Condenser?

Rand

Rand

Senior Member
In the last 30 days I've had 2 Napa Echlin's FA66 go bad. Made in Mexico not Japanese junk or is it?
Some time ago someone here I believe? Suggested to use a Echlin Framall IH200 condenser? Heavier duty and slightly bigger in size. I bought one way back when and put it on the shelf and forgot about it. Untill I had the 2 go bad in 30 days. So I put it in and cranked the motor with the dizzy cap off. Wow what a spark at the points. Today a went for a good long drive and my 50 Merc flatty ran great!
Anyone else using this Framall condenser?
Randy
 
Rand said:
So I put it in and cranked the motor with the dizzy cap off. Wow what a spark at the points.
Randy
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound right to me....
[SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1]"Basically the function of a condenser in a coil ignition circuit is to reduce the spark at the contact points as they open in the distributor and thus minimize burning and pitting of the points. Arcing is caused by the effect of self induction in the coil as the points interrupt the flow of current. The resultant collapse of the magnetic field produces a high voltage to be generated in the primary winding which then tends to flow across the points, thus causing burning or pitting. This current flows into the condenser and charges it as the points open the rapid collapse of the magnetic field produces this high voltage in the primary windings, which can be as high as 250 volts. This further charges the condenser and the consequent collapse of the field causes a high voltage to be induced in every turn of both primary and secondary windings. As the secondary winding has about 100 times the number of turns of the primary, the voltage can reach as high as 25000 volts. Normally this voltage is not reached as it is limited by various factors such as point gap, compression, engine revs. Etc. so only sufficient voltage is produced to produce a spark at the plug. As the spark is produced at the plug gap the energy in the coil, stored in the form of magnetic flux, begins to drain from the coil through the secondary circuit thus sustaining the spark for a fraction of a second or several degrees of crankshaft revolution. During this interval the condenser discharges back through the primary winding producing an oscillation of the current flow in the primary circuit for the brief interval that is required for the primary circuit to return to a state of equilibrium. The condenser DOES NOT DISCHARGE UNTIL AFTER the spark has occurred at the spark plug.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Burning of points results from high voltage, presence of oil or other material at the points, defective condenser or too small a gap in the points. High voltage can be caused from high voltage setting of the regulator or high resistance in the charging circuit or the third brush set too high. On third brush generators too small a gap at the points allows the points to stay closed longer resulting in the average current being high enough to allow the points to burn rapidly.[/SIZE]
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] [SIZE=-1]Contact pitting results from an out of balance condition in the system which causes the transfer of tungsten from one point to the other so that a tip builds up on one point and a pit on the other. The direction in which the tungsten is transferred gives an indication for correcting the situation. If the tungsten transfers from the negative to the positive point one or two corrections may be made. Increase the capacity of the condenser, shorten the condenser lead, separate high and low tension leads between the coil and distributor, move these leads closer to the engine block. If the transfer is from the positive to negative point, reduce condenser capacity, move low and high leads closer together and/or away from the engine block, or lengthen condenser lead." [/SIZE][/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1]This information was taken from a Delco Remy electrical equipment book. [/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1]> http://austin7club.org/Ignition%20Condensors.htm[/SIZE][/SIZE]
 
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Rand said:
In the last 30 days I've had 2 Napa Echlin's FA66 go bad. Made in Mexico not Japanese junk or is it?
Some time ago someone here I believe? Suggested to use a Echlin Framall IH200 condenser? Heavier duty and slightly bigger in size. I bought one way back when and put it on the shelf and forgot about it. Untill I had the 2 go bad in 30 days. So I put it in and cranked the motor with the dizzy cap off. Wow what a spark at the points. Today a went for a good long drive and my 50 Merc flatty ran great!
Anyone else using this Framall condenser?
Randy
Click to expand...
When you mention "WOW what a spark at the points "do you mean right at the distributor contacts or the high tension spark plug lead to ground? Should be very little spark at the distributor contacts. What coil are you running? The coil primary resistance is very important. Is your car original 6 volt or changed to 12 volts now? Regards, Kevin.
 
I had continual condenser failures, IIRC no more than a few hundred miles tops, on my front mounted distributer until I moved the condenser up to the coil bracket on top of the motor. I haven't noticed any real difference in the points and I haven't had a failure since doing this.

I'm thinking the new condensers get too hot when mounted down low.
 
Tubman is a good place to start, or you can buy a Vertex Magneto Condenser - for .36uF from FIE. These are usually made by ASC - not cheap, but these are the type that I'm using on both Magnetos and distributors these days. You can buy the .28uF Vertex version for about $15, the .36uF heavy duty one is about $40.

I know - expensive as Hell . . . but I don't like being dead on the side of the road . . . in a rainstorm . . .

https://fuelinjectionent.myshopify.com/products/36uf-condenser
 
Tubman is a good place to start, or you can buy a Vertex Magneto Condenser - for .36uF from FIE. These are usually made by ASC - not cheap, but these are the type that I'm using on both Magnetos and distributors these days. You can buy the .28uF Vertex version for about $15, the .36uF heavy duty one is about $40.

I know - expensive as Hell . . . but I don't like being dead on the side of the road . . . in a rainstorm . . .

https://fuelinjectionent.myshopify.com/products/36uf-condenser
 
Vertex condenser on my dual point has lasted for years. Thanks to Bubba. Highly recommended.
 
I use the IH200 in both my vehicles. Has worked for me yr after yr so far. I haven't used a custom condenser yet. I'm sure they work great!
 
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wga said:
Vertex condenser on my dual point has lasted for years. Thanks to Bubba. Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

Are you running the smaller .28uF version or the bigger one that is .36uF? The .36uF one is about 1.5" long - the .28 one is closer to 1".
 
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