Distributor: Description and Operation

Distributor Disassembly:

PURPOSE
Distributes secondary spark to the correct cylinder.

OPERATION
The distributor is mounted on the rear face of the cylinder head and is driven off the end of the camshaft. Ignition spark advance is achieved by two separate systems, mechanical advance weights and a vacuum diaphragm unit.
When the distributor shaft rotates, the magnetic pulse is generated in the pickup coil. The pickup coil is part of the electronic ignition module, which controls the current through the ignition coil primary winding. As the coil windings collapse, the field induces a high voltage pulse.