40th Anniversary Intermittent engine stopping

[rickyric]

I'm having a problem that has cropped up here just in the last two weeks.
I'm hoping someone has seen this before.
The engine has been just quitting suddenly as if you were turning off the ignition. All power remains on and all accessories are still working. The car will turn over and start sometimes and then other times it won't start at all. In that case, if I wait 3 to 10 minutes or so it will start again.
The optispark and water pump are new, (less than a year old), I have replaced the coil and the fuel relay, checked the fuses, cleaned and checked the connections to the opti, coil, etc.
The only code preset in diagnostics is on mod. 4 / code 16. (Direct Ignition (DI) Fault I believe).
The car had one modification to it before I bought it which is a Cobra auto start / door lock remote module and key fobs. I think they replace the original PKE receiver with the Cobra. This unit has been nothing but trouble from day one. If works, then it doesn't. It randomly would unlock the doors, occasionally pop the hatch, set off the car alarm, etc. I disconnected the wiring harness to the unit thinking it might be causing the ignition problem but it had no effect.
One more important clue, when the engine gets up to it's normal operating temperature, the problem goes away and the car seems to run normally.
Any ideas here?
I need my Ruby Red baby back!
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!
Cheers,
Ricky

 

[427zone]

rickyric, code 16 is a low resolution opti failure. According to the FSM, the engine will not run with a code 16. If as you say waiting 3-10 minutes will allow the car to start it may not be the opti. If you could go to a mechanic that can read and clear the code have them do it. Start the car and let it run for a while to see if sets the code again while the engine is running.

 

[rickyric]

Thanks for the answer back. As it turns out, I ran the diagnostics back to the optispark and it had indeed failed again. I replaced it once more and she has been running perfectly ever since.
From what I was able to determine, there was oil leaking from the timing chain cover seal at the place where the cam of the opti shaft inserts. It appears that a good amount of oil had leaked into the vents holes of the opti thus causing it to intermittently malfunction. Indeed when I tore the old one down, I found oil inside of it! I replaced the seal and a few other things while I was at it. (Plug wires, hoses, belt, etc.) I just had her out on a 2500 mile trip without a single problem and even averaged 31 mpg.
Thanks for your post!
Cheers

 

[93lt1]

Thanks for the answer back. As it turns out, I ran the diagnostics back to the optispark and it had indeed failed again. I replaced it once more and she has been running perfectly ever since.
From what I was able to determine, there was oil leaking from the timing chain cover seal at the place where the cam of the opti shaft inserts. It appears that a good amount of oil had leaked into the vents holes of the opti thus causing it to intermittently malfunction. Indeed when I tore the old one down, I found oil inside of it! I replaced the seal and a few other things while I was at it. (Plug wires, hoses, belt, etc.) I just had her out on a 2500 mile trip without a single problem and even averaged 31 mpg.
Thanks for your post!
Cheers

Rick
I'm glad you resolved the issue. One thought for the future. Modify the opti to support the venting feature. I just finished adding this feature so it's too soon to report on the long term effects, but I'm hoping the darn Opti will last longer than normal.
93lt1

 

[rickyric]

Rick
I'm glad you resolved the issue. One thought for the future. Modify the opti to support the venting feature. I just finished adding this feature so it's too soon to report on the long term effects, but I'm hoping the darn Opti will last longer than normal.
93lt1

Thanks again!