Re: ignition condenser - revisited

r2000swler@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote in
news:1130412019.734787.222590@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

>
> jim beam wrote:
>> i wrote here a few months back about how my civic had lackluster
>> performance, but this had been changed by replacing the condenser on the
>> distributor. well, i'd kinda forgotten the degree of difference this
>> change made, so when i revisited this situation again last weekend, i
>> was surprised to confirm the same effect.
>>
>> long story short, after my last igniter failure, i'd been looking for a
>> spare distributor "just in case" so i could keep it in the trunk rather
>> than pay $300+ towing charges in the event of another breakdown.
>> finally, i managed to find a spare oem distributor [$10!!! thank you
>> craigslist!!!], tested it and put it on my car. it worked fine and the
>> car fired up immediately. /but/, performance was very ho-hum. double
>> checked the timing, no problems. put the old distributor [new
>> condenser] back on, checked the timing, and hey presto! back to driving
>> being a ripping good time again! this was /exactly/ the scenario i'd
>> experienced before.
>>
>> the moral of the story: while i have no convenient means to measure
>> sparking performance or h.t. voltage output from the coil so can't
>> factually confirm by observation, a 16 year old condenser vs. a brand
>> new one seems to show a distinct degradation in performance. the
>> distributor with the old condenser works ok, no real problems, but
>> there's just no "pep" to the motor. the distributor with the new
>> condenser solves all that. in all other respects, my distributors are
>> identical. so, if your 88-91 civic lacks a little in the "pep"
>> department, consider condenser replacement - works for me.
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==
> Call around to the electronic repair services. I bet you will find one
> that has a Honda owner and teh equipment to measure the
> charactorisitics
> of that capacitor. Given how hot the entire assembly runs at, I
> wouldn't
> be suprised if the value shifted, the "dialectric absorbtion" shot up,
> or the ESR increased. Any of these will result in less effective
> capacitance.
>


And less effective capacitance would result in what? A reduced spark?

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TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
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Relevant Pages

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    ... i wrote here a few months back about how my civic had lackluster performance, but this had been changed by replacing the condenser on the distributor. ... the distributor with the old condenser works ok, no real problems, but there's just no "pep" to the motor. ...
    (rec.autos.makers.honda)