civicnation

When one checks for spark, the spark should be blue right? When i checked, two of the four cylinders showed a yellow spark. is this normal or is it an indication of a problem with the distributor?

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

yellow is pretty weak spark. try switching the plugs to another wire and test again. it could be the dizzy, wires, or plugs. there is an easy test for all of those, just rotate the wires out of firing sequence and see if the problem follows a particular wire, plug, or termainal on the dizzy cap.

civicnation

thanks bbarbulo, i will try that tonight as see what I come up with.

civicnation

ok, all the plugs that were tested today were showing yellow spark. does this mean I need a new distributor?

imported_mikepasini

how did u check the spark in your plugs? i am having a starting problem or main relay problem and if i could see weak spark that might be my indicator...

civicnation

take out the plug and the wire ground it to an external ground and crank it over to see the colour.

i just want to know for sure that it is in fact the distributor that is causing it before i go and replace it.

sohcnotec

Might you have an extra coil at least kickin' around?
You could swap coils instead of replacing the whole dist assy.

I remember a while back my cousin's Camry had the same problem.
Cleaned the rotor and contacts in the cap and it fired right up.
Did you try cleaning/inspecting the cap/rotor?

civicnation

ya i changed the cap and rotor and it made only a slight difference. the car still drives weaker then usual.

civicnation

slapped on a new distributor and it feels like a brand new motor. thanks for all your help guys!

imported_mikepasini

what was your problem with the car before?

civicnation

misfire in cylinder 3