LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

97 TA M6 will not start

Old 03-31-2009, 09:58 AM
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Default 97 TA M6 will not start

need some help.

I have been through Harlans write up for no start. I have had 2 mechanic friends look at it one of which went to Wyotech. Both are Gm guys that work at dodge. Neither have alot of experience with LT1's though. So I printed up your Harlans and we went through it.

Wound up pulling the opti. Found that coolant was spraying on the coil contact. Cleaned it up put the opti back on with a different coil wire (which is only reading .4 k ohms) and with everything else still disconnected it fired right up. Did again the next morning too! Put the car back together and it only started 4 times. The first time was great and then it went down hill with each restart. Now the car won't start at all.

Went back through the testing sheet, have pulsing ground on #1 injector about every second or so, and swapped the coil, icm, and with and without the msd6a box hooked up and still no start.

I am completly lost!

Last edited by dafaic; 03-31-2009 at 11:32 AM.
Old 03-31-2009, 10:50 AM
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Perhaps the opti got wet again?
Old 03-31-2009, 10:50 AM
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Do you have spark to the plugs? Are you sure it isn't the fuel pump?
Old 03-31-2009, 11:31 AM
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Yes after the 1st start after putting it back together I found a leaking hose to the therm. I turned the car off, fixed the leak. The next restart took about 2 seconds to fire. That's too long for this car. This car has always fired so quickly you could hardly get off the key fast enough.

So then I noticed the bleeder valve leaking, the one closest to the rad. Turned car off check couple other things and restarted this time taking 4 seconds to start.

Both times the coolant was leaking down the front of the water pump not the back.

Went for a drive. Came home turned off car. Tried to restart 40 minutes later and no go. Hasn't started since.

Now when I took the MSD opti off the speed shop that installed it 02/07 reused old wp gaskets and they didn't put the o-ring on the opti.

So I installed the o-ring when I put it back together. I had 2 orings which is why I thought they used 1. They must have jerked it off while trying to put the cap on when I wasn't looking.


Fuel pressure has always been 50psi key on engine off (koeo) while the pump primed and the it dropped and held 40psi while cranking. The car will hold fp all night. Come back in the morning and it is somewhere between 10psi and 30psi.

I pulled the fp gauge off the car after the first start up after the car was put back together.
Old 03-31-2009, 11:37 AM
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I tested all the driver side wires and they all have spark (with one of those inline spark checkers that has the flashing bulb). Testing the pass. side is another story! The moroso wires and ngk tr55 gpower plugs have been on the car since 10/06 with about 10k miles on them since install.
Old 03-31-2009, 04:37 PM
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the way i figured out that it was my cap was that i pulled thw wire off of the opti(the one from the coil) touched it to a ground and turned it over. I had spark. Then i reconnected the wire and tried doing it with a few different spark plug wires, no spark. The only thing between the coil and the spark plug wires is the cap and rotor. That is how i figured out that my problem was the cap and rotor....not to mention that the rotor had an arch burn going down the rounded part and arched onto the shutter wheel. So it was a given.
Old 03-31-2009, 04:45 PM
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Well I had mine apart and the cap and rotor all appeared fine.

There was this tiny little crack in the cap over the #2 plug in the red area about a 1/4" from the side. It did not go all the way through, it did not go all the way to the edge either, and there was no other apparant damage to the cap.

I never would have put the car back together had it not started or even gave me the hint that it was going to continue giving me trouble.
Old 03-31-2009, 08:29 PM
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I guess I'll do your coil wire opti end to ground test tomorrow and see. Since I am getting spark at the coil side and my coil wire only has .45 k ohms I am assuming it's good so I should get a spark at the other end.
Old 03-31-2009, 08:54 PM
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Ya you should. and if you have consistent spark at the end of all your spark plug wires then that means the opti,pcm(ignition part), ignition module, coil, coil wire, cap and spark plug wires are good...theoretically. Not 100% but they should be so that would mean it is something else


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