The distributor of your Chevrolet Tahoe is what routs the high voltage spark that is used to ignite the fuel. A faulty distributor can make it difficult for you to start you Tahoe. If your vehicle is experiencing a hard- or no-start, has a rough idle or poor fuel economy, or the engine misses while accelerating, you could have a faulty distributor. Thankfully, you can perform a test known as the secondary spark test to tell if your distributor is bad.
Open the hood of the Tahoe. Before beginning the test, make sure your Tahoe's battery is in a good state of charge. A faulty battery can affect the distributor's performance.
Remove one of the distributor's plug wires.
Hold the spark tester approximately .25 inches away from the distributor area and start the engine. If a spark occurs, then the distributor is not the problem. If, however, there is no spark or a very weak spark, you may need to replace the distributor.
