on the Accel was a tad longer than it was on my old AC Delco. I don't know why that be a big issue, I'm using the cc503 cam and the dowel pin is actually shorter than the oem cam. Secondly, I found that the timing wheel didn't spin straight and it would contact the sensor when it spun, and it wasn't just a warped timing wheel, the entire shaft didn't spin straight. That would explain why the Mitsubishi sensor didn't work on it either? Maybe? The last thing I noticed, is that the MSD cap is a little bit different design than the AC Delco cap, idk, it seems like it had less area for contact for the spark plug and coil wires. Also, I just have no idea why the MSD ignition coil didn't work with the AC Delco opti. It just straight up wouldn't.
. So, at the end of the day, after all that headache the camaro is back to where it was before I went on this endeavor. I'll just live with the random "issues" as they come up. If there is any experts who actually read this whole thing, any ideas as to why all those problems?
.
.
I have a 1995 Z28, right around 110k on the clock, chunk of bolt-on mods and pcmforless tune, nothing too crazy. A little while back I had pulled off my opti to just give it a once over, it's not the oem opti, an AC Delco one when they still used the Mitsubishi sensor. Now, I hadn't really had issues with it, every now and again I throw dtc16, no idea why though, it only does it once or twice a year. Just reset the pcm and it's fine for the 6 months. However, I did notice the opti shaft had some play, and I got it in my head that due to that and the random twice a year dtc16 I should probably replace it.
It seems that every opti these days is a crap shoot on if it will work, I didn't care to drop money for a MSD unit and since everything else typically had 50/50 reviews I just decided to get an Accel unit and see what happens. Now, I will admit, I did want the nice pretty red MSD cover, found a deal on a MSD cap and figured I'd just use it on the Accel for "bling" factor.
. When they came in, they looked good, seemed like quality pieces. I had also decided to get the cool red MSD ignition coil too. Got everything installed, coolant in, ready to go, I turn the key and I get this awful popping, misfiring, throwing every ignition and opti related dtc in the book. I sat there for minute hoping I didn't just blow up my car, made sure I had the spark plug wires on correctly, and tried again to the same results.
So, back to tearing everything back down to see what in the world is going on and there was nothing I could physically see that was wrong or that I messed up on the install.. I started messing around, took off the MSD cap and put the Accel cap back on, tried putting the old cap and rotor on, replaced the ignition switch, put the oem ignition coil back on. I even put the Mitsubishi sensor from the old opti on the Accel unit. Nothing. Same results no matter what combination I threw at it.
. Now, the one thing I hadn't done yet was just throw the old opti back together and back on. Defeated, I decided to go back to ground zero and put all the old stuff back on. I honestly thought I had messed something up and that wasn't going to do anything. It fired right up. Idled perfect, started perfect, everything. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed. However, since the old opti worked, I decided to see if the MSD cap would work on the old one. Nope.
. I tried the MSD coil again, tried the Accel cap, the ONLY way my camaro would start and run is with the old stuff. Now, maybe something got ruined with all the back and forth and attemps to start, but my camaro did not want anything to do with anything aftermarket on the ignition.
. Needless to say, I was wondering why, so I tore the Accel opti apart and found some interesting things, but I don't know if they were the exact reasons it wouldn't work. What I found, first off, the opti shaft on the Accel was a tad longer than it was on my old AC Delco. I don't know why that be a big issue, I'm using the cc503 cam and the dowel pin is actually shorter than the oem cam. Secondly, I found that the timing wheel didn't spin straight and it would contact the sensor when it spun, and it wasn't just a warped timing wheel, the entire shaft didn't spin straight. That would explain why the Mitsubishi sensor didn't work on it either? Maybe? The last thing I noticed, is that the MSD cap is a little bit different design than the AC Delco cap, idk, it seems like it had less area for contact for the spark plug and coil wires. Also, I just have no idea why the MSD ignition coil didn't work with the AC Delco opti. It just straight up wouldn't.
. So, at the end of the day, after all that headache the camaro is back to where it was before I went on this endeavor. I'll just live with the random "issues" as they come up. If there is any experts who actually read this whole thing, any ideas as to why all those problems?
.
.
The perfect optispark!
08-29-2021, 11:45 AM
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 13
Re: My Optispark and ignition adventure
I had an MSD Optispark in for 10 years and worked great. Then lost Hi-Res pulse and ordered the Petris, had it in hand in a couple of days-works great now. Sent the MSD Optispark back to MSD/Holley(El Paso) and they completely rebuilt for $140. That trip to MSD/Holley took a month or so to get done. MSD will be a spare if I ever need one.
Last edited by uwphoto48; 08-29-2021 at 11:49 AM. Reason: add attachment
08-29-2021, 03:01 PM
#7
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Duvall, WA
Posts: 184
Re: My Optispark and ignition adventure
if this guy rebuilds you one, you know its going to work, he test it under real conditions, no other place does that ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/23386716529...sAAOSwyfpfT7O3 )
08-29-2021, 07:58 PM
#8
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Elizabeth City, NC
Posts: 44
Re: My Optispark and ignition adventure
if this guy rebuilds you one, you know its going to work, he test it under real conditions, no other place does that ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/23386716529...sAAOSwyfpfT7O3 )
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