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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Condenser Value

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Condenser Value     c-gor 07-06-2011 @ 7:24 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 130 Joined: Oct 2009 Does anyone know the condenser value of the 1937-41 Ford 85HP V-8. Is it .20-.25 micro farads or a different value supereal 07-06-2011 @ 10:06 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 The capacity of the condenser used with a separate coil is .29 to .30 microfarads. For the distributor with the directly mouinted coil, the value is .33 to.36 mfd. That would be correct for your 85 HP. c-gor 07-06-2011 @ 1:42 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 130 Joined: Oct 2009 Supereal Thank you! flathead48 07-07-2011 @ 1:33 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 320 Joined: Dec 2009 I haven't had very good luck with condensors on my 48, any recomendations. Thanks Rick 40 Coupe 07-07-2011 @ 2:05 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1701 Joined: Oct 2009 how about a NAPA FA66 it is their condenser for the 42-48. 40 Coupe 07-07-2011 @ 3:04 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1701 Joined: Oct 2009 I agree with supereal regarding the condenser published values for the early Ford ignition system. Do keep in mind how many of us have had their coils rebuilt by Skip. He does a very good job of rebuilding coils, but his procedure is to replace the coil internals with a more modern coil and then reseal the outer case. The value of the condenser is a function of the electrical charistics of the coil, NOT the distributor. So if the coil is changed and the replacement no longer has the same charistics(L,R & Fo-s) as the original coil, so should the value of the condenser change. I do not have any idea if the replacement coils, Skip uses, have the same charistics as the original Ford coils. I would assume, due to ages, there are some differences, but are the differences significant enough to merit another size condenser? I posed this question to Skip a while back and he seemed just as speechless as maybe most of us are at this point. Lets bottom line this, if your not using an original Ford coil, then the condenser MAY need to be changed. supereal 07-07-2011 @ 4:38 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 The value of the condenser is not critical. If it is open, or shorted, the system will not function properly. It serves two purposes. One is to reduce the erosion by arcing of the points. The other is to allow a complete collapse of the coil magnetic field to permit saturation of the next cycle. If the condenser isn't open or shorted, the engine will likely work just fen. Stroker 07-07-2011 @ 4:55 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 I was taught (learned?), that the condenser value affected the points to the extent that abnormal pitting and/or deposition of metal from the stationary to movable contact (and vice/versa) was a function of capacitance. The lesson was, that if the points showed no appreciable transfer of metal, after long term use (thousands of miles), then the capacitance was correct to that application. I'm an electronic "Luddite", as I only really trust things that I can actually see or can imagine moving. Perhaps someone more versed in this phenomena can share some light on how to tell if your condenser matches your coil, motor, lifestyle, philosophy, religion, political party, gender orientation, etc. I would assume that Skip has counted primary and secondary turns on original Ford coils, and thus can replicate this ratio. I would also assume that if he has seriously altered this ratio; he would be providing his own "special" condensers. 40 Coupe 07-08-2011 @ 7:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1701 Joined: Oct 2009 If anyone would like more information regarding the value of the ignition condenser, how it is calculated, and it's effects on the ignition circuit. I suggest you look here. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scphys/courses/E1b/E1b_3b.pdf supereal 07-08-2011 @ 11:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Regardless of whether the condenser is appropriate to the coil, eventually all of them change in value as they age. If you look carefully at used points, you will usually see that one side of the set "grows" a spike as they are used, requiring replacement. While protecting the points is one of the purposes, the main advantage is to allow the coil to quickly discharge the primary winding of the coil. That is why a failed condenser usually shows up as a marked drop in perfomance as spark intensity falls. If the condenser shorts, the engine stops. I carry a spare condenser on clip leads in my "road kit". I haven't had to use it myself, but it has gotten others home.

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