# Bad distributor?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/bad-distributor/25336>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** suzuki, swift\
**Created:** [January 22, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/bad-distributor/25336 "2009-01-22T15:44:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jammy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jammy3](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jammy3)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/bad-distributor/25336/1 "2009-01-22T15:44:52Z")

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The ignition coil on my 1993 Suzuki Swift GT cracked and even after replacing it, the car ran like crap afterward. Found and fixed a leaking vacuum plug and it’s better, but still not “right.” I cleaned up the spark plugs, dist cap & rotor and noticed that if I hold a non-grounded screwdriver very close to the mounting screws of the dist cap, there is some “arcing.” The grounding strap from the distributor to the firewall seems secure. Plain 'ol bad distributor? Anything else I need to check? Thanks.

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**Author:** ![tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tardis](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tardis)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/bad-distributor/25336/2 "2009-01-22T16:46:25Z")

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Probably more likely to be leaky spark plug wires.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/bad-distributor/25336/3 "2009-01-22T18:25:10Z")

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I’d replace the cap and rotor.

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**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/bad-distributor/25336/4 "2009-01-22T18:37:54Z")

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Replace the wires, cap and rotor with OEM from the dealer, not the junk at the parts store.