Today, my car began to sputter/hesitate while driving. Finally, car shut off. Noticed that somehow, a plug off the distributor was off. Put it on, car still doesn't start up. Mechanic happens to walk by and pulls a plug wire out, sticks a screw driver in there, and asks me to start the car. Car doesn't fire up. Says it's the dist.

Now i'm a newbie at this stuff...but I'm trying to learn from these experiences. Am I to replace the entire distributor? Is that cap and rotor? Or do I just replace the coil?

-Rod

 

could be the coil or the ignitor

just happened to a friend with a full MSD ignition , sputtered and ran like crap then gave up all together

turns out it was the ignitor , i think like 80 bucks OEM new

 

its probally the coil or igniter, but i would replace both when one goes out its usually only a matter of time before the other one leaves you stranded. also check your plugs, worn plugs work them so hard they give out .they also dont like platinum plugs.i'm a honda tech i see this everyday. good luck

 

Find out what's bad before you go replacing parts.

Do the same thing with the screwdriver at the coil. If there's a nice spark there, it's probably the distributor cap and/or rotor.

If there's no spark at the coil, it's probably the igniter unit or the coil itself. You can check the coil with an ohmmeter.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I should also be getting my helms manual today which should assist me as well.

-rod