Role of ignition condenser in a distributor?
 

On Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 12:00:30 PM UTC+10, pgtr deletethisnsubsatsymbol>bigfoot[ddot]com> wrote:
> What is the role of ignition condenser in a traditional 'points' based
> ignition system?
>
> And what is the role (if any) of a condenser in an electronic
> conversion 'kit' in an older 'points' based ignition system?
>
> Note I'm not asking about the capacitor installed off the coil in some
> cars for RF reduction - but rather the condensor connected to points
> in the distributor.
>
> thanks,
I am so glad none of the above were involved in wiring up the USA shuttle vehicles,
the kettering ignition, is under engineered, as any electronic tech will tell you, one definition of an ARC is- too much energy in the component, and the size and rating should be increased or reconfigured until arcing stops,
why is there no arcing in my dashboard when I turn off my high powered headlights ? hmm,
every dc circuit needs a return path, every AC circuit also needs a return path,
The coil should always have had 4 terminals not 3, dc in, dc out, ac out , and ac return,
if the distributor had been put before the coil and not after, the 3 terminal -ve terminal to ground would work, esp as both ground for dc out, and ac return,
Everyone is quick to talk about rising and collapsing magnetic fields, but never mention, this is a sine wave signal with countless frequency variation, ask your electronic tech, nothing DC about it, the condensor over the points, IS the AC return path for the spark generated, any number of condensers on the same wire, would reduce the strangulation of the AC return path, leading to a better and short spark, I tried it, wow, the RF condenser on the -ve terminal is one and the same issue, now forgotten about because every electronic device installed in cars has a condenser as filter circuit- on the power input -inside to the device,
a high tension leads takes away the spark to the spark plug, but none suppied to return the spark to the coil? why?, designers(bad)said so lets just cook the battery, and the rest of the car as every spark blasts it way through everything, to return,to the coil.
No electronic ignition circuit would have been created if enough AC return had ALWAYS been suppied, so please keep your hands off the SHuttle and other things.

Role of ignition condenser in a distributor?
 

On 05/27/2017 12:57 AM, wrote:
> On Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 12:00:30 PM UTC+10, pgtr deletethisnsubsatsymbol>bigfoot[ddot]com> wrote:

> every dc circuit needs a return path, every AC circuit also needs a return path,
> The coil should always have had 4 terminals not 3, dc in, dc out, ac out , and ac return,
> if the distributor had been put before the coil and not after, the 3 terminal -ve terminal to ground would work, esp as both ground for dc out, and ac return,
> Everyone is quick to talk about rising and collapsing magnetic fields, but never mention, this is a sine wave signal with countless frequency variation, ask your electronic tech, nothing DC about it, the condensor over the points, IS the AC return path for the spark generated, any number of condensers on the same wire, would reduce the strangulation of the AC return path, leading to a better and short spark, I tried it, wow, the RF condenser on the -ve terminal is one and the same issue, now forgotten about because every electronic device installed in cars has a condenser as filter circuit- on the power input -inside to the device,
> a high tension leads takes away the spark to the spark plug, but none suppied to return the spark to the coil? why?, designers(bad)said so lets just cook the battery, and the rest of the car as every spark blasts it way through everything, to return,to the coil.
> No electronic ignition circuit would have been created if enough AC return had ALWAYS been suppied, so please keep your hands off the SHuttle and other things.
>
>

Hello, and I would strongly suggest you do some research. There's
plenty of correct info on line these days to address your questions. An
electronic technician (one who diagnoses and provides required repairs)
may not have sufficient grasp of the physics and relevant applied
mathematics to provide a correct response. Most EE undergrad courses
cover the stuff you asked about.

You might start with what happens when you quickly interrupt the flow of
current (DC or AC) through an inductor (coil). Folks like Nikola Tesla
and Michael Faraday before him understood this quite well including the
behavior of circuits containing both condensers (capacitors) and an
inductor(s). Such behavior made possible radiotelegraphy prior to the
invention of vacuum tube amplification. As an aside, when I was a young
lad many decades ago we used to construct "shock boxes" using a junked
car ignition coil, some flashlight batteries and mercury switches.

BTW, the circuit path from the high-voltage secondary of the induction
(ignition) coil is through the spark plug cap to the chassis ground of
the vehicle and back to the the other (grounded) terminal of the
secondary. The ignition coil is a low-to-high voltage transformer with
the primary and secondary windings sharing a common (chassis ground)
terminal. Sincerely, from a humble EE,

--
J. B. Wood e-mail: