ignition condenser alternative?

[Duncan M]

Anyone familiar with Brightspark Magnetos "easy cap."
http://www.brightsparkmagnetos.com/easycap/index.htm

At the bottom picture, on the right column they show the CU/220 a Universal kit for use with Kettering (battery -coil) ignition systems. And a link to it: http://www.brightsparkmagnetos.com/easy ... /index.htm

Basically it replaces your condenser/capacitor for the points with what they describe as much more reliable/long-lasting. Could this be a solution to the problem of poor quality condensers and pitted points?
Duncan-

[John Frederick Cockrem]

G'day again Duncan, Don't know anything about those maggys , but I have run with the original set up for years and never had a problem . I think the quality of Lucas stuff was great in those days, remember it was never called "The Prince Of Darkness" in the good ol days. I do
however, carry a spare dizzy on the old theory that if you have a spare you will never need it! Getting a spare fuel pump too ,as I had one give trouble and had a hell of a time getting home mid last year in the wet! Still having nightmares!

[Steve Simmons]

Interesting product and thanks for the link. According to their site, they suggest it will last about 4 years and require testing every year after that. The condenser in my TC has been there for ten years! Perhaps the easy cap will prove itself more reliable, but until it does and considering how often I'm on the highway 500 miles from home, I'll stick with what I know works. But if anyone tries this, I'd love to hear how it goes.

[John Frederick Cockrem]

Stick with the original…reluctantly tried out electronic ignition in the TC a few months ago, it packed up as I backed the car out of the garage! If that had happened miles away??? And I didn`t have my spare on board that day! Yeah and once I spent 400 bucks on a "modern" dizzy, waste of dough, stick with the old Lucas, you can always fiddle them going again.

[EdCallo]

You can replace the Lucas condenser with a Mallory or Delco unit if you make your own holder (not too hard). That will last as long as the old Lucas ones and years longer then the "overseas" ones available today

[Eric Worpe]

Past and present ignition capacitors suffer from a poor assembly technique that relies on pressure pads making contact with the actual capacitor element. Industrial quality capacitors have "welded" internal connections, which give a lower contact resistance and are more reliable. Pulse rated capacitors using a polypropylene dialectric are available, rated at 0.22uF and 1,000 volts. Some of these are suitable for inclusion in the distributor, others can be attached alongside the ignition coil. If you really want to learn more about ignition capacitors then try the August 2015 edition of Totally T-Type 2.

[Duncan M]

Eric-
More than one way to skin a cat.

[Duncan M]

The little Brightspark Magnetos "easycap" 220nF condenser replacement idea bothered me enough on if it would work or not that I got one to try. Various British motorcycle forums are split on whether or not these are a hoax.
Pics are my installation.
No relation to Brightspark. I cut it down to the size I wanted using a Dremel wheel. Drilled a mounting hole just big enough for the screw and beveled the top conducting layer with a sharp oversized drill and installed an insulating washer to keep the points mount screw from short circuiting. Top side with chip, (showing) I determined would be the power side, so that is where I soldered on the pre-tinned connecter wire. The other side of the circuit board is the ground side, which I made contact by way of the points assembly and some light sanding w/fine sandpaper on the ground side of circuit board. Pics are pretty self explanatory if you are familiar with an original TC points plate, etc. I think the soldered in condenser (I know it is over 60 years old) was starting to go, which would explain the pitting on the points, and also why it now starts right up. The connector from the the orig condenser is now stored in the car, just in case.

[Kameron M]

Why not use a polyester film capacitor -- they are a lot smaller than the paper condensors of yore, are rated to about 630 volts or so, and are inexpensive.

here is a cap sized to spec for the MG's coil (0.22uF = 220nF) 630 volts, $1.60
http://www.alliedelec.com/cornell-dubil ... /70189784/

It is 1.1 in long and 0.45 in in diameter -- so it should fit.

Here's a smaller one with the same rating-- and cheaper at 80 cents a pop.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... 4-ND/56666

I don't really understand - besides for aesthetic reasons- why these would need to be inserted into a metal sleeve and what not before being inserted into the distributor. I would think from what it looks like on the inside, that you could just glue the cap in with a little dab of epoxy, then solder the leads where they need to go.

It sounds like 630 v is a little on the low side for the DC rating of these.

For just a dollar more $1.78 this one takes you up to 1kv. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... ND/1929552
it wouldn't pack nicely into the tube, but I don't think that is needed

-kam-

[Duncan M]

Kam-
Didy you miss the chip in the pics. The original condenser is disconnected, and is there to show it in place as an emergency backup. It still works, but pits the points. No wire going to it.

Cheap price is nice, but what people are looking for in a condenser replacement is reliability. That paper and foil (Lucas) one in the pic above is 65 years old, and worked well until recently, and the vintage auto world complains heavily of the currently available low quality cheap junk available as stock replacement. The main drawback for the typical auto hobbyist in using a surface mount muti layered ceramic condenser of the sort shown is soldering it to a board without melting the chip. I found a place that did it for me at well under the cost of a pre-soldered (foil/paper) condenser replacement on a points plate. Any number of different types of electronics caps have been tried in the past that can be found at MG sites, and long life has been the issue, and corroded "through hole" connections.

[Kameron M]

Ah, Duncan. What I saw on the page when I first looked at it was this large plastic square: not the tiny little surface mount component that had been attached to it. Very interesting indeed.

I was asking why though, that there isn't more of a following on the axial or radial packaged caps for the condensers, and now I have my answer. Too much mechanical jigglin' = problems. I can see how a surface mounted MLCC would be a solution to counterract the physical unreliability of a larger cap with through hole leads soldered places.

I wonder though how well that would work if it became splashed well with oil.

I'm a computer engineering major, and electronics are more a hobby of mine i've had for about 10 years now. I used my time in college to screw around more in the circuits lab than most electrical engineers, and I'm fairly well regarded there for my abilities with making pixies slosh about with abandon.

If that survives a good torture test, i'm probably bound to use one.

[Duncan M]

I have every intention of torturing it. Any oil will wipe right off, should any ever show up in there.

[Eric Worpe]

Ceramic chip capacitors, unprotected in such a harsh environment and having to cope with peak currents as high as 3 amps may be working outside their comfort zone. Polypropyline capacitors are specified for pulse discharge conditions and are reliable. Potting them inside a copper tube enables not only a good "ground" connection but a secure fixing.