Distributor Condenser

[SydneyRoverP6B]

I was thinking having read the saga that Chris York endured with his failed condenser that maybe there might be a far better alternative,..save for fitting an electronic ignition system.

A condenser is nothing more than a capacitor, so I wondered if a suitable well made capacitor may offer a reliable alternative to the poor quality offerings that seem to be everywhere.

I found this article which....http://www.britishcarforum.com/tikiwiki ... age_id=152 shows an alternative. No doubt there will be different ways to achive the same reliable outcome as covered by the author.

Ron.

 

[ghce]

2.5 Amps peak current seems a bit light, but it's a bit late at night to do the math so I will let that one pass, however the article is pretty correct, the biggest cause of failure on high current caps of the poly prop type is end cap failure, in high voltage situations it is insulation break down so the article is esentially correct in saying that there are better caps available. Should any one be keen to experiment there are some brands of caps that have a double end cap attachment to minimise high current failure these types are generally of the self healing variety and are used in high Voltage and high frequency situations ( the mentioned dv/dt) 600 Volt caps would be a good place to start. I must check out what caps I have in stock as I generaly have a good selection (I design and manufacture Switch Mode power supplies). All food for thought as I think I have some spark issues on my RV8 as well.


Graeme

 

[chrisyork]

Well I knew they were cheap, but I must say I'm quite horrified by how nasty they are! It would be interesting to dismantle a much older one - say 1960's - to see how they compare. Anyone got a suitable candidate in a car that hasn't moved for a long time?

I think that just emphasises how important it is to convert to some other sort of ignition! I'm pleased to say the instructions with my ignition amplifier say that it doesn't need the capacitor to function.

Chris