At 02:59 PM 9/14/2008 -0700, David Breneman wrote:
>....
>My understanding is that in a circuit like this, the condenser is
>there to prevent arcing at the contacts. The condenser takes over
>the load from the air gap. I was looking at this in bright
>daylight, so if there was a small spark I would not have seen it.
>....
In the ignition circuit the condenser does NOT surpress arcing at the
points. Condenser is actually a capacitor (just a difference of
language dialect). Correct value of capacitor will provide nearly
equal plating of material in both directions across the points so you
don't get material build up on one side.
The primary function of the condenser is to enhance the voltage (up
to 300 volts in the primary winding) during current "ringing" after
the points open to give a hotter spark. This elevated primary
voltage will give a visible spark at the contact points. If you put
your finger on the coil terminal leading to the distributor, or on
the terminal on the side of the distributor while engine is running,
you can get a noticeable electrical shock "tingle" from this fleeting
elevated primary voltage. See here:
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/ignition/ig108.htm
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://MGAguru.com
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