My opti saga (MSD) and a question about the opti harness
#41
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Nitro
since you cut off the connector from the MSD unit to splice onto the Chandler harness...really confirm you didn't cross up any wires in that process. Not sure what year car you have...do you have the right year opti?? (early year was diffrent drive IRRC)
many have posted they were able to start car without WP on to confirm newly installed opti worked.
since you cut off the connector from the MSD unit to splice onto the Chandler harness...really confirm you didn't cross up any wires in that process. Not sure what year car you have...do you have the right year opti?? (early year was diffrent drive IRRC)
many have posted they were able to start car without WP on to confirm newly installed opti worked.
Today I traced back all my plug wires to be 100% sure and checked everything I could imagine. I removed a plug and had my father crank as I touched the header and there is spark coming from the opti. Then I took the opti end of the coil wire and touched the timing cover as he cranked again and nothing.
![Thinker](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies2/thinker.gif)
I reinstalled the plug and connected everything once again, including the WP connector with the WP sitting on the radiator support and tried again. The first 2 attempts I got 2-3 loud backfires that sounded like gunshots. I decided to film the last attempt but here you can just faintly here the exhaust "farting"
![Embarassed](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_emb.gif)
Any comments? This is my first time having to go through the entire ignition system on a car and I'm a college student backyard (well in this case street) mechanic so please bear with me, I really appreciate it. When I installed the opti I lined it up the best I could and it popped right in without any forcing, so I could only assume its on correctly. I'm about to take the balancer back off and check and go buy a new coil since everything else is brand new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsmbA...ature=youtu.be
Last edited by nitroheadz28; 01-14-2013 at 06:50 PM.
#42
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What year is your car? You should consider a signature that contains the details of your car.
If it's a 1994 or later, is there any chance you have the MAF plugged in without the MAF being connected to the throttle body and intake? If so, either connect the MAF to the throttle body via the elbow, or unplug the MAF and try starting it again.
If it's a 1994 or later, is there any chance you have the MAF plugged in without the MAF being connected to the throttle body and intake? If so, either connect the MAF to the throttle body via the elbow, or unplug the MAF and try starting it again.
#43
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Will do, its a 95 with a 96 engine (which always confuses me on what OBD hookup I have because the cheap Azone scanners don't read the PCM and my mechanic had trouble reading it as well).
The maf is plugged in and connected, when I initially started having the stalling problem 2-3 months ago I was testing the system and noticed it wouldn't start without the intake elbow and MAF connected- everything is hooked up. So you want me to unplug the MAF and try? Hmmm will do, just not sure what it could be causing? Thanks.
The maf is plugged in and connected, when I initially started having the stalling problem 2-3 months ago I was testing the system and noticed it wouldn't start without the intake elbow and MAF connected- everything is hooked up. So you want me to unplug the MAF and try? Hmmm will do, just not sure what it could be causing? Thanks.
#44
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If the MAF is plugged in and connected to the intake, it probably won't help to unplug it, but you can try it.
If it were plugged in and not connected to the intake, the PCM would probably determine that no air was being pulled through the MAF and wouldn't supply any fuel, which would keep it from firing.
The first time I changed my opti, that happened to me, but my car would briefly fire and then do nothing. When you said it fired a couple of times, I though that might be the issue.
If it were plugged in and not connected to the intake, the PCM would probably determine that no air was being pulled through the MAF and wouldn't supply any fuel, which would keep it from firing.
The first time I changed my opti, that happened to me, but my car would briefly fire and then do nothing. When you said it fired a couple of times, I though that might be the issue.
#46
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I went to my local Azone today and dropped $47 on a coil. Come home to swap it out and the connectors are completely different from my MSD.
Of course that would happen to me
. I guess I'll order an MSD unit from somewhere.
About to see if I can find someone semi local to help me out, this is just ridiculous.. I start classes in less than 2 weeks and my commute by mass transit is 5-6.5 hours daily with 4 miles of walking.
I was just looking at a few pics and it looks like my car has the 93-94 style coil and harness? What the hell lol.
Of course that would happen to me
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About to see if I can find someone semi local to help me out, this is just ridiculous.. I start classes in less than 2 weeks and my commute by mass transit is 5-6.5 hours daily with 4 miles of walking.
I was just looking at a few pics and it looks like my car has the 93-94 style coil and harness? What the hell lol.
Last edited by nitroheadz28; 01-15-2013 at 01:26 PM.
#48
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Oh what a long and exhausting day, I must've slid under the car at least 30-40 times.
After trying the new coil and still nothing, I tore it back down. This is what I found:
![](http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9958/20130117122616.jpg)
![Rolleyes](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/rolleyes.gif)
So I took a sharpie and marked it in line with the dowel pin and every single time I inserted it, it went in the same exactly way as it did when I got it wrong the first time. After 5 attempts I said **** it and went for a test fire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T75XF...ature=youtu.be
I buttoned everything up after and fired it up again this time letting it run until it hit 180* and shut her off, purrs like a kitten. Ready to go after filling with coolant and burping the system![Grin](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_grin.gif)
Thanks for your help everyone, whoever said its impossible to get the opti on wrong is
. In fact its all too easy, I wish I would've known the first time around I could test run the car without the balancer on.. Would've been so much less effort to reinstall the opti again.
After trying the new coil and still nothing, I tore it back down. This is what I found:
![](http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9958/20130117122616.jpg)
![Rolleyes](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/rolleyes.gif)
So I took a sharpie and marked it in line with the dowel pin and every single time I inserted it, it went in the same exactly way as it did when I got it wrong the first time. After 5 attempts I said **** it and went for a test fire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T75XF...ature=youtu.be
I buttoned everything up after and fired it up again this time letting it run until it hit 180* and shut her off, purrs like a kitten. Ready to go after filling with coolant and burping the system
![Grin](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_grin.gif)
Thanks for your help everyone, whoever said its impossible to get the opti on wrong is
![EEK !!](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_eek2.gif)
#50
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I've always found it easier to align the bolt recesses on the opti rather than trying to align the dowel to the slot. Perhaps an optical illusion or brain/block or something, but I've always had better luck doing it that way.