For the condenser (also known as a capacitor so look for capacitor testers) all you need is a multi meter with a moving coil indicator, not a digital one. Also there are insulation resistance and continuity tester that works in two ways pushes the voltage through the condenser to see if there is any internal breakdown and also has a continuity test as explained below.

Here is the explanation:

1.) Remove the condenser from the engine (or at least disconnect the lead wire). Note the small metal connector located on the end of the condenser. This connector is the "hot" or power connection. The metal case of the condenser is the grounding point. Discharge the condenser by shorting the lead wire to the case.

2.) Switch the meter to the ohms position. Place the red lead into the "ohm" connector on the meter. Insert the black lead into the "com" or common connector on the meter. Set the resistance range to the highest available setting (if it is selectable). Connect the test leads together and zero the meter. If the meter won't zero replace the battery. (Yes, an ohm meter has a battery).

3.) Touch the red lead to the hot connector on the condenser. Place the black lead to the metal case on the condenser. The meter's needle should jump slightly to the right (toward 0-ohms), then should drop back to the left towards infinite resistance). Hold the leads in place for 15 to 20 seconds. This action places charge in the condenser. If the test shows any reading other than infinity, the condenser is leaking and needs to be replaced.

4.) Remove the leads and reverse the placement to the condenser. Move the red lead from the hot connector to the metal case, and move the black lead from the metal case to the hot connector. At the moment where both leads are touching the correct points, the meter should jump towards the right. The second time the needle may move twice as far, as this action discharges the condenser. Holding the leads in contact should again result in movement of the needle back toward infinite resistance.

5.) Movement of the meter's needle indicates the condenser is good. If no movement was indicated on the meter in any circumstance, the condenser is bad and must be replaced. Retest the condenser several times for a consistent reading.

In operation the condenser will "ring" at up to 300 volts, so the condenser needs to be rated much higher, no less than 600 volts DC. The ignition will likely work with any capacitance value between 0.05 and 0.6 microfarad. Too high or too low value may eventually transfer metal from one side of the contact points to the other side leaving a pit and a point. Capacity of spark coil capacitors ranges from 0.2 microfarad to 0.33 microfarad. Almost all automotive coils use a 0.25-0.29 microfarad capacitor.

 

Ignition



Do we have to reverse the procedure if we're in the Northern Hemisphere?

Dangerous Joe :viking: :sign0020:

 

It's far quicker to just replace it and see if that makes a difference. Why get technical for such a simple inexpensive item

 

If you are working with orginal or NOS parts, these sorts of components can no longer be considered disposable. It makes sense to me to abandon the "toss it out and put in a new one" attitude that was prevalent before these cars turned 60 years old. That's one reason.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

The last one of these I bought was about $15 for just the condenser.
40 year ago $15 would get you the condenser, points, rotor and cap!
So I'm testing mine these days. Thanks for the info on using an analog meter.
Al

 

Also...."a multimeter set as an ohm meter can be used, but only to perform an all-or-nothing test. This test will only show if the capacitor is completely dead, or not. It will not determine if the capacitor is in good or poor condition. To determine if a capacitor is functioning at the right value (capacitance), a capacitor tester will be necessary. Of course, this also holds true to determine the value of an unknown capacitor."

 

Angs, thanks for the procedure. I will add that to my repertoire. Dave, yes, a dedicated testor. Any examples that you know of.

Yes, I have quite a few nos and rnos capacitors in my stash of stuff, all usa made. Would like to test them out. Yes, I could just throw them all out but what a waste. And, I like tinkering which is why I restored the sun distributor machine. Finally, I tend to want to be in a position to do as much with my car as possible without having to rely on outside third parties. In fact, a lot of the folks who used to perform services for me are gone, dead or retired and the things they could do, no one else does. Even finding a decent machine shop or a front end alignment shop that can deal with the alignment on an old car is starting to become a challenge (think radiator repair). So that is the reason for the quest for a condenser/capacitor tester and a coil tester.

 

This tester should do the trick, it can push out voltage to test insulation breakdown and has a continuity function.

 

I have an old Snap-on MT335. It is a device that makes the ignition jump a gap. One feature, it heats a coil as coils can be great when cold and fail when hot. This unit also checks a condenser. Condensers were awfully cheap back in the day so replacing one for testing was more common than testing. I found this on Ebay, listing number is 322966326313.
Just what issues are you experiencing?

 

No issues. The fellow who rebuilt my distributor has scaled back, and as he described it in 2015, it was two old guys doing the work and they can get cranky once in a while, lol. So I purchased a sun 404, restored it, assembled the sun and aea tune up cards, Delco Remy distributor spec books, and dug out a pretty good stash of distributor parts with the intent to rebuild a few distributors. I am in the process of building a holding jig to hold the distributor so I can take a few measurements (end play and shaft movement) as well as a way to hold the distributor while I remove the gear. The sun machine will help me deal with the advance and dwell, and the vacuum feature will sort out the vacuum advance. I also picked up the sun point arm tension gauge to set the tension. Ordered in some point lube, high temp grease, lube, spare parts and tools. Ordered a piece of Delrin rod to put on a lathe and make up some new discs for the shaft tension spring. The last two things I would need to be able to do is test out the condenser as well as a coil. The guys at the msd tent tested my coil at this year’s nats. They used some kind of tester that was able to test the coil under load/rpm. So I am on the prowl for those last two items. Then I can do a complete rebuild of the distributor and ignition system.

 

Why?

It was asked "why go to all the bother testing for such an inexpensive part"?
I can see the point , but I also appreciate the detailed explanation of the test procedure, even though I already know how this is done.

Later,:ciao:
Jim

 

condesners

I lost rack of this post, but wanted to say:
Hats off to you tinkerer's and do it your selfers for pursuing the condenser issue so hard. I lost my zeal for this type of detail some time back, but think it's really cool other still get a kick out of this level of detail.
My flathead Harley eats condenser's ( 6 volt) so I used to just carry spares.
I enjoyed this post, thanks!!!:shakehands:
Bob B
G Burg,MD
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