Ford Explorer Distributors & Parts

A distributor is a part of ignition systems commonly installed in gasoline engines up until the late 1990s. As the name implies, its main task is to distribute the impulses of high-voltage current created by the ignition coil among the spark plugs. The distributor has an inner shaft driven by a camshaft, while a plastic cap contains several electrical contacts whose number equals the number of spark plugs plus a central contact connecting the coil and rotor mounted on the shaft. The engine rotating assembly and the distributor's rotor are perfectly synchronized, and while the rotor spins in the cap, the impulses are sent to the cylinders in the right sequence.

There are two main kinds of distributor-based ignition systems: mechanical and electronic. The latter is more effective; the peak of its popularity was in the 1990s, and the early versions of the Ford Explorer were equipped with such a system. Unlike the mechanical setup, there is no direct contact between the rotor's side electrode and the contacts built into the cap. However, both the cap and rotor gradually wear out, mainly due to electrical erosion. Both of these parts have to be replaced timely, and you can choose them in our Ford Explorer distributors collection.