My 93 with 160k miles has been misfiring a little lately so i checked the spark plugs and they look normal, so i went ahead and checked the distributor cap and all the points look like this. I suppose it's time to replace?

 

It deserves a proper burial.

 

alright i bought a new cap and rotor and now it's misfiring even worse

 

Nvm im an idiot. I looked into one of the wires and the metal bit inside wasn't pushed all the way out so it wasn't clicking onto the top of the distributor.

 

I know you shouldn't have to check that a product is good to go right out of the box but doing so can save time and headaches.

 

yea it works as I changed it at autozone but im still getting a mis so im gonna test the wires tomorrow with a multimeter. I bet those are the culprit. Tested my coil and it gives excellent spark.

 

Could very well be a wire/wires. They can be a problem after you mess with them.

 

That has to be it. Im not sure what else could be causing it electrically.

 

It's a common thing for dried out wires to crack their insulation just by being flexed. These are usually microscopic cracks that are hard to see, but provide an excellent path to ground for high voltage. Remember we are talking about 30,000 to 40,000 volts or more.

Also, it is often overlooked that the spark must jump the gap at the distributor rotor before it reaches the plugs. Once I put a "Clearspark" cap on my 67 350 Chevy and at night you could see this gap with the engine running. Very faint, but obvious. Once the rotor got worn, it was quite a light show! That cap didn't last long because the clear plastic it was made of lost it's dielectric strength quickly. It was fun while it lasted.

 

when i test them with a multimeter tomorrow what is the resistance the wires usually have? If i set it to ohms.

 

IDK because the conductor is a thin wire wrapped around a nylon core with carbon particles imbedded to reduce radio frequency interference. Maybe some makers will state their resistance values, but you'll have to research them. Also length may change that value. I would look for consistent readings between them. That may not show cracks in the insulation as a leakage path either.

Get it running in total darkness and look for sparks anywhere along their length, maybe even moving them around. Caution, use gloves!

 

yea i seen a thing online about running it while totally dark and spraying misty water over the wires and look for spark.

 

of course you changed the rotor..its just I dont see mention of it

 

yea i bought a cap and rotor kit

 

Just went outside to test when I looked inside one of the wires and see all this crud in it. My bet is that is the problem.