Hi everyone,
I tried to start my 93z28 today, and it turned over and over before it finally started. Then it backfired about 5 times which really had me concerned. It had a really rough idle the last several times i have ran it, and just flat out ran like crap otherwise as well. It cut out and would jump up and down in idle and about die it seemed. Anyways i popped the hood tonight when it was dark after it backfired with the car still running, and noticed that the coil wire I think (runs into the top of the opti I believe, and into a small box on front of motor) was arching in two different spots. Should I buy another one or try to salvage the original? It was arching off of small wires coming out of a harness, and arching to the waterpump. Would that cause the car to run like it has been? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'd like to get the car back on the road again. Thanks so much for looking

 

Not sure if it would cause the car to run poorly, but it makes sense because you would be grounding that wire and if that wire was out of commission then it would make the car not run. You could salvage it by using electrical tape, but I would definitely just go buy another wire. It would not cost must and would be worth it.

 

if the coil wire is that bad then the plug wires are most likely in the same shape. coil wire is easy and cheap. plug wires are aaa pita and good wires can get spendy for a guy on a budget.

 

I put a new coil wire on today, and electrical taped pretty much the whole wire, and it still runs the same. It takes about 20-25 seconds to start, then it backfires. The idle jumps from around 800-1300 rpms without touching the gas, and when you put it in gear the motor sounds like it is surging. When you step on the gas it surges and backfires, and sounds like it is loading up or cutting out. It does the same while in park and trying to rev it(backfires and surges). I changed plugs and wires about 8 months ago, but left out the coil wire on accident. I have no clue what to do next, can anyone tell me other things to check or what to do? Thanks so much for your input so far.

 

im gona say the opti is goin. how old is the one on the car?

 

As far as i know it's the original... would it cause it to surge and be hard to start?

 

yep. and if its the original then its due to go.

 

The coil itself could be bad. Part of it is plastic and if it has even the smallest crack in it then its bad. The coil is ALOT cheaper and easier to do then the opti so I'd start looking there

 

try replacing the coil and the coil wire they are both relatively cheap, and easy to fix! make sure all your plug wires are on tight everywhere. if this doesnt fix it, go tackle the opti.

 

bad coil will not cause backfireing.