condensor question.

Message

fran kelly · #1 Post by **fran kelly** » Wed Nov 08, 2017 11:48 am

Wondering about symptoms of bad condenser or what symptoms to look for when it may starting to go bad or does it simply die?
thanks,
fran kelly

David Jones · #2 Post by **David Jones** » Wed Nov 08, 2017 12:14 pm

Look at the points, if they show signs of pitting then your condenser could be going bad. Also difficult starting and engine misfires. One easy test is to remove the distributor cap and the center ignition wire of the distributor, then with the end of the wire close to a grounded metal surface turn the engine until the points are about to open then twist the rotor back and forth so the points open and close and observe the spark at the points and from the ignition wire. If you get a large spark from the points and a small spark from the ignition wire you need a new condenser.
What symptoms are you experiencing right now?

Jon Schmid · #3 Post by **Jon Schmid** » Wed Nov 08, 2017 3:18 pm

fran kelly wrote:Wondering about symptoms of bad condenser or what symptoms to look for when it may starting to go bad or does it simply die?
thanks,
fran kelly

Yes.

Seriously, the one I had in my coupe died with no warning whatsoever a few years ago. I had to be flatbed towed home. Then recently, I ran into an intermittent issue with my Roadster which I posted where the car would start fine and run fine for a while, then backfire like crazy for a few seconds, then clear up and run fine again. Points looked fine. I finally narrowed it down to the condenser--replaced it and the problem has gone away--for now. The Bosch unit I got was made in Turkey so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck!!

fran kelly · #4 Post by **fran kelly** » Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:32 pm

Thanks John and David. Car ran very rough and then wouldn't start. Never thought of condenser until everything else (i.e., electrical and fuel) was seemingly OK. Replaced condenser and car ran like a top.

Jon Schmid · #5 Post by **Jon Schmid** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:06 pm

Jon Schmid wrote:
fran kelly wrote:Wondering about symptoms of bad condenser or what symptoms to look for when it may starting to go bad or does it simply die?
thanks,
fran kelly
Yes. Seriously, the one I had in my coupe died with no warning whatsoever a few years ago. I had to be flatbed towed home. Then recently, I ran into an intermittent issue with my Roadster which I posted where the car would start fine and run fine for a while, then backfire like crazy for a few seconds, then clear up and run fine again. Points looked fine. I finally narrowed it down to the condenser--replaced it and the problem has gone away--for now. The Bosch unit I got was made in Turkey so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck!!

Update: Last week driving home from the Sierra Madre open house my coupe totally quit running. Another flatbed tow home and guess what? Another POS Turkish made condenser, this after only two months in the car--it had been installed as part of a basic tune up. I replaced it with a spare I had and the car fired right up. My good friend Bill Perrone from The Parts Shop in Huntington Beach found me an NOS German condenser that I will carry as a spare. And yes, to be safe I replaced the coil as well. These Turkish made Bosch condensers IMHO anymore seem to be next to worthless. Beware...

Mervyn Hyde · #6 Post by **Mervyn Hyde** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:23 pm

Jon, these are waste of time and good ones are getting harder to find. I pulled several apart after repeated failure and found that the internal contacts are not attached properly. They are the weak point of the Kettering system these days. Some of us have tried different systems to eliminate the condenser . viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31632

There are also ways to replace the old wrapped foil type of condenser with a solid state film or similar capacitor. I tried this with success. I was also trying to remove the points wear and adjustment factor and eventually went with the CDI (6V) system (another thread). The difference in starting is amazing.

Jon Schmid · #7 Post by **Jon Schmid** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:50 pm

Merv, I just want to know why a simple ignition component seems to have gone totally to hell. Apparently Bosch doesn't give a rat's @$$ about quality control anymore. Sad. I don't want to be forced to go to a CDI system but now I'm wondering...

Sean M Rooks · #8 Post by **Sean M Rooks** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 8:03 pm

I too have recently been a victim of the Turkish condensers. I had one quit on me on the way to work one morning a busy highway. Not fun. I've bought a few of them as spares in case one goes out.

Don't throw out that original condenser when you do an engine redo if it's still working!

I've found that the condenser listed as being for the aluminum bodied distributors seems to work just fine. I bought this one by mistake and figured "hey, a condenser is a condenser, right?" so I cut off the included terminal end and attached my own.

http://www.sierramadrecollection.com/35 ... 18167.html

I removed this one in favor of the "correct" style (new turkish). When my condenser failed I put this one back on and VROOM. Fired right up.

Go figure.

Mervyn Hyde · #9 Post by **Mervyn Hyde** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:08 pm

Small market Jon and not worth the time and money for Bosch. Lucas have some correlate parts. As I said, I took an old condenser case and potted in a modern solid state capacitor of the same rating in araldite/epoxy and it worked fine and could last forever. I have cut apart about 6 condensers and the old ones have terminals fixed inside properly and the new ones have some kind of dielectric glue only. Not worth the time. One thing is for sure, the condenser will fail sooner rather than later.

John Weyand · #10 Post by **John Weyand** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:29 am

Cheaper than a flatbed--I carry a VW 009 distributor with clamp in place so its timed already. When mine seemed to be failing in northern Wisconsin on a road trip, I parked in the shade and went to lunch. After lunch I pulled the distributor (with engine on #1 position) and put in the spare and continued on my trip. Oh, take some Handi-wipes!

Ken Lubke · #11 Post by **Ken Lubke** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 11:43 pm

I guess I no longer feel like the lone ranger( not tonto). Similar issues on nostart, poor running, came from after a spring tuneup with all new components. Got so frustrated that loaded car on trailer and took it to my brothers ( mechanical genius) I thought. Rebuilt carbs etc to the point where I was going to blow it up. After just about pulling engine I resoursed my local club lads for their 3 cents.
" it has to be ignition" issue says mark. Well because I never got it back from my brothers I went back to garage dug through old parts. Found and old Bosch condenser, put it in. Varooom started right up and I was very happy again. YA THINK

Moral : beware of new condensers out of the box.

Kenny
65 SC
219632
Mn

Dan Epperly · #12 Post by **Dan Epperly** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 9:36 am

Are the Turkish ones the infamous gold ones that are unstamped or some other pos venders are selling? Wolfsburgwest is making their own condensers for mechanical advance VWs so I will try one of the those, home they don't say Turkey on them!

Fred Winterburn · #13 Post by **Fred Winterburn** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:00 pm

I believe Merv is referring to this capacitor: Kemet C350C224KDR5TA.
I suggested this one on the MG forum and it is now running successfully on a few cars. You do need to pot it in an old Bosch shell with epoxy if you want to protect it against vibration and give it more surface area to dissipate heat. Solder one lead to the inside of the salvaged shell and the other lead to a quality wire, pot it, and Bob's your uncle. It outperforms the standard construction condensers I tested having approximately the same value (0.22µF). See the MG experience thread I started here: www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?1,3580196

Mervyn Hyde wrote:Small market Jon and not worth the time and money for Bosch. Lucas have some correlate parts. As I said, I took an old condenser case and potted in a modern solid state capacitor of the same rating in araldite/epoxy and it worked fine and could last forever. I have cut apart about 6 condensers and the old ones have terminals fixed inside properly and the new ones have some kind of dielectric glue only. Not worth the time. One thing is for sure, the condenser will fail sooner rather than later.

Al Zim · #14 Post by **Al Zim** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:06 pm

Zim's Autotechnik has addressed the problem of the Turkish condenser quite a while ago. The best solution is our Premium tune up kit. We have sourced superior points and a condenser that will not fail, the rest of the kit includes a cap and rotor for the steel distributor. Give our parts department a call 800.356.2964 if you have questions or would like to order these parts. Thanks al zim

Tom Wavrin · #15 Post by **Tom Wavrin** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:49 pm

Is anyone using the Standard G-125 condenser and can comment on their durability as an option to the Turkish Bosch part? Same with the Standard tungsten point set?

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