Intermittent starting problem: distributer?

[WhatsAGorski]

Hi all,

I've been having an intermittent starting problem lately. My van will crank and not start up, but eventually it will catch and run fine.

A mechanic told me that this is normally a problem with the distributer and to replace that- but if that was the problem wouldn't there be an issue with the van running? I know the igniter is also a typical issue, but every post I've seen on here where the igniter was the problem manifested as a non-starting van. Mine will start eventually.

One other (potentially non-related) problem is that my headlights are out. They will turn on after some highway driving, so I suspect it's a bad ground connection somewhere, but I haven't sorted that out yet... It doesn't seem related but I am including this information as an FYI.

Any ideas?

[Diy2k]

Does it crank or is it a click when trying ?

[WhatsAGorski]

It cranks (most of the time). Every once in a while I just get a single click, which sounds like a solenoid issue. But 90% of the time it cranks.

[adonis Balladares]

I've experienced same symptoms before and this is what I found regarding the long cranks before it actually fire up( defective ignition plug cables) Also sometimes I try to start it and I only get one click and it doesn't crank. The problem was that the battery ground was dirty and slightly loose.