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Re: If you have spark, condensor is OK. Do you Posted by eric in vermont [Email] (#2058) [Profile/Gallery] (more from eric in vermont) on Tue, 6 Jul 2010 16:08:44 In Reply to: If you have spark, condensor is OK. Do you, jimmy, Tue, 6 Jul 2010 08:06:41 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
SaabDude,
A condenser (or capacitor), when measured with an ohmmeter, should intially spike short, then read open. If it reads short all the time, it's bad. That's about all you can do, short of a capacitance meter.
The condenser's job is to snub the arc when the points open. The inductance of the coil "wants" to keep the current flowing when they open, and the voltage spikes up accordingly. The condenser dampens the inductive spike or kick and keeps your points from frying.
One other way to check for a shorted condenser is to REMOVE the condenser from the car and start it up. If it immediately runs, then you had a shorted condenser. Don't run it long in this condition, or you'll burn the points.
eric in vermont
posted by 68.142.33...
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