4Doorvett takes a dump!

So I'm driving down a hill in the 95 B4U, come to the stop sign and my dash lights up! Car stalls! try to re start, no go. Fast foward to the house, pull # 1 wire and crank it over, no spark! That's as far as I got. I'm thinkn coil, so I'll switch out the one in my 94 9C1 and se how that works out? I purchased a new Opti last August from the Partsladi on e-Bay, SO, It best not be the Opti! If that's the case I have two cores I can rebuild. I'll update if it comes to that.

I Pulled the coil off my running 94 9C1 installed and did not fire. I'm not sure what to do next.

Tomz9C1 wrote:

I Pulled the coil off my running 94 9C1 installed and did not fire. I'm not sure what to do next.

Did you change just the coil, or the coil/ICM together?

Both, I'm going to check all the grounds. Hussker mentioned the ones in the trunk. Thanks Billy.

Tomz9C1 wrote:

Both, I'm going to check all the grounds. Hussker mentioned the ones in the trunk. Thanks Billy.

also check the three wires going to the coil. Some times they break just inside the insulation by the connector because of the way the wiring is routed.

This is completely unlikely but it did happen to me twice. I stopped at a light and just as I hit the gas the car shut off with all the warning lights coming on and no obvious reaosn. The second time it happend was under similar circumstance and it got me investigating a bit. In my case it turned out the fuse in the drivers kickpanel for the Vats was loose and when I hit the gas hard it would lose contact for a split second and the Vats would kill the engine. Once I pushed the fuse in fully the car was fixed and has been fine since.

It's a once in a million problem but hopefully it's a similar issue for you since it took 3 seconds to fix and didn't cost any money.

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Checked all grounds, no start. Original Opti rebuild in process. I'll post some pics when done.

damn tom sorry to here that , i hate those now wtf problems ..were u close by the house ? got fingers cross for a easy fix,

Thanks Wayne, I switched the Opti out, and now it won't even turn over. AARRRRGGG!

IMPALADAKID wrote:

Tomz9C1 wrote:

Both, I'm going to check all the grounds. Hussker mentioned the ones in the trunk. Thanks Billy.

also check the three wires going to the coil. Some times they break just inside the insulation by the connector because of the way the wiring is routed.

Did you check this? I found it to be an issue in my car.

I have also had VATS issues, but they where only when trying to start the car...

Sorry I could not be of more help,

Doug

Tomz9C1 wrote:

Thanks Wayne, I switched the Opti out, and now it won't even turn over. AARRRRGGG!

Forgot to mention that when trying to start, the clock flickers and goes out. But the cluster remains lit up! I'm gonna check the starter wires. I've got a friend of my nephew's to check the entire electrical in a few hours. Wish me luck.

A friend of my Nefew Dan came down to help, traced the No Start problem to the THEFT DETERRENT MODULE. That's as far as he got. He's going to bounce it off a Auto electric guru in town. Crossing my fingers! Some input would be greatly appreciated. tia.

That's the Vats module which reads the resistence in the key and decides if it's the right key to start the car. The module may be bad, but in my case the Vats fuse in the kickpanel was loose and caused a problem, and others have had bad experiences because the chip in the key was worn down and not providing the right resistence. Also it could be a bad ground or a short in the wiring which isn't allowing the right resistence to be generated.

whats the latest update

I should have checked ALL the fuses! It was the Fuel Pump Fuse, which caused it not to fire also. After changing the coil, I broke one of the ground wires. I reconnected it with a new connector. The connection was not good enough to engage the starter, the tech soldered it on to create a solid connection. She's running fine now but I wonder if this is a foreshadow of a failing fuel pump?

thats good news ..why are the fuses always the last thing to check, these cars have such a rep for opti ,ground ,fuel pmp and harness problems thats the 1st thing we attack.. imo with are the driving u do for my own pc of mind id get a new one and a harness , so now the question which brand,

I took apart the Opti and it looked real clean. Had run it for the last year with no problems so I'm comfortable with this Opti. I am weary of the fuel pump failing on me though.

Tomz9C1 wrote:

Forgot to mention that when trying to start, the clock flickers and goes out.

Funny, now that I read this again, I had noticed my clock lighting dancing a little
before I did my fuel pump.
Never went out but showed up like when a circuit has a changing load (normal then less bright then normal)
I never gave it much thought other then thinking SOMETHING was getting ready to crap out
It didnt happen enough to be able to NOW go out & watch it.
Wonder how that circuit ties in & IF it relates somehow