23 replies to this topic

[chazzybaby]

1986 mini engine & electrics in 1965 body. condenser has failed twice now after a life of just 200 miles. what could be causing this?

[bmcecosse]

Are you running a 9 volt 'ballast' coil on the 12 volt (in reality 14 volts!) system?? Could just be rubbish quality condensers of course........

[chazzybaby]

I am running this coil: http://www.minisport...nfo_DLB105.html

it seems a bit unlikely that i get 3 rubbish condensers in a row?

[dklawson]

The link indicates that you have bought a 12V "standard ignition" sports coil.

However, you stated that the car has a later engine with later wiring. Look at the wires on the coil. Tell us what wires are connected to coil (+).

IF you have a pink and a yellow/white wire on coil (+), that is the wiring configuration for a ballast ignition. Running a 12V coil on wiring for a ballast ignition system will result in a weak spark and an engine that may barely start if it starts at all. The problem may not be with your condensers but with the supply power to the coil.

Do check this and tell us what you find for the coil wiring. It is easy to change to the correct wiring for the coil type once you know what is there to start with.

[bmcecosse]

Good point there from DKL - I was thinking the other way, with low ohms coil forcing large currents through the condenser...... And some of the new condensers out there are very 'variable' shall I say 'quality'!

[chazzybaby]

going to positive side of the coil i have a wire running up to fusebox on the second fuse down which on my set up is turned on/off by ign. key? is this right,

then from negative side i have on wire running to condenser in distributor and one running to the rev counter.


do i have the right set up here?

[dklawson]

The wiring scheme you describe is consistent with a car which has been converted from ballast to standard ignition. That would be correct for the coil you purchased. As a last sanity check, disconnect both ends of the wire from the fuse box to coil (+) and measure its resistance end-to-end. It should read close to 0 Ohms. If you measure something between 1-2 Ohms you have an issue with that wire that needs to be addressed.

[chazzybaby]

i'll check that next time i'm working on the car. am going home for the weekend now so unfortunately do not have time to look at it until monday. if there is resistance here what would this mean for me? the voltage at the coil which i checked when fitting was the same as battery voltage (engine not running so no charge from alternator)

[dklawson]

When the ignition key is in the run position and the points are "open" you will always measure battery voltage on coil (+). If the points are open, there is no current flowing through the ignition system so there is no voltage drop to measure.

If you want to measure the operating voltage of the coil accurately do the following. Remove the dizzy cap and place a metal coin between the points. Turn the ignition key to the run position and measure between coil (+) and earth. With the coin between the point (effectively making the points look closed) then current is flowing through the ignition system and any resistance caused voltage drop can be measured.

With a coin between the points, if you measure 12V you have a standard ignition setup. If you measure 6-9 volts on coil (+) you have a ballast supply to the coil. If you find 6-9 volts, it indicates that you need a ballast coil. The coil in the link above is for standard ignition systems. Running it on 6-9 volts will result in a very weak spark.

[chazzybaby]

oooo hello this is interesting. last time it broke down because of condenser the AA man apears to have put the wrong condenser in. it looks like this one

http://www.minisport...fo_GSC2111.html

i have a lucas 45D (might be the 59D but i don't know if theres a difference) will this be a reason for this one going soo soon?

[dklawson]

A condenser is really just a capacitor. They all pretty much have the same electrical ratings with only the mounting/connection hardware being different. So basically, if you can connect the capacitor properly (regardless of the source) it should work OK regardless of the distributor it is installed with or connected to.

However, within the past two years there was a thread (on another board I frequent) that investigated the quality of automotive condensers. The author of that thread was collecting as many condensers as possible from different vendors and manufacturers. The conclusion of his investigation was that most automotive condensers are made to be as cheap as possible with little concern for quality and virtually no provisions for the manufacturer to insure that the elements inside the canister are making good electrical contact. The guy who started that thread is an electrical engineer and subsequent to his study, he selected electronics grade capacitors of the right rating and adapted them for use with his A-H Sprite. The capacitor had to be mounted external to the distributor but to the best of my knowledge that's what is still on his car today.

[two_spanners]

I had the same issue with capacitors. The Distibutor Doctor will supply high grade capacitors for £6.95 plus VAT. I haven't used them yet as my Mini has been off the road for a couple of years but I'm definately going to try one.

[1964Woody]

Do we know what the technical specs are on the condensors/capacitors (or at least what they are supposed to be?)

[dklawson]

Most 4-cylinder condensers have a capacitance rating of about 23 micro-Farads (I believe). However, I don't know the break-down voltage or other parameters.

For more information on condensers you may want to take a browse through the threads in the following three links.
http://www.britishca...t/Number/575156
http://www.britishca...t/Number/593638
http://www.britishca...t/Number/635774

[samsfern]

I had the same issue with capacitors. The Distibutor Doctor will supply high grade capacitors for £6.95 plus VAT. I haven't used them yet as my Mini has been off the road for a couple of years but I'm definately going to try one.

we had a problem with condensors failing after about 20 miles at work, not good on customer cars, we get ours from distributordoctor now, along with rotor arms, and havent had any problems anymore.

Their made cheaply as people dont seem to like paying too much. You get what you pay for.