"Distributor caps and rotors are responsible for passing the voltage from the ignition coils to the engine's cylinders in order to ignite the fuel-air mixture inside and power the engine. The coil connects directly to the rotor, and the rotor spins inside the distributor cap. When the rotor's tip passes a contact on the cylinder, a high-voltage pulse travels from the coil to the cylinder via the rotor. That pulse jumps the little gap between contact and rotor and moves on to the spark plug wire, eventually igniting the spark plug on the cylinder. Because of all the high-voltage activity, the rotor and cap have to be replaced relatively frequently. They wear out easily." --google "how stuff works"
They can affect performance on sending a poor current for spark. Last time I change my cap and rotor on my 5.7 Volvo it was only 5 years old and the contacts were so corroded I am surprised it ran. Just chunks of corrosion on it.
_________________ --2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven** --2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski** --310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson
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