How can you tell if a distributor is bad?
Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Distributor Rotor and Cap
- Engine misfires. Engine misfires can occur for a number of reasons.
- Car doesn’t start.
- Check Engine Light comes on.
- Excessive or unusual engine noises.
What to do when your HEI distributor starts to fire?
If the battery is fine, make sure the wire feeding the distributor is sufficient. To make sure it is not the hot wire, run a temporary jumper wire directly from the positive side of the battery to the distributor. If the distributor fires using the jumper wire, run a new hot wire from your switched 12-volt source to the distributor.
Can a faulty spark plug cause a distributor to misfire?
Sometimes, the issue is a slight buildup of carbon inside the distributor. This carbon trace can conduct electricity that affects performance. It could short out the coil voltage and cause a faulty connection inside the terminal of the distributor cap. The result is a misfire in the spark plugs.
What do I need to troubleshoot a performance distributor?
To do this, you will need a 1/4-inch nut driver and a multi-meter. To test the resistance of the coil, remove the coil cover so you can see the red and yellow wire. Using the multi-meter set on the ohms setting, touch the positive lead to the red wire terminal and the negative lead to the yellow wire terminal.
What to do if your ignition coil is on fire?
Replace the coil with a good quality new one, make sure you attach and tighten the leads correctly, plug in the top cable that goes to the distributor, turn the key and you should be good to go!
If the battery is fine, make sure the wire feeding the distributor is sufficient. To make sure it is not the hot wire, run a temporary jumper wire directly from the positive side of the battery to the distributor. If the distributor fires using the jumper wire, run a new hot wire from your switched 12-volt source to the distributor.
Sometimes, the issue is a slight buildup of carbon inside the distributor. This carbon trace can conduct electricity that affects performance. It could short out the coil voltage and cause a faulty connection inside the terminal of the distributor cap. The result is a misfire in the spark plugs.
Replace the coil with a good quality new one, make sure you attach and tighten the leads correctly, plug in the top cable that goes to the distributor, turn the key and you should be good to go!
What to do if your distributor has no spark?
If, for some reason you have no spark coming from your distributor, the following will help you check and test the installation, connections, and components, of the unit so that you can get your engine running. The first area they suggest you check is to make sure all the wire connections on the cap or solid.