Bad Condenser Symptoms?

[marc hildebrant]

Originally Posted by Patrick L.

An open condenser ? Engine won't run. Unhook it and see if it'll run.
Length of condenser line/wire ? I don't think it much cares. Those little electrons can run faster than you think.

The inductance of a long wire to a remote cap. is the problem. That's one of the reasons why the cap is near the points.

Marc

[Patrick L.]

Originally Posted by marc hildebrant

The inductance of a long wire to a remote cap. is the problem. That's one of the reasons why the cap is near the points.

Marc

Shhhh. Can't say that too loud. Can't allow the car to hear it. It might decide not to run.

[MrTube]

Originally Posted by marc hildebrant

The inductance of a long wire to a remote cap. is the problem. That's one of the reasons why the cap is near the points.

Marc

Originally Posted by Patrick L.

Shhhh. Can't say that too loud. Can't allow the car to hear it. It might decide not to run.

I still want to know why the points matter at all when it is the coil you are working with? The back emf is coming from the coil, not the points.

So doesn't it make more sense to have the cap by the coil? Shorter wires!

[Patrick L.]

Originally Posted by MrTube

I still want to know why the points matter at all when it is the coil you are working with? The back emf is coming from the coil, not the points.

So doesn't it make more sense to have the cap by the coil? Shorter wires!

The points are only the switch. The condenser is actually what feeds the coil, so to speak, simply put. And yes, if you're worried about wire length then the closer to the coil, the better.

[MrTube]

Originally Posted by Patrick L.

The points are only the switch. The condenser is actually what feeds the coil, so to speak, simply put. And yes, if you're worried about wire length then the closer to the coil, the better.

The battery feeds the coil, not the cap. The cap seems more like a shunt than anything.

[Patrick L.]

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Originally Posted by MrTube

The battery feeds the coil, not the cap. The cap seems more like a shunt than anything.

Yes, and, no. Google is a wonderful thing. There is more reading there than one can handle. Of course, like a lot of things on the internet, some are wrong. But, they can be filtered out fairly quickly. Ignition systems are pretty simple, but, at the same time, complex.
Why a condenser is called a condenser is beyond me, its just the way things are. But, its function is pretty neat.