possible bad distributor

[Joe O.]

How does one know if ones distributor is going bad and what test can be done

[William C.]

Re: possible bad distributor

What symptoms are you having? The Distributor itself is a relatively simple shaft running in two bushings, driven off a gear on the bottom. Unless you have excessive looseness in the shaft bushings, or slop in the plate the points are mounted on, or a break in the wire grounding the points plate to the distributor, for practical purposes the distributor can be considered "functional" The vacuum advance can be checked with a vacuum source and watching the breaker plate move. Mostly straightforeward stuff. What symptoms are you chasing?

[Joe O.]

Re: possible bad distributor

Bill put fuel in car about 3 weeks ago and after driving for about 4-5 miles she just went silent...so I put her in neutral and she quickley restarted..Then I turned her around and went home but she stalled again in the driveway and quickley restarted again..At both times she didn't run rough and was running smooth..any thoughts

[Joe O.]

Re: possible bad distributor

[quote=Joe Opatovsky (43135);490755]Bill put fuel in car about 3 weeks ago and after driving for about 4-5 miles she just went silent...so I put her in neutral and she quickley restarted..Then I turned her around and went home but she stalled again in the driveway and quickley restarted again..At both times she didn't run rough and was running smooth..any thoughts would be greatfull and also I should say I put in a new stone fuel filter and yesterday she ran fine

[William C.]

Re: possible bad distributor

I'd start with the basics, points, condensor, and don't forget to check the little ground wire that grounds the breaker plate to one of the screws on the vacuum advance.

[Gary C.]

Re: possible bad distributor

Joe, if you're still having problems after doing the obvious checks that Bill suggests. You can always pull the distributor out and take it to someone with a distributor machine. Have you eliminated the ignition switch, ballast resistor and cleaned all the firewall contacts? Gary....

[Paul J.]

Re: possible bad distributor

Bill put fuel in car about 3 weeks ago and after driving for about 4-5 miles she just went silent...so I put her in neutral and she quickley restarted..Then I turned her around and went home but she stalled again in the driveway and quickley restarted again..At both times she didn't run rough and was running smooth..any thoughts

Those are exactly the symptoms of a clogged fuel filter.

[William C.]

Re: possible bad distributor

Have you checked for fuel when it stops, before trying to restart?

[Bob H.]

Re: possible bad distributor

A bad dist should be down the check list. As suggested, check for fuel first. If you have fuel then look at an electrical issue.

I had the very same problem and traced it down to a poor connection on the ignition switch. This was the wire feeding the resistor and coil. I have seen a resistor make and break contact so that is certainly possible as well. If it starts happening with regularity then checking for power on the coil might be in line to eliminate the switch, wiring and resistor.

If it ever fires on restart and then quits when releasing the key, it would be a good indication in the above. The coil is powered during cranking from a different source, the starter solenoid.

[Jerry G.]

Re: possible bad distributor

Don't forget the electrical cable connection at the firewall. When this gets loose or has corrodes you will see symptoms your describing.