ICM soft failure (Page 2/5)
pmbrunelle JUL 23, 10:38 PM

quote
Originally posted by Yellow-88:
Better meaning that it "may" be built to a higher standard than OEM because it's intended for competition use. Accel offers one for OEM replacement also at the same price as ACDelco. There are also ICMs listed for marine use by suppliers who sell to that industry. Are there different standards?



Open up an Accel module, and we may be able to make some evaluations about its build quality.

Here are some modules I opened:

GM stock Fiero:


Wells/WVE:
pmbrunelle JUL 23, 10:48 PM
The Accel ICM appears to be the 18.58$ (Canadian dollars) WAI GLOBAL DM1990XHD with an Accel sticker on it.


Visually, the Accel appears to be an exact match with it. For instance, look at the metallic-colored flat area around the left screw hole. Look at the brass tube with teeth on the right screw hole. Exactly the same as the WAI GLOBAL.
Patrick JUL 24, 01:52 AM

quote
Originally posted by pmbrunelle:

Visually, the Accel appears to be an exact match with it. For instance, look at the metallic-colored flat area around the left screw hole. Look at the brass tube with teeth on the right screw hole. Exactly the same as the WAI GLOBAL.



You're right... externally, these ICMs are identical. It's difficult to believe that Accel would take an el cheapo ICM that RockAuto sells for $13.50, put a sticker on it, and then jack the price up to $158.95 for some sucker to come along. The guts have got to be different... but damn, look at them!



cyrus88 JUL 24, 03:41 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

You're right... externally, these ICMs are identical. It's difficult to believe that Accel would . . .



Lol! It's not difficult to imagine at all. There's a lot of ratF@#%kery that goes on in every industry and automotive is no exception. If you ever watch Samcrac on youtube you'll see that he buys some replacement parts for his Lambo from the VW dealer because the Lambo dealer jacks up the price for the exact same part.
Yellow-88 JUL 24, 01:57 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

You're right... externally, these ICMs are identical. It's difficult to believe that Accel would take an el cheapo ICM that RockAuto sells for $13.50, put a sticker on it, and then jack the price up to $158.95 for some sucker to come along. The guts have got to be different... but damn, look at them!






Yes, they do look identical. I just bought a Delphi #10059 and it also looks identical to these two. The brand and part number is laser etched into it. Not blank or a sticker. This is the one our local Chevy dealer uses and is priced at $153. It sells every where for $60 -$100. Others pictured on this forum and elseware do look different. There appears to be 2 different case styles and different guts. The obvious difference being at the bolt locations. My old one with a GM logo embossed into it is the style different than what's pictured here. (both bolt holes have the same pressed in grommets.) My part number research reveals that there are a LOT of part numbers that cross reference between GM models and still bare the "genuine GM part" claim.

This kind of component is made up from parts supplied by companies that often make parts for unrelated industries. Often it's the procurement guy who make the choice about what to buy. He may be a new guy trying to look good. "Wow, just got a great deal on transistors". And, who actually assembles these things ....... ??

We do need to realize that these are "old car" parts, and there are no more Pontiac dealers. Yes, retail can get brutal. Yes, repackaged old stock bought at a closeout can happen. Personally, if I bought a boat load of high quality old stock parts wicked cheap, I'd sell them at a lower price but not so low as to turn people off.

As it turns out here are a few issues that can kill a ICM but heat comes out at the top of the list. I'm going to put some effort into making a really nice heat shield.
Dennis LaGrua JUL 24, 02:10 PM
We've had very bad experiences with Accel products That includes the so called "Performance coils" that do not last long. There seems to be a lot of rebranded cheap chicom product on the automotive replacement market these days. It's getting difficult to tell good parts from bad parts until you use them.
We have a test jig for ignition modules here so we can always determine if the ignition module is good or bad. Autozone also has a tester for these but it seems the personnel in the store doesn't know how or even if they have a test jig. You see a sign in the window that says we can test all kinds of products and you go in the store and they say "what"?

------------------
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cartercarbaficionado JUL 25, 02:35 AM
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Yellow-88:


Yes, they do look identical. I just bought a Delphi #10059 and it also looks identical to these two. The brand and part number is laser etched into it. Not blank or a sticker. This is the one our local Chevy dealer uses and is priced at $153. It sells every where for $60 -$100. /QUOTE]
that explains why my Delphi unit never ran very well. I'm not even sulrised that there's 14 rebrands. just found out it the 300 dollar coil packs my friend bought for that 95 gtp I've mentioned before are accel. and under that sticker is a random bunch of Chinese characters so that explains why they lasted 8 months before exploding
Yellow-88 JUL 25, 04:53 PM

quote
Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado:

I tried a mixture of economy and oem ones and a performance one and believe it or not the best one was the cheapest one autozone had. had the most power and best fuel economy and screamed to 6k quite fast but didn't last long.
for longevity apparently the best ones are Delphi but that was the one that ran like crap. but it did run the longest out of any so there's that.
yeah the modules are pretty fragile and a whacky pickup like mine which was pretty much always telling it to fire slightly (not fully just enough to make it try over and over) will kill it in short order



So ... you see a difference in how the engine runs with different ICMs? Has anybody else seen that?
You've tested them long enough to see a change in fuel economy?
The cheap Autozone one was the best but didn't last? How many miles did it go?
So ... all of the ones you tested where with a bad pickup coil? " .... telling it to fire slightly (not fully just enough to make it try over and over)" ???

My new Delphi defiantly doesn't run like crap and if it goes another 50 K miles like the last original GM one did, I'll be happy.

I think a better heat shield is the key to TPS longevity. That's on my list.

Yellow-88 JUL 25, 04:57 PM
Sorry ... I meant ICM not TPS.
Yellow-88 JUL 25, 05:18 PM
Hi

I think it's time to defend Chinese electronics. Your cell phone is Chinese. So is most of your computer. They are good at making electronic stuff. Every Country is capable of making poor quality stuff and China is no exception. We actually have no idea where these parts come from. Nobody will get sued over defective old car parts. Corporate ethics is no longer a thing. There is no oversight watchdog paying attention. In my day even the parts counter guy felt responsible for poor quality parts because his reputation was at stake. Welcome to the new world.