condenser failure

trainguy

trainguy

Well-known member
Been ironing out the bugs on my 46.Rebuilt carb,rebuilt fuel pump.Rebuilt dist.Car is runnig great!All of a sudden it starts bucking and quits~!OH S--t now what??.I checked the dist and found that the solder joint holding the connecter to the condenser was broken it must have been a "cold joint".I dont remember where the cond came from but most likely a import.Replaced it and the car runs better than it ever did since I bought it.DAMB OLD CARS!!!Got to love them why else would we put up with the aggrivation.. Phil
 
Well done. The condenser is always the first thing I check now with any ignition problems it has so often been the cause and is the cheapest and easiest to fix.
 
I have never had as many condensers go bad as I have with the pre 49 flatheads.Must have somthing to do with the dist location?Or maybe a poor design of the cond?
 
A good one Phil is an "IH-200 from napa" Only thing is they have a pigtail wire comming out of it.But it is adaptable to all ford dist from 34 - 48 and works perfectly. ken ct.
 
I have a drawer full of NOS condensers.I have been told that most of them will be NFG due to age.Is this so?Can I check them to see if they are useable?If so what is the proceedure?I have a good Fluke multimeter.If any check out ok,will they last?I hate to throw them out but with my past experiance they may be more problems than they are worth.Phil
 
trainguy said:
I have a drawer full of NOS condensers.I have been told that most of them will be NFG due to age.Is this so?Can I check them to see if they are useable?If so what is the proceedure?I have a good Fluke multimeter.If any check out ok,will they last?I hate to throw them out but with my past experiance they may be more problems than they are worth.Phil
Click to expand...

Your meter will need to have a setting to test capacitance. If it does you can check the old condensers for .320 to .330 mF as ideal or thereabouts thus: (This is the NAPA ECH FA54 condenser)

IMG_3716.jpg


However, I kept around a bunch of old stock condensers as spares for a while because they tested within specs but as soon as I put one in it failed. So, for the $10.00 new ones cost I threw out the rest as not worth any possible savings by keeping them. Capacitors deteriorate over time even without use.
 
Henry,You are right,testing them and failing anyway does not seem to be the prudent solution.I think I will toss them and rid myself of the temptation of using them. thanks Phil
 
I tuned my 49 226 I6 F1 recently, drove about 20 miles ran good, a couple days later I started it up and it would barely run. Couldn't
figure out the problem. Put the 30 year old condenser back and she ran like a top. The condenser was a BWD.
 
trainguy said:
I have a drawer full of NOS condensers.I have been told that most of them will be NFG due to age.Is this so?Can I check them to see if they are useable?If so what is the proceedure?I have a good Fluke multimeter.If any check out ok,will they last?I hate to throw them out but with my past experiance they may be more problems than they are worth.Phil
Click to expand...

The answer in a nutshell is yes and yes. They may very well be more problems than they are worth. Its a matter of technology and materials etc. The new old stock condensers are sealed very poorly compared to today, using a foil mica roll and dont even have a solid connection in either end of the condensor ( see picture) theres a spring and the output connection is just a brass button spring loaded to a roll of foil and mica etc. These units dry out laying in a box over the years causing some of the problem.
Todays quality unit uses epoxy and has a wire ( slodered) in both ends of the condenser.
Buying a new unit doesnt mean you will get a good one. I just tested a box of 24 new delco units and only three were even close to being useable!!!
The market cant be big for these units and they just make what they feel is close and ship them out....
Materials are a lot better today if a maker decides to use it. I was discussing quality with a manufacture some time ago and asked " whats the return on these" to which he replied 35% very proudly! I ask isnt that a lot, and he said NO we buy this stuff so cheap we could return 50% and still make a lot of profit!!!!
I for one cant live with that kind of turn over for sure.......:eek:

Top three pictures are old condensor ( new in a box) and lower three are new style ...
 

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Old Henry said:
Your meter will need to have a setting to test capacitance. If it does you can check the old condensers for .320 to .330 mF as ideal or thereabouts thus: (This is the NAPA ECH FA54 condenser)

IMG_3716.jpg


However, I kept around a bunch of old stock condensers as spares for a while because they tested within specs but as soon as I put one in it failed. So, for the $10.00 new ones cost I threw out the rest as not worth any possible savings by keeping them. Capacitors deteriorate over time even without use.
Click to expand...

Old Henry!

Now I know how to measure the condenser...thank for teaching us.

Hary
 
Old Henry said:
Your meter will need to have a setting to test capacitance. If it does you can check the old condensers for .320 to .330 mF as ideal or thereabouts thus: (This is the NAPA ECH FA54 condenser)

IMG_3716.jpg


However, I kept around a bunch of old stock condensers as spares for a while because they tested within specs but as soon as I put one in it failed. So, for the $10.00 new ones cost I threw out the rest as not worth any possible savings by keeping them. Capacitors deteriorate over time even without use.
Click to expand...

Henry,

Help me out here , i use the FA54 by the hundreds over the period of a year and test each one as we use them. I test them on a Sun Electric condenser tester for 1-series resisitance, 2-leakage and 3-capacity.
The majority of these have tested from .24 mfds to .28 almost if ever see above a .30mfds.....
 
I have stopped using condensers on my V8's, but do have one on my 1982 Mini. I went through the whole gamut of "fixing" things until finally a new condenser fixed it.

If you have been suffering condenser problems and buy a new one that cures the problem, it may be worth carefully removing it, wrapping it in cotton wool and putting it in the glove box. Get another that works well and run that. If it then subsequently fails while on a trip, you know you have a good one in the glove box.

Just an idea.

Mart.
 
Phil,go to NAPA an get an "IH-200" dont test it just put it on there and let us know how long it lasts. ken ct.
 
If you do have a meter that can test capacitance it wouldn't hurt to take it along and test whatever you're considering buying. When I just went to NAPA to get mine I tested several before I found one that was within specs.
 
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