dirtgar

Update!
So I had my Iginition Coil Tested and it failed it wasn't working right, so I replaced it. The car runs better and it starts up a lot quicker, but after it heats up it dies every once in a while. It's dieng a lot less, but it still is annoying to have it die on the highway. Do you guys thik that if the ICM gets hot it can cause the car to shut down? The mod where you add washers to give it space, has that fixed an issue of shutting of before? Thank you for all your guys help!

also now if it just shuts down, before it would shut down and restart. At lunch Im gonna take it back to autozone and I will post all the codes it gives!

dirtgar

Okay the latest and greatest. So I ran the car for codes as you guys suggested the following codes came up:

P0430
P0441
P0372

Also now the car just dies it then becomes hard to turn back on and it seems to happen only when the car warms up, please help I just want to have the car run fine.

Chaos1187

Did you check and troubleshoot the fuel pump (pressure test / electrical connections)?

P0430 Catalyst system eff. below threshold right bank
p0441 Evap emission incorrect purge flow
p0372 Dont know? lol

z28camaro1090

sounds like an optispark issue to me.. mine did that then when i switch it was fixed

Injuneer

P0372 = loss of high resolution pulse signal from the optical cam position sensor in the Opti.

The optical module can deteriorate to the point where it fails at high temperatures. Sort of surprised you didn't get P1371 for loss of low resolution pulse - that's the one that shuts the engine down. The PCM is supposed to be able to run the engine without the high resolution pulse signal, with just a minor loss in ignition timing accuracy. But it seems like over the last 6 months, several people have had P0372 shut the engine down.
.... not sure why.

P0430 and P0441 will not shut it down, or cause any sort of noticeable issues.

dirtgar

Last night the car ran fine it only shut down once, but after a while the tach started going down and marking 0 RPM all while I was reving the engine. So it didnt shut off but the tach would come on then fall to 0, Im positive the car was running because I pulled over and was reveing the engine but the tach failed to read anything then it would come on and give a reading then it would go back to 0 RPM???? Dont have an idea whats wrong with this car!

bw_hunter

Start checking chassis grounds...it sounds like one is broken or corroded. Start with the one on the DS cylinder heads and the ones down low and forward on the block. I think a diagram off all the grounding points is available...maybe on Shoebox's site.

dirtgar

Okay update! While on my way back to work the car just died and I had to leave on the side of the road It cranks but doesnt turn on I gonna go back in a few hours and try to jump start it since I killed the battery by trying to restart it.

Injuneer

The tach is driven by the PCM, based on the signal from the Opti. You have in intermittent pulse signal, setting the code. Sounds like it may have lost the low res signal as well.

dirtgar

Got it towed home last night. Now it just cranks but doesnt turn on at all could this be the opti that was on it's last leg and just broke?? Can a bad Opti cause a car not to turn on?? One thing I did notice was that as drove the car more the syptoms became worse, the car died more ofthen and it felt like it was losing a bit of power????HELP HELP

bw_hunter

The Optispark is just an ignition distributor. If any part of it fails you won't get spark to the plugs and the engine won't run. It is not, however, the only think that can go wrong.

Start here in diagnosing the Opti:
https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=601565

Remove and have the ignition control module (ICM) tested. Have it tested both room temperature and heated up. I know it sounds stupid but take a hair dryer with you when you go to Autozone or wherever you go to get it tested. Heat it up with the dryer and test away. It has to pass both ways to be good.

Remove and have the coil tested. The coil generates the energy for the spark and if it's weak or faulty the car won't run right or at all. It is easy to substitute a known good coil and check for spark.

I'd recommend doing it in the order listed. The PCM is looking for a signal from the Opti before it will tell the ICM to have the coil generate a spark. No spark at the coil doesn't always mean the coil is bad and no spark at the plugs doesn't always mean the OPTI is bad.

Go through this using logic and the resources here and you'll find the problem.

Good luck!

Injuneer

Yes.

Evolution223

would have it been better to have taken the car to a mechanic or even a dealership when it first started having problems? Don't the dealers and the mechanics have the really super good snap-on scanners that can tell you exactly what is wrong? Better than the cheapos at autozone right?

I know that's what I would have done if I was having serious problems, before it broke down on the side of the road

DirtyDaveW

They may have the great scanners but they're very profit oriented and lazy at some dealerships. I've seen them immediately say, "it's the plugs and wires". They'll replace them for $500. That won't fix it. Then they'll say, "It's the PCM. We'll replace it for you for $200 plus labor". That won't fix it. Then they'll replace the coil. Doesn't fix it. Then they'll replace the ICM. That won't fix it. They'll replace the CPS, and that won't fix it. Then of course afterwards it's still fubar'd but they won't credit you for the bad diagnosis. Finally, they'll replace the Optispark and that will probaby fix it. But if it doesn't, they still won't credit you for all the crap they needlessly did.

dirtgar

I bought an Opti know Im just waiting on a freind to come help me install it as soon as we are done I will post my results
Hopefully this will work!