vented opti dead again...what to do?
vented opti dead again...what to do? Built a 385 stroker with ai h/c/I. First optispark (oem) lasted all of break in. I took the car fairly easy keeping the rpms down. After I got it broke in decent, I raced a h/c ls1, beat him fairly easily....next morning car wouldnt start. Replaced opti with brand new ac delco vented opti...car ran perfect for two days, on the 2nd day raced a lt1 355 h/c car, beat him lol. Went home parked the car....guess what?? Went to start car next mornin....nothin! No spark....no wires lose or anything like that. Is it because the rpms are getting too high and frying my opti or what?? Do I replace it with another oem opti? Or go another route?
Before you spend any more, do this check:
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#opti_test
Sounds like 2 identical failures with OE optis is unlikely. I'll venture a guess that you might have a pigtail going south, not staying tight, then incidentally corrects itself when you R&R the opti. Or something else in secondary ign. with issues that fixes itself due to handling/ wiggling during R&R. Opti RPMs are only half engine speed, remember...
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#opti_test
Sounds like 2 identical failures with OE optis is unlikely. I'll venture a guess that you might have a pigtail going south, not staying tight, then incidentally corrects itself when you R&R the opti. Or something else in secondary ign. with issues that fixes itself due to handling/ wiggling during R&R. Opti RPMs are only half engine speed, remember...
Havent. opened up 2nd opti yet...first opti was code 36 high something the scanner said and all insides looked good to me...wheel was fine
And they have been whole units both loc tighted
And they have been whole units both loc tighted
Check the car's harness, that is- not the end of the pigtail.
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The first opti was a old oem base with new msd cap and rotor. I also put the msd c&r on my new oem opti. Ran perfect not a miss, nothin until I really got on It (66-6700) at most while racing Its somethin in the base going bad it seems from higher rpms?? The eBay harness looked good to me...do they burn up somehow? First opti looked perfect inside? Does the electrical part go bad inside?
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Verdad Gallardo So do you have a code on the (new) one that you find suspect?
I had the same scenario with my green car rebuild. Old opti looked fine, put MSD cap & rotor on it, ran it hard a bit and got a code 36. Mine had shaft bearing bits to flake out and pollute the insides and clog up the encoder. I have a theory about the discs: If they're warped enough to rub slightly on the inside of the optical encoder, it creates heat like you'd see patterns of on a warped rotor. Heat is what kills encoders, but it normally happens over a long period of use. warped wheel-induced friction can do it quickly, I'd think.
You said both your discs looked good- did you turn the opti with the shaft and watch the wheel as it went around to look for wobble/ high spots?
I had the same scenario with my green car rebuild. Old opti looked fine, put MSD cap & rotor on it, ran it hard a bit and got a code 36. Mine had shaft bearing bits to flake out and pollute the insides and clog up the encoder. I have a theory about the discs: If they're warped enough to rub slightly on the inside of the optical encoder, it creates heat like you'd see patterns of on a warped rotor. Heat is what kills encoders, but it normally happens over a long period of use. warped wheel-induced friction can do it quickly, I'd think.
You said both your discs looked good- did you turn the opti with the shaft and watch the wheel as it went around to look for wobble/ high spots?
I didn't turn it...I just set the old aside, threw on the new and it worked perfect so I wasn't worried about it lol. Ill check it out this weekend and pull the new one off andcheck it out. I haven't checkrd foe codes yet either but will do that as well this weekend. Thanks for all the help so far man
Make sure your camshaft dowel pin is not too long. You have an aftermarket camshaft - most of them come on the long side and you trim it to fit (AI usually does this for you but it doesn't hurt to check). If the pin is too long it puts undue pressure on the rotor which can seriously accelerate failure.
Additionally, make sure you're getting good vacuum through the vent lines. A plugged flow reducer and/or backflow prevention valve will cause an almost immediate build-up of excessive ozone gas, which can cause all sorts of issues.
Additionally, make sure you're getting good vacuum through the vent lines. A plugged flow reducer and/or backflow prevention valve will cause an almost immediate build-up of excessive ozone gas, which can cause all sorts of issues.
Thanks alot for the help everyone....I don't know what happened but I put on my other new opti harness and the thing is flawless now...then I switched them back around and now everything is fine. I don't know if something somehow came lose on the harness plugged intotge opti or what but I am RELEAVED! thanks again everyone! Im lovin ai's h/c/I on thr car! 
