ok one night i came home after driving my car ( it was running fine) went out the next morning to go to work and it would not start, it wasnt throwing any spark so i changed the distributor and then started fine, but i didnt drive it that day, went out today in it and put 17 miles on it came to a friends house and did a complete tune up , after the tune up started it up and was letting it idle when it shut off!!!! now its the same damn deal no damn spark some one please help!!!!!!!!!

What year, model, engine, transmission etc are you talking about?

Normally, you don't replace the distributor as the first try at repairing a car that won't start. Why did you?

i got a 95 camry v4 i replaced it cause it wasnt throwing any spark as soon as i changed it i cranked right up but i need to know whats frying my distributors

OK, so you replaced the distributor and it still doesn't start. What makes you think it was the distributor in the first place? Did you test the input voltage to see if the distributor was getting spark before you replaced it?

Sounds to me like it's possible you didn't fix the problem in the first place rather than having a repeat of a problem you fixed.

Try testing the rest of the ignition system. Convince yourself there are no other faulty components. Ignitors are difficult to troubleshoot.

brian R. is right: Usually it is the igniter that goes bad. And they can do wierd things like you describe. Don't assume it's the distributor.

ok so if it was my igniter thats bad would that cause the distribtor to not throw any spark? and how come when i changed the distribtor the car turned on,(but then later died and then wasnt throwing spark again)

Igniter problems are commonly intermittent. Installing the new distributor may have caused the ignitor to work temporarily for some reason. This is all empirical. If it solves the problem, don't try and understand it.

A bad igniter would keep the entire high-voltage side of the ignition system from working - and not necessarily every day all day. It is like a bad coil, there is no easy way to predict it.

I'm not saying the igniter is bad, but it is more likely (and cheaper) than the distributor twice. Go with the probabilities. (if you have another car to install your old or new distributors in, you can figure out if they're bad or not).

It's entirely possible for the igniter to be the problem, they can have intermittant failure.

where can i find the igniter

Driver's side of the engine compartment behind the air cleaner box, bolted on to the fender. Usually they say "Igniter" on them

went to a junk yard to and got another ignitor but can any one think of an other reason why it may be having this problem

ok guys i really need help with this i have changed the ignitor and nothing same damn shit!
please help some one!

What have you done to test the ignition besides replacing the ignitor and distributor? When it runs, do you see a "Check Engine" Light? Does it ever run or is it dead?

oh its dead it try's to turn on but never makes it the only time it turned on was when i changed the distributor, no light

What have you done to test the ignition?

notthing i dont really know how, how can i

Disconnect the high-tension wire from the distributer cap (coming from the coil). Hold it 1/2 inch from a body grounding point and crank the engine. See if you get spark. Don't crank the engine for more than 5-10 sec.

Post the results

nope no spark, but it was like that when i changed the distributer the first time and then i had spark again, but now its the same shit all over again, i think some thing for some reason is burning out my distributers

If you are not getting spark to the distributor, then it is not the distributor that is not functioning, it is something in the circuit that feeds juice to the distributor. Get off the distributor kick. It is very unlikely to be your distributor, and most costly.

Check the connections to your coil, igniter and distributor.

if Ok, check resistance of high-tension leads (no more than 25 kohms).

If ok, check power supply to ignition coil and igniter - Turn ignition on and check for 12 volts at coil positive terminal

If ok, check resistance of ignition coil
Primary = 0.36 - 0.55 ohms
Secondary = 9.0 - 15.4 kohms

If ok, check resistance of signal generator (pick-up coil)
135 - 220 ohms

If ok, check resistance of crankshaft position sensor
985 - 1600 ohms

If ok, check air gap of distributor
0.2 - 0.4 mm (0.0008 - 0.016")

Check IGT signal from ECM

If ok, replace ignitor - could still be coil.

It may be faulty Ignition/spark plug wires.
the spark is getting grounded somewhere.
worth a check.

I had a similar intermittent problem with a geo prizm to one cylinder; replaced the spark cables and that was the end of the problem- it turns out that the life-time wires set were defective causing a spark short.