Points wear diagnosis

[tcslr]

I understand that the wear pattern on points can provide clues to issues. Points on my 29 Chrysler aren’t worn badly except that on the movable side, there is a tit ( obvious worn - maybe even welded spall from its opposite side face) that fits cleanly into the base side - both points. Can anyone provide reasons why that is? 
thanks in advance. 

[keithb7]

Condenser capacitance value could be suspect. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

Right, old shop manuals had pictures of the tits and craters and depended on which contact had what damage it suggested which way the condenser was off.

[kgreen]

Not my diagram, but have this in my references:

 

N

[JFranklin]

12 minutes ago, kgreen said:

Not my diagram, but have this in my references:

 

N

Now that is a simple chart!

[keithb7]

I suppose this diagram would be opposite for the positive ground crew here. 

[EmTee]

Problem today is finding a decent condenser - period, let alone one of a specific value...

[Restorer32]

Funny how condensers go bad just sitting around.  Anytime a car won't start that hasn't been fired up in years we suspect the condenser.

[Rusty_OToole]

If you can't get a suitable condenser you can use a modern mylar capacitor of the same value. Get one rated for 400 or 600 volts. If it won't go inside the distributor it will work just as well wired to the coil.

[trini]

Frank Duval and kgreen  are on the ball. Capacitors do lose their values .  What voltages your ignition coil puts out ?. I am subject to correction here. If i am correct I think the 6 volts coil put out between 2 and 3 thousand  volts. So a capacitor of 4000 volts  give or take 10 percent is in order.. The capacitance should be about 30 micro farad   + or - 10 percent.  As Rusty-OToole said the capacitor can be mounted on the coil.    

[tcslr]

Can someone put a sketch or suggestion of how that might be done?  Honestly, it is an interesting option. 

Thanks, tom 

[JFranklin]

43 minutes ago, tcslr said:

Can someone put a sketch or suggestion of how that might be done?  Honestly, it is an interesting option. 

Thanks, tom 

You just need to  wire it to the side of the coil that goes to the distributor.

[pmhowe]

I like this approach and have done it on three cars:

Posted by Fred Winterburn on MogGroup ( a site for Morgan owners). “If you want to make a bulletproof condenser, I suggested a modern retrofit to an MG owner and it is being used by more than one MG owner and a guy with a Porsche. It is a 1000V rated ceramic capacitor rated at 125 degrees C and if potted inside an original condenser shell works even better than the paper/foil crappy ones when they are new. It tested significantly better on my test rig than an equivalent condenser with the same μF capacity. It's quite small and fit easily inside the Lucas shell. I potted it in place with JB weld (it has to be potted in epoxy to be reliable). One lead is soldered to the inside of the can and the other to a piece of teflon insulated wire. See the pic of the standard condenser and the retrofit condenser on my Morgan. This is not hard to do if you can solder and worth doing in my opinion. The capacitor that I used can be bought at many electronics parts stores. Just google it: Kemet brand, 1000V, 0.22μF, part # C350C224KDR5TA If you go this route it would be the last condenser it ever needed. I put mine through a considerable amount of abuse during testing with no degradation. Fred”

 

[Bhigdog]

7 hours ago, trini said:

Frank Duval and kgreen  are on the ball. Capacitors do lose their values .  What voltages your ignition coil puts out ?. I am subject to correction here. If i am correct I think the 6 volts coil put out between 2 and 3 thousand  volts. So a capacitor of 4000 volts  give or take 10 percent is in order.. The capacitance should be about 30 micro farad   + or - 10 percent.  As Rusty-OToole said the capacitor can be mounted on the coil.    

Cap is on the primary side........6 or 12 volts.........Bob

[trini]

pmhowe, that is a great setup. Ceramic  caps remain stable. It is generally used in radio applications.