Tom has got it exactly right with regard to choosing the correct capacitance
for an ignition system. The capacitor (condenser) is chosen to balance the
inductance of the coil and a different coil will require a different
capacitance. That being said, the failures are an effect of voltage
puncturing the substandard dielectric these guys are buying nowadays. As Tom
said, caps are simply insulators and conductors layered over each other. If
the insulator cannot resist the high voltage spikes produced it will short
across conductive layers and the cap will fail.
Now, knowing that these are nothing more dramatic than garden variety caps,
and knowing that the electronic field is crawling with electronic experts why
can't we find a common off the shelf industrial cap to live forever under our
hoods? Heretofore there was no reason cuz Mallory had the best stuff but if
their new owners are gonna go lowest common denominator then let's find a
replacement before we dump their corporate asses on the heap beside Enron et
al. Jeez, that almost turned into a rant, didn't it? Steve Smith in Las
Vegas
> A condenser is nothing more than a piece of tin foil layered with wax
> paper & rolled into a ball. This works much like a shock, and absorbs
> energy when the points open and close. When these were common on cars, a
> good way to tune up a car for a repeat customer, was to look to see which
> side of the points were pitted, and which side had the metal missing. You
> then checked the capacitance of the old condenser, and put one in (new or
> used, didn't much matter) with a higher or lower capacitance. After a tune
> up or two, the points would wear flat. You then had the proper condenser
> for the car, its electrical system, and the drivers style of driving. (any
> of these things could change the required capacitance of the condenser).
> The bottom line, is we are each looking for the proper capacitance
> condenser for the system it has to service. When you get one that allows
> the points to wear flat, KEEP IT IN THE CAR............ there is nothing to
> go bad in it....
> Now, my question is...... with such a simple object, that should never
> fail, WHY is Mallory ( a quality product) having so much trouble getting us
> something that will work properly...
> We can experiment with different condensers, they do all do the same
> thing, but the proper condenser will be different for each of us... there
> just is no simple answer as to which one we should all install.........
> Sure wish there was such an answer though...
> Tom
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