I popped the cover on the failed ignition control module that caused my '91 to shut down on the road 3 times and finally die completely in my driveway (at least I made it home).
3 year old NAPA part branded Echlin, assembled in Hong Kong.
It's inside the distributor on the HEI ignition.
The circuit board itself looks OK and is covered in a gooey gel.
The 7 flat terminal plates on the circuit board have a small wire face soldered to them and face soldered to a plate that is connected to each of the 7 male ICM connections.
The amount of solder is microscopic and the one to the + terminal was loose causing the intermittent dying problem which throws no code BTW.
It's not very reassuring knowing the car's ability to run is hanging on a thread.
Carry a spare.

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So do you think those ignition parts are all made that way anymore, or can you find a quality part even if it cost more....? Like from Chevy for instance....glad you made it home.

I have always hated that we are all a black box away from being stranded. Or a fuel pump in the gas tank....

Yeah, one would think that a critical connection like that would be more secure, like a crimp for instance, not a flimsy lap soldered connection.
I'm not going to take my new ACDelco module apart to find out if it's any better, something tells me it's not, but I am going to try and find out if there is a better made part out there.

Great detective work!

At least the cover on the original GM part is sealed, not just snapped on like the NAPA part.

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Top dollar doesn't necessarily mean top quality either.
Live and learn, I guess.

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Just to note, the last AC Delco ICM (LT1) I bought was labled "Made in Singapore".

yuck.

Have you had the courage to fix that NAPA part and put it back on? I wonder if it would still work.

It would make me want to visit www.eficonnection.com and do their entire LSx ignition conversion!

[quote]
flyboy wrote:
At least the cover on the original GM part is sealed, not just snapped on like the NAPA part. [/quote

The magic word here is "original". For the last several years I have come to accept the fact that 99.9% of ALL replacement parts for any car is pretty much junk.
It's a shame that the brand names we used to trust are built just about the same as all the others.

Thanks for the info.

Joel

Did you solder it and test it? If so it sounds like a good back up.

Matthew

I pried gently on the other 6 connections and 2 were barely hanging on. I have 2 working original '91 modules to go with the new ACDelco I should receive today from Rock Auto ($50) that as joeld said will be of questionable quality.
I have read on other sites that the name brand manufacturers buy from the lowest bidder and believe it.
A remote mount, say the firewall, could maybe help these things live longer, less heat/vibration, but that's not going to happen.

I like the idea of a remote mount ICM. The LT1 has one for obvious reasons, but they still suffer heat related deaths due to the mounting location. I wonder how difficult the wiring process would be. Plus, I would think you'd want a sealed storage location for it for moisture.

Matthew

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Brilliant, huh?
But then some of those last for 200k.

Just got my new ICM and coil from Rock Auto. The ICM must be some NOS, hurray. The coil, who knows.

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The exception? I have found that OEM parts for the Japanese makers still maintain that quality.

Are you use heat transfer compound under the icm?