95 z28 - having starting problems
#21
12-18-2009, 07:16 PM
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Tokeland, Washington
Posts: 21,645
i beleive thats the coil wire. unplug and make sure the end is not damaged. if its not pluged in all the way the end can burn off. the sucking could be a stuck or sticky idle air control motor. it screws ito the pasenger side of the throttle body just below the throttle position sensor and has kind of a square plugin. least it does on mine. unscrew it and clean it. its easier to deal with if u take the tb off but if the gasket is old and brittle u will have to get a new gasket.
#22
12-18-2009, 11:35 PM
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: The 'Burbs of Chicago
Posts: 18,306
...i took off the CAI so that I could see my opti & all the sensors, yadda yadda. i truly believe it is not a fuel issue right now. i noticed when it won't start, or actually, starts but misfires and eventually stalls - that when i am trying to give it gas there is a huge gasping sound that i can hear coming from drivers side of engine compartment (im sitting inside the vehicle). the more gas i give, the larger the gasp - but no sound from exhaust, and then it stalls.
bear with me here... i don't think i found the wiring harness for the distributor, but anything that looked like a wired plug/connector/sensor i went ahead and disconnected and cleaned with a toothbrush. i found some crusty crap in a couple. i think i stumbled upon my ignition coil/connector - if you are standing and looking at the opti, its to the bottom right - it has 2 wired plugs that connect to each other before clipping onto the ignition coil... jeez, i hope i'm making sense. all i have to go by is a haynes manual that only shows one brief pic. anyways, those 2 wired plugs that connect to each other had water beads all over their connections. i wiped them off thoroughly and took my shop vac and used it as a blower then a vac then a blower in order to try to get all the moisture out of there. also, is there a spark plug that sits right behind the opti? my spark plug wires are red but have an L shaped boot on the end, this wire was the same type of wire only a straight fitting on the end. anyways, that wire was not connected securely - almost ready to come off, so i pushed it down till it was snug.
bear with me here... i don't think i found the wiring harness for the distributor, but anything that looked like a wired plug/connector/sensor i went ahead and disconnected and cleaned with a toothbrush. i found some crusty crap in a couple. i think i stumbled upon my ignition coil/connector - if you are standing and looking at the opti, its to the bottom right - it has 2 wired plugs that connect to each other before clipping onto the ignition coil... jeez, i hope i'm making sense. all i have to go by is a haynes manual that only shows one brief pic. anyways, those 2 wired plugs that connect to each other had water beads all over their connections. i wiped them off thoroughly and took my shop vac and used it as a blower then a vac then a blower in order to try to get all the moisture out of there. also, is there a spark plug that sits right behind the opti? my spark plug wires are red but have an L shaped boot on the end, this wire was the same type of wire only a straight fitting on the end. anyways, that wire was not connected securely - almost ready to come off, so i pushed it down till it was snug.
B) The opti wiring harness comes up directly from the opti and plugs into the car harness which rests on the passenger side of the intake manifold. It's a rounded edge rectangular 4 prong metri pack plug.
3) Yes that is your coil wire. It connects from the coil to the top of the opti. Kinda like how an old style distributor has a separate coil wire connecting to the top center of the distributor cap...only different.
#23
12-21-2009, 03:04 PM
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 39
Craby, does this wire look healthy? Thats the one I found behind the distributor.
coilwire004.jpg?t=1261428407
This is the L shaped hose we replaced:
coilwire006.jpg?t=1261428731
The fact that I found moisture in my Ignition coil connectors, would that cause the car not to start after reaching a certain temp?
Also, I found this response to someone who was having the same startup problem (justanswer.com):
Is replacing my fuel injectors a huge project? How expensive can that run?
coilwire004.jpg?t=1261428407
This is the L shaped hose we replaced:
coilwire006.jpg?t=1261428731
The fact that I found moisture in my Ignition coil connectors, would that cause the car not to start after reaching a certain temp?
Also, I found this response to someone who was having the same startup problem (justanswer.com):
These engines are known for the fuel injectors to develop high resistance when engine is warm. This can prevent the engine from starting once turned off if engine is over a certain temp. I would disconnect the injector connectors and record each resistance reading in ohms compared to resistances when engine is warm. If any variation between hot and cold replace all 8 injectors and retest.
#24
01-04-2010, 12:08 PM
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 39
Here's an update on my ghost...
I decided to replace my opti first (I found one on ebay for $65, brand new). This did not solve my startup problem. I decided to switch out my iginition coil as well because it was showing evidence of arcing in mine (I found a practically brand new one at the junk yard). My startup problem has not been fixed yet. I do know that I must replace my wires, especially my coil wire. The picture I included in my previous post shows my coil wire, but it was the opposite end that had all the damage to it.
We discovered that the fuel pump relay was bad. Now I'm on the hunt for a fuel pump.
I decided to replace my opti first (I found one on ebay for $65, brand new). This did not solve my startup problem. I decided to switch out my iginition coil as well because it was showing evidence of arcing in mine (I found a practically brand new one at the junk yard). My startup problem has not been fixed yet. I do know that I must replace my wires, especially my coil wire. The picture I included in my previous post shows my coil wire, but it was the opposite end that had all the damage to it.
We discovered that the fuel pump relay was bad. Now I'm on the hunt for a fuel pump.
#25
01-04-2010, 12:55 PM
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Tokeland, Washington
Posts: 21,645
ok i was going to say that wire end looks good. did u replace the coil wire. a 65 dollar opti... its a rebuilt and not a reliable part. remember sometimes cheap is just that. i recommend summit for parts like that. i have had them replace a opti that failed within the yr. guarantee. did u replace the relay and why are u looking for a new fuel pump?
#26
01-05-2010, 01:50 AM
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 39
Hi crabby - i went to Summit first, but opted for the cheapest way out. I probably should have asked you guys about which opti to get, first. 
Yes, I replaced the relay. After doing that, we noticed the new relay was warm to the touch but it did get the car started. We turned the car off and waited and tried restarting it, all within about 10-15 min... it wouldn't start - just like before. So, he's assuming that its got to be the fuel pump. Oh, I almost forgot - before discovering the bad relay, he did a fuel pressure test (because the car wouldn't start) and there was no fuel pressure.
All in all, the car starts beautifully for the first start of the day but I keep the car running if at all possible when I need to run an errand. Otherwise, I have to plan on being anyplace for more than an hour if I turn the key off. Its so annoying.
Yes, I replaced the relay. After doing that, we noticed the new relay was warm to the touch but it did get the car started. We turned the car off and waited and tried restarting it, all within about 10-15 min... it wouldn't start - just like before. So, he's assuming that its got to be the fuel pump. Oh, I almost forgot - before discovering the bad relay, he did a fuel pressure test (because the car wouldn't start) and there was no fuel pressure.
All in all, the car starts beautifully for the first start of the day but I keep the car running if at all possible when I need to run an errand. Otherwise, I have to plan on being anyplace for more than an hour if I turn the key off. Its so annoying.
#27
01-05-2010, 07:16 AM
Hi crabby - i went to Summit first, but opted for the cheapest way out. I probably should have asked you guys about which opti to get, first.
Yes, I replaced the relay. After doing that, we noticed the new relay was warm to the touch but it did get the car started. We turned the car off and waited and tried restarting it, all within about 10-15 min... it wouldn't start - just like before. So, he's assuming that its got to be the fuel pump. Oh, I almost forgot - before discovering the bad relay, he did a fuel pressure test (because the car wouldn't start) and there was no fuel pressure.
All in all, the car starts beautifully for the first start of the day but I keep the car running if at all possible when I need to run an errand. Otherwise, I have to plan on being anyplace for more than an hour if I turn the key off. Its so annoying.
Yes, I replaced the relay. After doing that, we noticed the new relay was warm to the touch but it did get the car started. We turned the car off and waited and tried restarting it, all within about 10-15 min... it wouldn't start - just like before. So, he's assuming that its got to be the fuel pump. Oh, I almost forgot - before discovering the bad relay, he did a fuel pressure test (because the car wouldn't start) and there was no fuel pressure.
All in all, the car starts beautifully for the first start of the day but I keep the car running if at all possible when I need to run an errand. Otherwise, I have to plan on being anyplace for more than an hour if I turn the key off. Its so annoying.
After running for a while, and if you let the car cool dowm completely, does it fire back up again? As example, if you pop the hood and let it cool for 90 minutes does it fire back up? Personally, I think you're chasing your tail with fuel delivery. Oh, and for $35 you get 8.5mm wires at Jegs
#28
01-05-2010, 10:49 AM
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 39
yes! it starts up just fine after about an hour or so.
here is the opti that i bought: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
here is the opti that i bought: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
#29
01-05-2010, 11:19 AM
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: The 'Burbs of Chicago
Posts: 18,306
I think the part brand name they give is the supplier, not the manufacturer. Unless that Top Street Perf. company makes their own house brand. But at that price, it's probably ferrin made.
I did find them online: Top Street Performance Optispark
I did find them online: Top Street Performance Optispark
#30
01-06-2010, 03:46 PM
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 39
Thank you, camaro 69, for the info on the opti! At least I know where to cash in on the 1 yr warranty that came with it. 
I have another question for you guys... in searching the older threads for similar problems, I noticed that the SES light keeps getting mentioned. This is the low-coolant indicator light, correct? I disconnected mine because it was constantly on. Even after replacing the radiator, it would never shut off. What is the correllation between the SES and the opti, if any?
I have another question for you guys... in searching the older threads for similar problems, I noticed that the SES light keeps getting mentioned. This is the low-coolant indicator light, correct? I disconnected mine because it was constantly on. Even after replacing the radiator, it would never shut off. What is the correllation between the SES and the opti, if any?