# Distributor

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [May 16, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708 "2011-05-16T20:20:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jeff\_lowell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@jeff\_lowell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jeff_lowell)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708/1 "2011-05-16T20:20:56Z")

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i recently(ten minutes ago)replaced a distributor on my 2000 olds. bravada.now it won’t start.all connections are solid. what should i be looking for?by the way,it is a used part.

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**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708/2 "2011-05-16T20:51:33Z")

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Describe what it does when it “won’t start.”

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**Author:** ![jeff\_lowell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@jeff\_lowell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jeff_lowell)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708/3 "2011-05-16T20:56:32Z")

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it turns over,but won’t fire up.

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708/4 "2011-05-16T21:09:23Z")

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Back up.

Is what it is doing now no different from what it was doing before? (i.e. before you put the distributor on).

Do you now have spark?

Do you now have a running fuel pump?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708/5 "2011-05-16T21:12:08Z")

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What did it do previously that made you replace the distributor? Same thing? Are you sure it was the distributor that needed replacement?

Is this a “known-good” distributor - - i.e. you pulled it out of a car that was working fine, and put it into yours, or is it a distributor you got off of the junkyard shelf? I’d start by testing the output of the distro. Another possibility is that the timing is off - you might be getting spark at the wrong time, which means the engine won’t fire. Yet another possibility is that the rotor isn’t secured to the spindle, and so it’s not spinning properly - this also could mean that anything inside the distributor is now destroyed, as the set screw might have backed out at 3000 RPM and caromed around in there breaking everything in its path (which could explain why someone wanted to get rid of it 😉 )

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**Author:** ![jeff\_lowell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@jeff\_lowell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jeff_lowell)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/distributor/64708/6 "2011-05-16T21:22:50Z")

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the reason i replaced the other one is that i snapped the screw hole for the cap.while i’m at it.how would i time this thing?