Bad Condensers...
- Bruce Smith
- 356 Fan
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Re: Bad Condensers...
Dave - The PK insulators are in the insulator kit that Parts Klassik sells, maybe others as well. - Bruce
Bruce Smith
- Bruce Smith
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:47 am
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Re: Bad Condensers...
Brian,
A quick coil test is fairly easy to set up and has been described before. Here are the basic steps.
Using a 6V battery, connect the coil terminal #15 to the positive battery terminal. Connect a wire to the center HV coil terminal and position it near the negative battery terminal for a gap of about 1/8". Briefly connect coil terminal #1 to the negative battery terminal then disconnect it. When you disconnect the wire, a spark should jump the gap. The larger the gap, the stronger the coil. It’s also important to test a coil after it’s been under a load, i.e. after it has heated up. You could run current through it or heat it in other ways but it’s easier to get a hold of a coil tester that will do this.
- Bruce
A quick coil test is fairly easy to set up and has been described before. Here are the basic steps.
Using a 6V battery, connect the coil terminal #15 to the positive battery terminal. Connect a wire to the center HV coil terminal and position it near the negative battery terminal for a gap of about 1/8". Briefly connect coil terminal #1 to the negative battery terminal then disconnect it. When you disconnect the wire, a spark should jump the gap. The larger the gap, the stronger the coil. It’s also important to test a coil after it’s been under a load, i.e. after it has heated up. You could run current through it or heat it in other ways but it’s easier to get a hold of a coil tester that will do this.
- Bruce
Bruce Smith
- Brian R Adams
- 356 Fan
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- Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:34 pm
- Location: N. Nevada
Re: Bad Condensers...
And that's the fly in the ointment, ain't it?Bruce Smith wrote:It’s also important to test a coil after it’s been under a load, i.e. after it has heated up. You could run current through it or heat it in other ways but it’s easier to get a hold of a coil tester that will do this.
How hot is hot enough? I can heat it in various ways, including setting it in the hot Nevada sun for a spell, or blast it with a heat shrink blower gun, but those are external, and do not heat up the electrical circuit very authentically. I could bake it in an oven.
Brian
Welcome to the era of policy-based evidence-making.
Difficile est saturam non scribere (Juvenal)
Difficile est saturam non scribere (Juvenal)
- Larry Coreth
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 1930
- Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:48 pm
- Location: NE N.CAROLINA
Re: Bad Condensers...
Brian
Since the car is still drivable, why not just go out, drive it and achieve the "correct" heat soak, then test it per Bruce's pouted instructions?
Since the car is still drivable, why not just go out, drive it and achieve the "correct" heat soak, then test it per Bruce's pouted instructions?
Larry Coreth
Roanoake Rapids, NC
Roanoake Rapids, NC
- Bruce Smith
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:47 am
- Location: Rochester, NY
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Re: Bad Condensers...
Brian -
Do you suspect that the coil is bad? If it's in the car, remove a plug, reconnect the wire, hold it to ground and look for a spark when its cranked. Or remove the HV wire from the distributor and hold it 1/8" or more from ground (e.g. the cap clips). The spark should be bright blue when cranked. Primary resistance (#1 to #15) should be a few Ohms, (~1-2) and secondary (to the HV terminal) should be 5-10 kOhms, not a lot higher and not zero.
Bruce
Do you suspect that the coil is bad? If it's in the car, remove a plug, reconnect the wire, hold it to ground and look for a spark when its cranked. Or remove the HV wire from the distributor and hold it 1/8" or more from ground (e.g. the cap clips). The spark should be bright blue when cranked. Primary resistance (#1 to #15) should be a few Ohms, (~1-2) and secondary (to the HV terminal) should be 5-10 kOhms, not a lot higher and not zero.
Bruce
Bruce Smith
- Alan Hall
- 356 Fan
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- Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:06 pm
- Location: Orinda, CA
Re: Bad Condensers...
Had one of the unmarked Bosch condensers go bad just as I was getting on the S.F. Bay Bridge yesterday, car had been running fine all day but just as I was getting on the bridge in S.F. started missing, backfiring and generally running really badly. Thankfully I was able to nurse it to Treasure Island where I let it cool in case it was vapor lock or a heat issue. Car would start but ran poorly and was not able to keep it running. Called AAA and got towed home. Still bad in the morning and remembering that Bill Oldham had similar symptoms in Reno a few years back, tried changing the condenser, and car seems fine. The condenser that was in there was about 4 years old, and maybe 4000 miles. It was one of the unmarked Bosch condensers, probably made in Turkey.