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Condenser

Technical issues not related to a DLOC car marque, eg tyres, ethanol, other car makes, etc. and legal, political and insurance
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GrahamH
Posts: 126
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:03 pm
Location: Bridgwater Somerset

Condenser

Post by GrahamH »

Hi all
I’ve just purchased service items for my 1951 DB18 Consort however the condenser is the wrong one, this happened last time I ordered one, (as the old one was ok I didn’t bother returning it). The issue is the clip, mine has a clip attached that is flat out of the bottom and screws into the baseplate, the new one(s) have a clip that goes all around and isn’t flat on the bottom (both holes are in the middle so not on the bottom) so it won’t screw into the distributor.
I tried numerous times with the old (new) one without success.
Anyone got any thoughts?

Cheers

Graham
1951 Daimler DB18 Consort

classiclife
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Re: Condenser

Post by classiclife »

Hello Graham,

DB18 etc is not my area, but I thought I'd flag the condenser page from the Distributor Doctor - perhaps it may prove useful.

Regards.

Richard.

http://www.distributordoctor.com/distri ... ensers.htm
1968 Daimler V8-250 Saloon
DLOC East Sussex Branch Secretary
DLOC 2.5L V8 & V8-250 Registrar - https://www.dloc.org.uk/v8-250
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migray
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Re: Condenser

Post by migray »

Lucas parts manual suggests it should be a 40744 which is a common type of condenser.
For example this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392206733344 ... SwEKxcLyRf
Will this clip not work?
Attachments
condenser.JPG
condenser2.JPG
condenser2.JPG (11.35 KiB) Viewed 1959 times

GrahamH
Posts: 126
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:03 pm
Location: Bridgwater Somerset

Re: Condenser

Post by GrahamH »

No the clip in the picture goes all the way around the condenser where mine is more like the small picture where it’s flat out of the bottom, if I try and reshape it then the holes don’t line up so the screw won’t go in.

I’ll have a look at the distributor doctors site and see if that can shed any light on it

Thanks guys

Graham

Ps I think the one that’s been supplied should fit into a recess in the baseplate, then the clip would be level withe the hole, my baseplate is flat so it doesn’t fit😱
1951 Daimler DB18 Consort

Simon Hyslop

Re: Condenser

Post by Simon Hyslop »

Dear Graham,

I believe the Distributor Doctor's condensers are the only ones that come in a "ready to fit" condition for the DK baseplate. He also offers variations on the clip to fit the earlier DJ distributors. However, I have found that with the aid of a round needle file, it is possible to make the clip as supplied on the widely available replacement fit. The needle file is required to make the holes align if you bend the clip to fit flat as it did originally. Once you have a clip that fits, it can then be reused if a subsequent new condenser is needed. Apart from the DD, I also suspect that most if not all of the replacements on the market, be they £5.88 from Moss or £17 from some ebay sellers, are all the same units made in Italy. They fit quite readily into the soldered on baseplates which follow your model.

Originals do turn up :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265263536003 ... SwzihhE~Ne

At that price they are better than most investments if you already have them and can find someone desperate enough to pay that amount.

My apologies if this is repetition on my part, but I carry in each car a condenser originally designed for something newer which usually has a lead attached and a small bracket of varying design depending on what the original application was. In the event of a suspected condenser failure, the spare condenser has a crocodile clip attached to each end, one goes on the coil to distributor terminal and one to earth. That will act as a "get you home" fix and is fitted in 20 seconds rather than trying to change a condenser at the side of the road.

Stan Thomas
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Re: Condenser

Post by Stan Thomas »

Capacitors (a "condenser" was what was fitted to Boadicia's chariot) are more than likely changed un-necessarily, as they rarely fail - but and are very easy to test.

Connect your car battery (12 volts) across both a voltmeter and the capacitor for a second or so, then disconnect the battery, when the recorded voltage should sink back to zero in about a second or so. You can use a stop light bulb or similar if you do not have a voltmeter - when the light should fade away when you disconnect the battery.

If the voltmeter drops immediately to zero (or the bulb goes out immediately) - you have a duff condenser - sorry - capacitor.

Simon's idea is a great one - but remember to connect to the "CB" terminal of the coil, or better still, the terminal on the distributor to ensure you have the right connection.

qantasqf1
Posts: 299
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:13 pm

Re: Condenser

Post by qantasqf1 »

Well, it wouldn’t be hard to manufacture your own clamp. A strip of brass of the same thickness and width as your clamp can easily be formed to the right shape by bending it round a steel bar of slightly less diameter than the condenser - ooops, solecism! - capacitor. Cold forming is easy using flat nosed pliers in conjunction with pin nose pliers, and it’s even easier if it’s been annealed. That’s what I did when confronted with the same problem as you and it works well. FWIW my failed conden...aargh, capacitor! was only the second time I’d ever experienced this, the first being on my 1965 Triumph Spitfire right in the middle of London. Brilliant place to pick.

Sydsmith
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Re: Condenser

Post by Sydsmith »

Condenser capacitor either term is correct there was never an official change of name as far as I know, both words mean the same so both are correct, but if you want to use an up to date term it is capacitor.

From what I recall up to the 60-70's we always called them condensers but electrolytic were always electrolytic capacitors. It was only when we started having Japanese stuff that the term changed in the manuals.

In my day a fixed one would be a condenser and a variable one a capacitor :D Syd

Brian-H
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Re: Condenser

Post by Brian-H »

Sydsmith wrote: Sat Aug 14, 2021 2:16 pm Condenser capacitor either term is correct there was never an official change of name as far as I know, both words mean the same so both are correct, but if you want to use an up to date term it is capacitor.

From what I recall up to the 60-70's we always called them condensers but electrolytic were always electrolytic capacitors. It was only when we started having Japanese stuff that the term changed in the manuals.

In my day a fixed one would be a condenser and a variable one a capacitor :D Syd
I'd never heard the term "condenser" used in radio and TV sets until Syd wrote the above.

By googling why the terminology changed, he's correct, it wasn't necessarily an "official" change, nor due to Japs, it seems that the semantic of "condenser" eventually changed from "the capacity of a condenser" to just "capacitance" and "capacitor" - probably to avoid confusion with a steam condenser (the term "condenser" for a device to hold electric charge was first used by Alessandro Volta in 1782 with the new discovery of something having the ability to store a relatively high density of charge).
Dubilier_capacitor.jpg
Also from this link https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Dubilier_ ... _Co_(1925)

Image

and especially this one .....

Image

" The Dubilier "Universal" Condenser
The Type 577 Universal Condenser is suitable both for reception and for low power transmitting work.
The dielectric is of the finest RUBY MICA, and the Condenser unit is held together by strong clamps making variation in capacity impossible.
Dielectric losses are reduced to minimum and the condenser is not subject to climatic changes.
The Type 577 is standardised in capacities from 0.0001 mfd. to 0.01 mfd. and the price in all cases is 7/6
Each condenser is sold under a guarantee that unless it is satisfactory in every way to the purchaser the price will be refunded.
THE DUBILIER CONDENSER Co. (1921) Ltd.
Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush, LONDON, W.12
"

GrahamH
Posts: 126
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:03 pm
Location: Bridgwater Somerset

Re: Condenser

Post by GrahamH »

Quick update, I did manage to fit the new condenser with a bit of fiddling and some witchcraft 🧙🏼 So all good now

Thanks for all your thoughts

Graham
1951 Daimler DB18 Consort

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