5.7 distributor
 

Hi, can a distributor be bad and still give off a weak spark? the distributor has a new cap and rotor on it. Please someone help me!!!!!

Yes, are the cap and rotor sitting correctly, the coil could also be weak? Possible loose connections. Some food for thought.

I just had a brand new HEI burn # 2 & 7 contacts off of the pick up coil, I actually thought I wiped out the cam.

what is the issue? the distributor has various parts to it. year of rig/motor would help. it does matter.

Thanks for the help. I'm talking about the distributor on a 2004 gmc w4500 w/ the 5.7 gasoline engine. The cap and rotor are sitting correctly and the coil is giving a healthy spark. Before the cap and rotor was changed, the dist. was giving off no spark, now it is giving of a very weak intermittent spark. Again thanx for everybody's help.

What color is the spark? Has the ignition coil been replaced? That is what controls the strength of the spark.

Is the coil separate with a coil wire on this model? It could also be the distributor bearings worn. Did you check for any damage to the old cap and rotor, the may have some clues too.

MDTAHOE, the coil is not new. i dont know if it matters but when i checked the coil for spark by putting a screw driver into the wire and cranked the truck it had a strong spark, and the spark was like a white/yellow but its hard to tell because it's so faint. taz3, yeah the coil is separate and the old rotor was burnt out and the contact points on the cap were burnt as well.

Check the coil wire for resistance, ohms, with a multi meter, if the coil is strong and the wire is bad you won't get a good spark after the distributor. The worn cap and rotor with a bad coil wire would cause what you're describing and now that the cap and rotor are new, could be the reason why you're getting a weak spark.

even with new plugs and wires?

yeah gary1, all the replacement parts were ac delco.