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Distributor cap - Catastrophic fail

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Old 07-14-2016, 09:01 PM
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Default Distributor cap - Catastrophic fail

So I was out with the local jeep club on Sunday, about 2 hours from home, and 2 minutes from the start of the trail. Does this look like a fluke rotor failure, or signal of a bigger issue?

Distributor, Camshaft sensor, rotor, cap and wires were all new about ... 2000 miles before this.


Hey All.


... I'm down...




Was there always a hole in my cap?




Inside, you can actually see the 6 spark pattern. Arcing cut the coil post right off...




Culprit?
Old 07-14-2016, 09:13 PM
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Yep, looks like the rotor cap broke and the arc cut a hole.
Old 07-14-2016, 09:24 PM
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wow, sorry for your troubles, never seen that before.
Old 07-15-2016, 06:44 AM
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Kind of looks like the distributor shaft was pushing up against it and popped it out?
Old 07-15-2016, 06:47 AM
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Everything was in its place, the rotor was moving freely.

How would I check if that was the issue?
Old 07-15-2016, 08:08 AM
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Get new distrbutor
Old 07-15-2016, 09:01 AM
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What brand was the cap and rotor ?
Old 07-15-2016, 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by freegdr
Get new distrbutor

I would really prefer not to throw parts at it. This is a Brand new distributor. I'm more inclined to think it was a simple part failure on the rotor end.

There doesn't seem to be any excess play in the distributor shaft, but I'd be curious about if there's a way to determine if its bad.

The cap and rotor were BWD.
Old 07-15-2016, 11:39 AM
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You got 2000 miles in the new parts before failure.

Caps and rotors are cheap and easy to change compared to the distributor.

Get 2 sets of new cap and rotors. Install one set and keep the other in your glovebox.

If it fails again soon, you can be pretty sure it's something other than the cap and rotor.

If it doesn't fail again, you are only stuck with storing some cheap tune up parts.
Old 07-15-2016, 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Orlo
You got 2000 miles in the new parts before failure.

Caps and rotors are cheap and easy to change compared to the distributor.

Get 2 sets of new cap and rotors. Install one set and keep the other in your glovebox.

If it fails again soon, you can be pretty sure it's something other than the cap and rotor.

If it doesn't fail again, you are only stuck with storing some cheap tune up parts.
Great suggestion!!
Old 07-15-2016, 07:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Orlo
You got 2000 miles in the new parts before failure.

Caps and rotors are cheap and easy to change compared to the distributor.

Get 2 sets of new cap and rotors. Install one set and keep the other in your glovebox.

If it fails again soon, you can be pretty sure it's something other than the cap and rotor.

If it doesn't fail again, you are only stuck with storing some cheap tune up parts.

Cheap diagnosis.


You ain't as dumb as I look!
Old 07-15-2016, 07:56 PM
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Use NAPA Premium.
Old 07-16-2016, 07:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Jeep Driver
Use NAPA Premium.
This^^.
Old 07-16-2016, 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Jeep Driver
Use NAPA Premium.

Double this ^^^^


Echlin brand.
Old 07-16-2016, 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted by CCKen
Double this ^^^^


Echlin brand.
So, you are awake this morning!!!


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