What does a distributor do in a car?

T

Tara

New member
So, I have a 1995 Nissan Micra and the mechanic reckons the distributor is buggered. What would the car do if it was broken, i mean what would the symptoms be of a crappy distributor??

Before he said it was the injector nozzles, so we replaced all 4, then he said it was the throttle body, so we got a new one of those, now he's saying its the distributor.

Also, the car has been sitting since August, and it was ok for a little while after we replaced the throttle body, we were able to go around the block a couple of times before it started playing up again. But when we were going around the block, the car was stuck in 2nd gear (its an auto) doing 60km and it was literally rev bouncing, like the engine was going to explode. Is it possible that the gears have ceased????

Sorry, but i dont know anything about cars, any help would be greatly appreciated :)
 
The distributor transmits a high tension spark from the coil to each of the engines cylinders via a rotor arm in a pre determined sequence by interrupting the low tension circuit on the coil.There may be a vacuum control problem with your car.Check also that the vacuum modulator on the transmission is functioning correctly and that the vacuum pipes are secure and not split
 
1) The distributor literally distributes electricity to the spark plugs to make them spark and ignite the fuel mixture. Symptoms of a faulty distributor would be misfiring (either not firing at all, or firing at the wrong times). What were the symptoms that pointed your mechanic towards injectors, throttle body etc. in the first place? If it was some kind of jerking or hesitation, you might be right in thinking it could be an ignition problem. It could also be shot valves, though.

2) As your car is now 15 years old, it is possible that the clutch plates in the auto 'box, that transfer the drive to the wheels might be worn out. Failing to change gear could also be a result of a blocked filter in the auto 'box, causing the transmission fluid to stop doing its work.

In both instances, I would suggest that you get your car to specialists: a) another mechanic, with electronic testing equipment, to analyse your fuel/electrical/compression problems properly and b) an automatic transmission specialist for an overhaul.
 
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