Capacitor failure can be indicated by a badly burned breaker contact, a weak spark, or difficulty starting the engine. Faulty capacitors are extremely rare.
Visual check
Remove the distributor cap and pry up the contacts with a screwdriver. If the burned areas are blue, then this indicates a malfunction of the capacitor, gray and black burned areas are considered normal.
With the distributor cap removed, turn the engine over with the help of an assistant. Observe the contacts of the breaker at start. If there is a constant blue spark between the contacts, then this indicates a malfunction of the capacitor. If a spark slips occasionally, then this is normal.
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